Ontario Ministry of Health boosts support for seniors in Ottawa

KerryAnne Muir helping OCH resident Barbara Campbell with paperwork. (Dave Charbonneau/CTV News Ottawa)

The Ontario Ministry of Health has allocated more than one million dollars to bolster support services for seniors, extending a lifeline to more than 1,000 additional residents within Ottawa Community Housing.

Among those directly impacted is Barbara Campbell, an eight-year tenant in Ottawa Community Housing, who relies on the Aging in Place program.

"Aging in Place is invaluable to us," says Campbell. "Active tenants such as myself can have a resource where we can say, let's go and talk to KerryAnne, and she can help you get set up with the ride to the doctor or whatever other services they might need."

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The program provides a vital resource for essential services, including medical appointments and transportation. They also provide foot care for those who are less mobile or flexible.

KerryAnne Muir, an Aging in Place outreach coordinator says, "I help them discover the existing resources within the city."

From helping fill out forms, to emergency Meals on Wheels services, the ultimate goal of this program is to enable seniors to continue residing in the comfort of their homes.

"It's the most phenomenal thing. I can't even explain how good it makes me feel to help people that really need it, deserve it, and they've done so much for the community themselves. I'm just happy to give back in some way," says Muir.

Now, with the commitment from the Ontario Ministry of Health, this program will expand its reach from 11 to 19 locations, benefiting even more seniors in the Ottawa area.

"It offers social service supports so that seniors can live independently longer. The goal of the program is to reduce the unnecessary use of the emergency room and to delay the onset of long-term care," explained Jennifer Lalonde, Executive Director of Ottawa West Community Support.

"The fact that Aging in Place has connections with Ottawa Public Health home and community care support services means that when you identify someone who might need extra help, particularly in the health system, they can get in there quicker. They can let us know that there's challenges," Says Brian Gilligan, OCH chief officer of community and tenant support.

Ottawa Community Housing board chair Coun. Theresa Kavanagh expressed the importance of the program and its expansion.

"We're going to have more and more people aging in our units and we want them to be healthy, we want them to be connected," says Kavanagh. "Aging in Place is doing that."

Campbell says Aging in Place is a crucial program for hundreds of residents living in Ottawa Community Housing.

"You have somebody there who's there to help you," says Campbell, "who will take the time and care to be able to sit down with you and say, 'how can I help?'"