Aging in Place Planning

How to know what services are available to older adults.

By Marie-Claire Chartrand – Lead Consultant with Greywave Senior Care Consulting

During these ever changing and stressful Covid-19 days, I am still able provide services to older adults and their families.  A lot of the navigation I do can be done without meeting in person. I can walk you through options and crisis over the phone, by email or a video call.

Here’s an example of a recent client. This example also demonstrates the advantages of being a trusted member of the Serving Seniors Alliance Cooperative as I can refer my clients to trusted businesses.

I had a Skype session with an aging couple who wanted to make plans for “aging in place”, meaning they want to live in their own home for as long as possible and hopefully die there.

They wanted to know what resources were available in their Halifax community, what the costs were and how to access them.  Both were healthy and in their late 60s. They were very worried about several things: having to go to a nursing home and not be able to afford it. They didn’t have any idea of what supports were available, how their health and care needs might change, and what they might even need.

I reviewed with them their present living situation (a two story house), supports (no local family but a good community group), their financial means and what was important to them (privacy, quiet, their own surroundings).

We then talked through the scenarios of living at home.

I reviewed with them the things they should consider if they are to remain at home – accessibility of their house like stairs, bathroom location (refer to SK&R Renovations https://www.facebook.com/pg/skarrenovations/services/ if they need some work done like putting in a bathroom on the main floor, or hand rails or ramps), Harding Medical https://www.hardingmedical.com/  adaptive equipment and chair lifts). We discussed their location for easy access to services should they not be able to drive.

I described what home supports are available and what the cost of those are (public vs private) (refer to Home Instead: https://www.homeinstead.ca/3008/home-care-services , Northwood InTouch https://northwoodintouch.com/).

We talked about the option of moving if needed (refer to Paul Connors Century 21 https://paul-connors.c21.ca/ , Colette Robichau with Organize Anything https://www.organizeanything.com/ , Premier Van Lines  https://premierevanlines.com/branches/ns/premiere-van-lines-halifax). I went over the difference between public and private care facilities for both nursing home and assisted living (Parkland Clayton Park and Parkland at the Lakes https://experienceparkland.com/en/life-at-parkland/.

I made sure they had their legal matters in order like wills, power of attorney and personal directives (refer to Gregg Yeadon https://www.crcplawyers.com/gregg-yeadon). They had questions about Long Term Care insurance (refer to Stephen Cox https://www.stevecox.ca/).

We also talked about a reverse mortgage if needed to pay for care to stay at home (refer to Bill Cossett Centum Mortgages https://www.centum.ca/sites/bill_cossitt ).

And lastly, had they made any funeral arrangements? (refer to Ian MacDonald http://www.lifejourneyfuneralplanning.com/).

By the end of our time, they felt much relieved because they understood the options available, how to access them and what the costs would be. They didn’t have to make any changes at present, but they knew that if things changed for them and they needed some form of assistance, they knew what to do.  Planning really does provide peace of mind.

During these ever-changing times, it’s important to keep up to date on information regarding Covid-19. The CARP.ca website  has the resources of Zoomer Media to help us understand COVID-19 from a 60+ aged person perspective.

https://www.carp.ca/2020/03/13/covid-19-what-you-need-to-know/

Canadian Government website: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/epidemiological-summary-covid-19-cases.html

Government of Nova Scotia website: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/