Aging at Home Program

The centre offers two programs under this strategy initiated through the Erie St. Clair LHIN Initiative, the programs include:

• Occupational Therapy
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Rapid Response Team

Occupational Therapy

Our OT‘s will complete an ’In-Home assessment’ with the focus of reducing the risk of falls within and around the home for seniors.  The OT’s may recommend assistive devices to seniors that will make daily living easier and safer, as well as the following programs.

• Home Maintenance and Repair Program addresses issues in your home that could result in falls. The assessment can and will identify tasks that may be demanding and require assistance and/or small repairs to assist with safety in the home. This program provides a minimum of a 25% subsidy to assist with costs of seasonal maintenance and/or repairs and is available to all participants; a larger subsidy may be available for those participants who choose to complete a ‘Means Test.’
• Grab Bar Program provides funding assistance to install grab bars within senior’s homes. An assessment will be completed and recommendations will be made on the type of bar that works best for you. The cost of the bars and installation can be covered at a maximum of 3 grab bars per home through a recommended vendor.

COPD Rapid Response Team

The RRT is a mobile team of health professionals intended to service all primary population clients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) diagnosis discharged from Bluewater Health and South Huron Hospital.  The team will also provide collaborative care to clients of the GBACHC, Family Health Teams, Private Practitioners, and collaborate with other health professional such as CCAC and CHC’s within the ESC LHIN.   The program is designed to assist clients to manage their care, decrease readmits to hospital, decrease length of patient stay, decrease exacerbations, and enhance the quality of life for COPD clients.  The three main areas of focus within the COPD RRT program are: primary care/self management, exercise, and health promotion.  The RRT is located at the new office in Thedford but will visit clients mainly within their own homes.

The Aging at Home Team consists of:

• Nurse Practitioner
• Registered Nurse
• Physiotherapist
• Occupational Therapists
• Program Coordinator