Long before LTC, there MUST be decent home care. I have not talked about how this affects me personally until now. I have a close family member with early onset dementia. Her essential family caregiver is unable to fulfill that function adequately.
Their son can help but he too has cognitive and emotional challenges that limit his ability to assume the caregiver role.
As a family unit, they lack the executive function necessary to organize the outside help they need to 'age in place' as the saying goes.
I am the only family member able and willing to step up and organize these things for my close family member. For the past 8 months, I have tried to organize a comprehensive mix of LHIN and privately funded supports.
Among the things I've done. 1. Hired a private navigator and case manager at my own expense. 2. Brought their FP back into their lives - someone they hadn't seen in 18 months partly due to the pandemic. 3. Organized Meals on Wheels. 4. Arranged overdue specialist assessments.
I'll have more to say in the weeks and months ahead. What I will say now, and I won't mince words, is that home care works for acute ailments and largely sucks for people with dementia. It's defined not but what they do but what they won't do.
Homecare's fix for inadequate services is to strongly encourage clients to apply for LTC. Thus, LTC is the dumping ground for lack of adequate homecare.
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