Your aging parent has had a recent health scare that landed them in hospital for a while. You want to make sure they’re properly supported when they return home. You contact Home and Community Care Support Services, the agency that’s responsible for coordinating government-funded home care services in Ontario.
You soon discover that the amount of government-funded home care available is far less than your parent needs.
You’re left scrambling. You look into private-pay home care, but you come to realize that the cost is more than you or your parent can afford on an ongoing basis.
This scenario plays out in Ontario every day. Families assume there will be sufficient publicly-funded home care to allow their elderly parents to age in place. And yet, when a health crisis arises, they often discover the reality is very different.
Sometimes there’s a lot of guilt wrapped up in this. Adult children may feel like they’re letting their parents down by failing to honour their wish to stay at home.
They feel unprepared, trying to help a parent who’s being forced into making life-altering decisions, sometimes within a matter of days or even hours, especially if the hospital decides it’s not safe for them to go home.
Figuring out what to do next can be overwhelming, particularly if you’re not familiar with the health care system.
For instance, you may want to explore the possibility of your parent moving to a place that provides the sort of care they need. The problem is you’re so busy looking after them that you’re worried you won’t take the time to do a proper search and find the right place for them. Should you be considering a retirement home or a long-term care home? How many places should you visit? How are you going to broach the subject with your parent?
Or should you be getting your parent to move in with you? What are the pros and cons of doing this? And would it really be the best option for everyone concerned?
These sorts of questions can be hard to sort out. And deciding how to discuss them with your parent can be particularly tricky.
That’s why calling in a neutral third-party can be helpful.
Someone who already understands what options are available and the pros and cons of each.
Someone who’s not caught up in your family dynamics but has the skills to help you navigate them.
At Tea and Toast, we’ve helped hundreds of families have these sorts of discussions. We understand the landscape of options in the Ottawa area and can point you to choices that are most likely to meet your parent’s needs, desires, and budget.
On average, we save families 80 hours that they would otherwise spend searching for a suitable new home for their parents. And in some situations, we’re able to offer that help at no charge.
So why try to struggle through this on your own? Get in touch with us. We’d be happy to help.
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