Benefitting from support services in seniors residences

In the next in a series of articles on life in seniors' residences, the Saint-Laurent News looks at support services offered to this particular clientele.

Christine Gouin, who runs the Verrières du Golf<@$p> residence in Bois-Franc, would like to benefit from better services at the local CLSC. "We would like to have more help with baths and transportation," she said.

One resident, Madeleine Boucher-Ferri, was operated on her knee in September. Fortunately, she was one of the lucky ones to receive services from the health care network. Two weeks ago, the local CLSC supplied her with a special bench that replaces the board she used to use while washing her legs. "I didn't ask for anything because it was going fairly well with my board, which I've had for about two years," she said during an interview as she demonstrated the use of her new bench.

The CLSC decided to replace her board during a routine visit, but Boucher-Ferri doesn't care much for the bench. She says she'll go back to using her old trusty board, which she will put back in the bath tub with the help of her neighbour Rita Rouillier, who wants to make she can get into her tub safely. Rouillier, a retired person who has worked in hospitals for 25 years, thinks there aren't enough support services offered at Verrières du Golf<@$p>, a private residence. "Convalescents don't get much support when they are discharged from the hospital. Yet, many people here could use the help," she said.

Rouillier also prepares breakfast for one couple, in which one person is a convalescent and the other's health is beginning to deteriorate.

"A request for support services may take some time before it is processed by the CLSC," she says. In some cases, the wait can be so long that the resident must be moved to a long-term care facility, which is more likely to be able to care for them, even though their age or condition doesn't warrant them staying there. This, she says, ends up creating a burden on the healthcare network. "That's what happens when home services are not offered in seniors' residences," she added.

Gouin says that a person can be independent, but may still need help to get into the bath. "How do we classify these people in the system? And why would a senior in a residence be treated any differently regarding support services from someone who still lives in a house? They are senior citizens just the same, only they happen to be living in a residence," she pointed out.

Johanne Grondin, a counsellor from the Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Bordeaux-Cartierville-Saint-Laurent<@$p> who deals with seniors losing their autonomy, says that two criteria determine whether a person is eligible to receive home services. "The person has to be in the process of losing their autonomy and they have to be unable to travel to the CLSC to get the service provided to them there," she said.

Grondin notes that the service is provided to the entire population according to the same rules. "We serve handicapped young people as well as adults with multiple sclerosis and seniors losing their autonomy," she said. After submitting a request for support services, a telephone follow-up helps to determine the urgency of the situation. A professional is then sent to meet the person and do an evaluation. The wait depends on the type of request and where it fits onto the priority list.

Dr. Robert Lavigne, who runs the Demeures Sainte-Croix, says he is satisfied with the services offered at the CLSC at the moment, but he worries that neither the resources nor the services will be able to keep up with the demand 5 or 10 years from now. That's when the seniors who live in residences now will likely be in long-term care facilities. (Translated by Anna Bratulic)