Health care support

Delivering Health Care Support Servcies

The Situation

Health care support services for frail seniors and people with disabilities help promote long-term health and prevent illness. Yet despite the importance of these services to their health and independence, there is growing pressure on the health care system to limit homecare services to only the most acutely ill. At the same time, the demand for services is increasing because the population is aging and living longer. The funding United Way provides for health care support services has become more critical than ever before.

Health is closely tied to income; those who cannot afford to buy nutritious food or purchase personal care and homemaking services are at greater risk. As more seniors and people with disabilities fall below the poverty line in Toronto, community-based food, wellness, and homemaking services have become essential to their well being.

The Facts

  • Those denied homecare require approximately $4,000 worth of additional medical attention per year, and are twice as likely to end up in costly nursing homes.
  • An estimated 23,000 people in Toronto are currently waiting to receive community support services, such as meals, adult day programs and caregiver support.
  • One in three homecare clients in Toronto is 80 years of age or more.
  • Caregiving can take a great emotional toll. Among people caring for someone with severe dementia, 40% report symptoms of depression.

United Way Support

United Way funds 36 agencies that provide health and wellness and rehabilitation programs, which complement the broader health care system. These member agencies reach those who are most vulnerable and in greatest need of support.

These programs target areas where government funding is inadequate, including helping people with disabilities finance the purchase of physical aids, such as hearing aids and wheelchairs or offering peer support groups, resource centres, or educational workshops to people with multiple sclerosis, polio or epilepsy. Homecare services are provided to people who do not qualify for the government service because their cases are not considered sufficiently acute. Many frail or ailing seniors fall into this category.

Photo by Bernard Weil, reprinted courtesy of the Toronto Star Syndicate.

Support United Way and you'll support people like Maria, Bianca and Cristina

Maria Calabro's daughters are afflicted with Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that has left them mentally and physically challenged. Cristina, 13, and Bianca, 10, are legally blind, suffer from kidney disease and obesity, and could grow as tall as seven feet. The girls are also afflicted with scoliosis. They both need round-the-clock care and are kept alive by medication that keeps their kidneys and respiratory systems functioning. They can walk a short distance, but use wheelchairs most of the time.

Maria has been thankful for the help of social services, such as Erinoak. The United Way agency helps young people with disabilities in Peel and Halton Region. Erinoak offers medical, therapeutic, information and referral services as well as summer camps, preschool groups, special home support services and group programs.

"The people there are just great; they can really help," says Maria. "They've always been there when I've needed them. They've never let me down."

Adapted from an article in the Toronto Star, November 16, 2001, by Paul Irish.

How your dollars make an impact

$120 provides four hours of counselling support to a person with epilepsy.

$300 transports six seniors home from the hospital and provides a Personal Support worker for three hours in the home to make sure they are settled following their hospital stay

$520 purchases white canes for 20 people who are visually impaired, enhancing their mobility and promoting independence.

$1,500 offers a caregiver seven evenings of overnight respite care, giving a much-needed reprieve.

With your generosity, United Way agencies are able to address the challenges faced by people living with disabilities and assist them in their desire to be self-sufficient and independent.

Your donation will make a differenc by supporting:

  • Homecare (house cleaning, yard maintenance) and personal care
  • Meals on wheels
  • Respite for caregivers
  • Mental health programs
  • Physical rehabilitation programs
  • Drug and alcohol education and programs to help people overcome addictions

Download the brochure: Delivering Health Care Support Servcies (pdf - 152 KB).