KEEPING HEALTHY, INDEPENDENT Home support services ease lives of seniors This is the second in 2 series of articles to appear on the Lifestyles front Sundays on the work being done by the North Shore Seniors’ Ser- vices Providers Forum in initiating coordinated community action in the care of the eiderly. ESTHER M., 84, has always been independent and healthy until a recent bad bout of pneumonia. With a meager income and no relatives to help, Esther was ad- mitted to hospital. Home Support services are not subsidized for short-term illness. Esther, not her real name, has encountered one of the problems faced by the elderly who want to continue to live as independently as possible. In its Action Plan, the North Shore Seniors’ Services Providers Forum recommends the extension of subsidized homemaker services to the elderly during sudden illness or injury and convalescence of short duration. Forum members Barbara Miller, administrator of the North Shore Home Support Services Society, . and Jeanette Roop, Home Care coordinator of the North Shore Board of Health, agree that sup- ‘port services should be more geared to individual needs. “The system should be more flexible,’’ says Miller. ‘‘It is less costly and more desirable to pro- vide homemaker and/or nursing help at home than to put in hospi- .tal people who don’t need medical treatment. ; “And elderly patients, whose stay in hospital aver ges three times the length of younger pa- tients, could be discharged sooner if better use was made of home support resources. As the propor- tion of elderly increases, funds must be directed towards the development and delivery of less costly alternatives to hospitaliza- tion.” The challenge of coordinating a range of support services is not unique to our community. The National Advisory Council on Ag- ing reports that to help seniors continue to live autonomously in the community, the number and variety of support services must be increased nationwide. The council fragmented responsibility for health and social services that makes it difficult to develop and provide a.continuum of care, and the lack of federal and provincial funding. One of society’s myths about the elderly, says Roop, is that families used to live with several genera- tions under one roof and now fam- ilies have no time for the elderly who are all in institutions. “Not true,” says Roop. ‘‘Even though our rate of institutionaliza- tion is high compared to the U.S. and some European countries, on- ly seven per cent of people between 64 and 84 years and 31 per cent of those over 85 are in institutions. That leaves a lot of elderly people criticized out there in the community.”’ Furthermore, although the ma- jority of seniors are not living with their children, families are very in- volved in the care of elderly members. But changes in our society call for support services to supplement family care. The growing number of women in the work force leaves fewer daughters at home to look after aging parents and increases the need for support services such as adult day care. As more elderly people are living longer lives, often the children of these seniors are themselves elderly and in need of services. As hospitals concentrate on acute care, more seniors are coping at home with problems that used to receive hospital care. This places great demands on home care ser- vices. Last year, 20 nurses and four physiotherapists made more than 40,000 visits to North Shore resi- dents. More than two-thirds of their clients were over the age of 65. The need for support services such as Home Care Nursing and Homemakers increases daily, say Roop and Miller. But the budget for community services has not been increased significantly and the lack of flexibility in the system often thwarts attempts to make the best use of existing services. The North Shore Seniors’ Ser- vices Providers Forum wants your comments and ideas. To obtain a summary of the Position Paper and Questionnaire call 986-7111, 988-3131 or 984-9511. 39 ~ Sunday, March 15, 1987 - North Shore News NEWS photo Mike Wakafistd SENIOR CITIZEN Sidney Cooke has his biood pressure taken by Syivia Enga of North Shore Seniors’ Services. The group is recommending that subsidized homemaker services to the elderly during sudden iNness or in- jury be extended. DON'T WAIT FOR PHASE 3 PRICE INCREASE ALL REGULARLY PRICED MEMBERSHIPS FACILITIES & SERVICES EXCLUSIVELY FOR WOMEN ' © MODERN WEIGHT TRAINING EQUIP. © PROGRAMS FOR TONING. TRAINING & BODY SHAPING * AEROBIC CLASSES © NO-BOUNCE AEROBICS * CUSHIONED WO0D FLCOR © FREE-WEIGHTS * WHIRLPOOL ¢ SAUNA © PRIVATE SHOWERS * INDIVIDUAL LOCKERS LIFECYUCE AND FAN BIKES * PRIVATE DRESSING BOOTHS. * OVER 400 CLUBS ACROSS NO, AMERICA * AND MUCH, MUCH MORE! NEW ADULT PATRONS ONLY 1441 ‘Marine Drive North Vancouver gg