A good source of info, if you have the contacts, is 911 medical dispatch.
My daughter did it for a while and she had a definite list of "Don't go there" places.
Long Term Care
- Thread starter nobbie48
- Start date
My daughter did it for a while and she had a definite list of "Don't go there" places.
Maybe. My wife worked in some homes that she really liked that had many ambulance trips. The threshold for internal care is very low so tons get shipped to hospital for assessment/treatment. Hell, the better homes may have more calls for service as they are getting their residents the help they need instead of leaving them to suffer.
I was thinking of calls like "One of our residents hasn't been breathing for a while. Do we need an ambulance? I'm the duty nurse."
Sky_high
Well-known member
Hey All,
Just an update on the LTC home situation for my dad.
We managed to get him into Malton Village LTC home. Its further away from my mom, but really convenient for me to visit often.
I have to say, the LTC home seems to be well run. It's bright, doesn't smell, clean, staff seem happy, and they definitely are attending to my dad's needs. My dad likes the care he's getting.
I would recommend this place if you have to put your parents in there for care.
We had to use a "Non-emergency" ambulance service (MedicVan) to transport my dad from their home to the LTC home. Wasn't cheap, but they guys were efficient, helpful, and there were no additional fees. (Some other transport services charge by steps going up to the patient). Highly recommended, although not cheap.(but I had NO headaches, and that was worth it).
Thanks for everyone's advice!!
Just an update on the LTC home situation for my dad.
We managed to get him into Malton Village LTC home. Its further away from my mom, but really convenient for me to visit often.
I have to say, the LTC home seems to be well run. It's bright, doesn't smell, clean, staff seem happy, and they definitely are attending to my dad's needs. My dad likes the care he's getting.
I would recommend this place if you have to put your parents in there for care.
We had to use a "Non-emergency" ambulance service (MedicVan) to transport my dad from their home to the LTC home. Wasn't cheap, but they guys were efficient, helpful, and there were no additional fees. (Some other transport services charge by steps going up to the patient). Highly recommended, although not cheap.(but I had NO headaches, and that was worth it).
Thanks for everyone's advice!!
My pops had Parkinson's too. Diagnosed at 60 and passed away at 80 in the thick of the first lockdown in 2020. He stayed at home for the first 10yrs of his diagnosis and then moved into a retirement home at 70. It was a decision made by myself and my brother to allow my Mom some of her life back, because she was super fit and healthy, while caring for him was becoming increasingly difficult. My Dad also really wanted it, so that made things easy as many parents may be resistant. We put him on a wait list at that time for a LTC, so that whenever his situation worsened to the point he needed a LTC, he would get in much quicker. The LTC places we wanted him to go into had 3yr wait lists and all were in the Toronto/Mississauga area so that myself and my brother could visit him often. I immediately became power of attorney for care and financial when he was 70 and still lucid. Get those things in order asap, otherwise figuring those things out when they are not lucid is much more challenging.
A lot of the advice given by @Mad Mike is bang on. The suitability of places varies greatly from one to the next, for both retirement homes and LTC. I must have visited about 30 LTC homes and about 15 retirement homes. I made up a spreadsheet to track all the differences on the things that were important to us, which made picking the top 5 LTC and the best retirement places much simpler.
Here's some useful stuff that might come in handy for anyone going through something similar:
The LHIN has been rebranded yet again by the province, but likely offers the same core services.
healthcareathome.ca
This Scarborough based site has a good amount of information and referrals available and looks like they are the LHIN-type, OHIP based service for what many will need, which is what I would have used many years ago to start the process for my pops. There should be similar websites in other regions. This is your starting point and best ongoing resource to discuss developing or new issues with an assigned caseworker who will become to know your folks. After a caseworker initially meets your parents, they would determine their need or priority for long term care placement among other things. This is a good thing to start sooner than later, because waiting lists for long term care can be long for the good places and so getting in early improves your chances of your folks getting into a good spot. Even though you may be looking for home care help, or a retirement home first, a long term care place might be a need down the road if their care needs exceed what home care or a retirement home can provide. They may also have good referrals for extra assisted living serviced for free in retirement residences for your more immediate needs. They can also offer a wealth of suggestions, tips and solutions for some of your pressing needs or questions:
www.centraleasthealthline.ca
This agency was one I used for my Dad to come in and do a few different types of assessments (behavioural, ergonomic) to give me some good advice on how to manage some things or products to buy. I used their services for free through my Dad's caseworker at LHIN, but after they had completed their free services, they also offered to provide some ongoing services for a fee, based on a plan they put together after his assessments. I didn't use their fee-based services, but they did give some very helpful tips on managing his care.
www.loftcs.org
Lastly and more related to Parkinson's, the Movement Disorders clinic at UHN is great. It took us a few years to get in there, but their care team was very experienced and leaps and bounds better than the regional neurologists who overprescribed him meds at the start of his Parkinson's journey. The overprescription of medication by well-intentioned but overworked doctors is a real thing, so be mindful, get involved and do your homework.
A lot of the advice given by @Mad Mike is bang on. The suitability of places varies greatly from one to the next, for both retirement homes and LTC. I must have visited about 30 LTC homes and about 15 retirement homes. I made up a spreadsheet to track all the differences on the things that were important to us, which made picking the top 5 LTC and the best retirement places much simpler.
Here's some useful stuff that might come in handy for anyone going through something similar:
The LHIN has been rebranded yet again by the province, but likely offers the same core services.
Page d'accueil | Santé à domicile Ontario
Nous représentons maintenant Santé à domicile Ontario, un seul organisme qui coordonne la prestation des services de soins à domicile et en milieu communautaire, de placement en foyer de soins de longue durée et de renvoi vers les services communautaires. Même si notre nom a changé, nos services...
healthcareathome.ca
This Scarborough based site has a good amount of information and referrals available and looks like they are the LHIN-type, OHIP based service for what many will need, which is what I would have used many years ago to start the process for my pops. There should be similar websites in other regions. This is your starting point and best ongoing resource to discuss developing or new issues with an assigned caseworker who will become to know your folks. After a caseworker initially meets your parents, they would determine their need or priority for long term care placement among other things. This is a good thing to start sooner than later, because waiting lists for long term care can be long for the good places and so getting in early improves your chances of your folks getting into a good spot. Even though you may be looking for home care help, or a retirement home first, a long term care place might be a need down the road if their care needs exceed what home care or a retirement home can provide. They may also have good referrals for extra assisted living serviced for free in retirement residences for your more immediate needs. They can also offer a wealth of suggestions, tips and solutions for some of your pressing needs or questions:
Ontario Health atHome - Scarborough - centraleasthealthline.ca
Health care services offered at home, at school, and in the
This agency was one I used for my Dad to come in and do a few different types of assessments (behavioural, ergonomic) to give me some good advice on how to manage some things or products to buy. I used their services for free through my Dad's caseworker at LHIN, but after they had completed their free services, they also offered to provide some ongoing services for a fee, based on a plan they put together after his assessments. I didn't use their fee-based services, but they did give some very helpful tips on managing his care.
LOFT Community Services |
www.loftcs.org
Lastly and more related to Parkinson's, the Movement Disorders clinic at UHN is great. It took us a few years to get in there, but their care team was very experienced and leaps and bounds better than the regional neurologists who overprescribed him meds at the start of his Parkinson's journey. The overprescription of medication by well-intentioned but overworked doctors is a real thing, so be mindful, get involved and do your homework.
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Local transit and wheelchair taxis are the best choice if you can get dad into a chair. $5 vs $250, and all the staff are well trained.
The last sentence applies to everyone and every condition. Know your body or the one you are taking care of. When more pills don't seem to be the right answer do some research and discuss corrections to the meds. In researching, avoid sponsored websites hawking magic potions.My pops had Parkinson's too. Diagnosed at 60 and passed away at 80 in the thick of the first lockdown in 2020. He stayed at home for the first 10yrs of his diagnosis and then moved into a retirement home at 70. It was a decision made by myself and my brother to allow my Mom some of her life back, because she was super fit and healthy, while caring for him was becoming increasingly difficult. My Dad also really wanted it, so that made things easy as many parents may be resistant. We put him on a wait list at that time for a LTC, so that whenever his situation worsened to the point he needed a LTC, he would get in much quicker. The LTC places we wanted him to go into had 3yr wait lists and all were in the Toronto/Mississauga area so that myself and my brother could visit him often. I immediately became power of attorney for care and financial when he was 70 and still lucid. Get those things in order asap, otherwise figuring those things out when they are not lucid is much more challenging.
A lot of the advice given by @Mad Mike is bang on. The suitability of places varies greatly from one to the next, for both retirement homes and LTC. I must have visited about 30 LTC homes and about 15 retirement homes. I made up a spreadsheet to track all the differences on the things that were important to us, which made picking the top 5 LTC and the best retirement places much simpler.
Here's some useful stuff that might come in handy for anyone going through something similar:
The LHIN has been rebranded yet again by the province, but likely offers the same core services.
Page d'accueil | Santé à domicile Ontario
Nous représentons maintenant Santé à domicile Ontario, un seul organisme qui coordonne la prestation des services de soins à domicile et en milieu communautaire, de placement en foyer de soins de longue durée et de renvoi vers les services communautaires. Même si notre nom a changé, nos services...
This Scarborough based site has a good amount of information and referrals available and looks like they are the LHIN-type, OHIP based service for what many will need, which is what I would have used many years ago to start the process for my pops. There should be similar websites in other regions. This is your starting point and best ongoing resource to discuss developing or new issues with an assigned caseworker who will become to know your folks. After a caseworker initially meets your parents, they would determine their need or priority for long term care placement among other things. This is a good thing to start sooner than later, because waiting lists for long term care can be long for the good places and so getting in early improves your chances of your folks getting into a good spot. Even though you may be looking for home care help, or a retirement home first, a long term care place might be a need down the road if their care needs exceed what home care or a retirement home can provide. They may also have good referrals for extra assisted living serviced for free in retirement residences for your more immediate needs. They can also offer a wealth of suggestions, tips and solutions for some of your pressing needs or questions:
Ontario Health atHome - Scarborough - centraleasthealthline.ca
Health care services offered at home, at school, and in the
This agency was one I used for my Dad to come in and do a few different types of assessments (behavioural, ergonomic) to give me some good advice on how to manage some things or products to buy. I used their services for free through my Dad's caseworker at LHIN, but after they had completed their free services, they also offered to provide some ongoing services for a fee, based on a plan they put together after his assessments. I didn't use their fee-based services, but they did give some very helpful tips on managing his care.
LOFT Community Services |
Lastly and more related to Parkinson's, the Movement Disorders clinic at UHN is great. It took us a few years to get in there, but their care team was very experienced and leaps and bounds better than the regional neurologists who overprescribed him meds at the start of his Parkinson's journey. The overprescription of medication by well-intentioned but overworked doctors is a real thing, so be mindful, get involved and do your homework.
That is the place my mom had chosen. She was on a wait list of about 5 years I believe. She wasnt in a hurry as she was still undecided about leaving her house but said when she was ready that was the only place she would go to.
ifiddles
Well-known member
Where are you? I believe my nephew-in-law's wife might do something like this, however, we're in Milton.
Does the home have any useful information? He can't be the first person to have that issue.
If it's just reading glasses, you could probably buy an assortment of them, get him to try them on and return the majority.
A good one could pick off other ailments, glaucoma etc
Sky_high
Well-known member
My dad is in Malton Village LTC in Mississauga. It's a bit far from Milton.
I'm sure the home has someone, but don't know if they are good or not.
Last edited:
Mad Mike
Well-known member
Your LTC home should have a list of mobile service providers (hair, nails, dental, optical, hearing, ortho, physio etc) who service the LTC home. They're usually a premium for the mobile service, I know for Dad it costs $400 for routine dental hygienist service, vs $230 at his regular dentist.
If they can get you're dad into a chair, you can use wheel trans to get him to a local optometrist.
If it's reading glasses, you should be able to take one of his existing pairs to any optician to be matched up. Once you hit 65, those prescriptions don't usually change.
My dad kept losing his glasses, and we got lucky with Dollarama reading glasses, which were a really close match to his needs. He would lose a pair every 2 weeks!
My mom lived in Malton all of MY life. She was on a waiting list for Malton Village but didnt make it there. She had Dr Bansal on Goreway (just north of Derry) as her optometrist for years and I never heard a complaint about him from her (trust me, if she wasnt happy I would have heard about it). She also used the Total Health Pharmacy on Goreway (south of Derry). The pharmacist there was great with her and helped me a lot after her death with recommendations for things. He may know someone that will visit.
I am just throwing those names out there in case they are on the Malton Village lists and letting you know that my mom didnt complain about them, which I would compare to a glowing recommendation.
