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The impacts of COVID-19 on us all are innumerable. However, it is safe to say the impacts of this pandemic have been disproportionally borne by residents of long-term care and retirement homes – a great majority of whom are people living with dementia – as well as their families and caregivers, and the staff of residential facilities.
By the Numbers
These numbers and facts are of great concern to us. As the recognized provider of services for dementia care for Ottawa and Renfrew County, we hear, daily, the stresses put on caregivers and people with a diagnosis of dementia living in residential care. Stresses like not being able to see love ones, and seeing loved ones precipitously decline—from afar—while not being able to help or hold a hand. In addition, we know there are numerous families awaiting a more supportive care environment for a loved one as the progression of dementia exhausts the current homecare model and families’ resources to cope. Long-term care placement is a hard decision to make in the best of times; the prospect of placing a loved one in long-term care right now is even more difficult.
Recent Provincial Developments
The Dementia Society:
These are positive steps forward in a system that has been traditionally designed around the needs of organizations, rather than those of residents and their families, and staff. We all know we can all do better.
New Models of Care
For the system to serve the needs of residents, new models are required. The Dementia Society supports approaches to care that are:
Fortunately, resident-centric models do exist, right here in our region and elsewhere, such as the Eden Alternative, Green House Project, Hogewey Villages, and Butterfly Homes. These models are based on values of mutual respect, compassion, collaboration, and the recognition that each person has the right to dignity and to participate fully in their environment.
Caregivers are Health Partners
As a community of support for people living with dementia, we understand how important the role of family and informal caregivers is to living well for each individual. During this pandemic, we have heard directly from caregivers supporting people living with dementia in residential care that they are accorded the status of regular visitors, rather than recognized as partners in care to individuals living with dementia, and as unpaid and informal supports to care organizations themselves. In many cases, there has been limited or no access to loved ones living in residence or LTC for months. In a resident-centric model, the inclusion of caregivers is integral. COVID-19 has underscored the deficit of the caregiver role. Now is our opportunity to recognize value and facilitate this important role.
Voice Your Support
Friends of the Dementia Society can lend their support to like-minded community partners. Through their efforts, you can amplify your voice to be heard by decision-makers and encourage changes needed to better support people living with dementia, their families, friends, and staff of residential care, now.
To learn more about the current state of care, and calls for immediate action to address shortfalls in residential care, and to voice your concerns, visit:
Position de la Société de la démence concernant les modèles de soins de longue durée et les répercussions de la COVID-19
La COVID-19 aura eu d’innombrables répercussions sur chacun d’entre nous, mais il est clair que les résidents d’établissements de soins de longue durée et de maisons de retraite – dont la grande majorité ont une démence –, leur famille, les proches aidants et le personnel des établissements d’hébergement ont été touchés de façon disproportionnée.
Ce que nous disent les statistiques
Nous sommes fort préoccupés par ces statistiques et les faits sous-jacents. En tant que prestataire de services reconnu pour les soins en matière de démence à Ottawa et dans le comté de Renfrew, nous entendons parler tous les jours du stress que subissent les proches aidants et les personnes ayant reçu un diagnostic de démence et vivant dans des établissements d’hébergement. Car il est difficile de ne pouvoir voir ceux qu’on aime ou de constater – de loin – que la santé d’un proche décline soudainement sans qu’on soit en mesure d’apporter son aide ou de lui tenir la main. En outre, nous savons qu’un grand nombre de familles attendent d’avoir accès à un milieu de soins mieux adapté pour une personne aimée, à l’heure où la progression de la maladie épuise le modèle de soins à domicile et les ressources des familles qui doivent faire face à la situation. Déjà difficile à prendre en temps normal, la décision de placement dans un établissement de soins de longue durée devient encore plus ardue en temps de pandémie.
Nouveautés sur la scène provinciale
La Société de la démence :
Il s’agit de mesures positives et progressistes dans un système conçu à l’origine en fonction des besoins des organisations plutôt que de ceux des résidents, de leur famille et du personnel. Nous savons tous que nous pouvons faire mieux.
Nouveaux modèles de soins
Il faut mettre en place de nouveaux modèles permettant au système de mieux répondre aux besoins des résidents. La Société de la démence appuie un modèle de soins présentant les caractéristiques suivantes :
Heureusement, il existe ici même dans la région et ailleurs des modèles axés sur les résidents, comme Eden Alternative, Green House Project, Hogewey Villages et Butterfly Homes. Ces modèles reposent sur des valeurs telles que le respect mutuel, la compassion, la collaboration et la reconnaissance du droit de chaque personne à la dignité et à la participation entière dans son milieu.
Make a Connection, Take a Break! Dementia can be highly isolating and the recent social distancing requirements haven’t helped. Make a Connection, Take a Break is an opportunity for people living with dementia to enjoy a regular, safe visit with a new ...
Make a Connection, Take a Break! Dementia can be highly isolating and the recent social distancing requirements haven’t helped. Make a Connection, Take a Break is an opportunity for people living with dementia to enjoy a regular, safe visit w ...
Make a Connection, Take a Break! Dementia can be highly isolating and the recent social distancing requirements haven’t helped. Make a Connection, Take a Break is an opportunity for people living with dementia to enjoy a regular, safe visit with a new ...