Senior Programs and Services
Elderly people with a variety of medical conditions and functional impairments can benefit from a variety of health and social services in Canada. In most cases, such services will help retirees continue to live at home.
Every senior citizen in Canada has the right to receive medical services.
Special emphasis on services relevant to retirees with disabilities and/or chronic diseases. Below you will find information on the services provided by the health insurance funds and under their responsibility in accordance with Candian law.
Programs and services for seniors
1. Promotion of healthy lifestyles and preventive medicine:
- Physical activity
- Proper nutrition
- Vaccination
- Questions and answers about seasonal flu
- Recommendations for the elderly: behavior in the heat
- Dangers of cold for the elderly
- Recommendations to family members in cases of a sharp deterioration in the condition of an elderly parent
- Drug treatment
- Health of the mouth and teeth
2. Home health care
Any senior patient has the right to receive at-home treatment and procedures covered by health care insurance. Home health services are provided to patients whose condition does not allow them to use the services in the clinic.
3. Medical, functional rehabilitation – for eligible elderly people.
4. Consultation with a geriatrician and general geriatric assessment:
- Geriatrician (geriatric specialist) – a doctor who specializes in the treatment of the elderly, that is, the diagnosis and treatment of diseases typical of old age in order to prevent the deterioration of health and general condition.
- Geriatric consultation. Consultation is provided when a family doctor refers a patient to a consultation on diagnosis, treatment, or as needed and / or at the request of the patient’s family, especially in cases where there is a sharp deterioration in functioning, cognitive or mental.
- Consultation, diagnosis and treatment for cognitive impairment, including impairment of memory, thinking, dementia, etc. The consultation is provided by a geriatric physician and also consists of a general geriatric assessment of the patient’s condition. Sometimes cognitive diagnostics is carried out by a neuropathologist or psychiatrist. It should be emphasized that the test covers both physical and mental aspects, medications and other parameters that can affect the patient’s cognitive state.
- General Geriatric Assessment is a service provided in polyclinics. The assessment is carried out by a geriatrician, a nurse, a social worker (specializing in retirees), and, as necessary, representatives of other professions: physiotherapist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, nutritionist, medical specialists in other fields, clinical pharmacologist, etc…
The services are generally intended for retirees aged 75 and over, whose physical health and functioning deteriorate as determined by a family doctor. We are also talking about the symptoms characteristic of people of this age, although they are not treated or diagnosed: repeated falls, unexplained deterioration in functioning, more than eight permanent medications, repeated hospitalizations, diseases requiring treatment by different specialists, etc.
Services are provided through the health insurance funds.
5. Seeking help in an emergency situation
- Doctor services on days and hours when health insurance funds are closed.
- Information about accessing the hospital emergency room.
- Calling an ambulance
Best services for seniors in Canada
Vaughan Recreation Services for seniors
Phone: 905-832-2281
Email: RecCSD@vaughan.ca
Location: City Hall, Level 300
2141 Major Mackenzie Drive
Vaughan, ON L6A 1T1
The Learning Centre for Senior Living
Address: 9711 47 Avenue Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada T6E 5M7
Phone: (780) 439-6473
Fax: (780) 433-3717
Yoga and Yoga Therapy for Seniors
Address: 344 Bloor Street West
Toronto, M5S 3A7, ON.
Phone: 416-303-4666