Why There’s Really NO Place Like Home

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As we age, certain activities of daily living that are essential to maintaining our independence, such as preparing meals, housekeeping, accessing transportation, and doing laundry may become more difficult and challenging. Significantly, about one-quarter of Canadians aged 75 and over has at least one unmet need with respect to their activities of daily living, and the number of older adults with unmet needs could be underestimated because they may not know what supports are available or how to best access them.

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Are Emergency Departments Really NO PLACE for Older People?

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In November, the provincial adviser on health quality, Health Quality Ontario (HQO), published a report that found visits to Emergency Departments (EDs) across Ontario were going up. Their reason? Our ageing population. In 2014/2015, there were 5.9 million visits to EDs in Ontario, and 1.3 million of them were made by Ontarians aged 65 and over. That was up 29 per cent over the 1 million visits older adults made in 2008/2009 – the largest increase of any age group.

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Our ageing population is a year older, but are we a year wiser?

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The baby boom generation that arose in 1946 unleashed a wave of student protests in the 1960s, bought homes and started families in the 1970s and 1980s, and then started turning 65 in 2011. Just a few years ago, one of the largest generations that Canada has ever seen started leaving the workforce to enter retirement, and in 2015, for the first time in Canada, Statistics Canada reported that there were more Canadians over 65 than there were under 15, sparking numerous articles and discussions about a “grey tsunami” that will raise costs and put more stress on our health care system.

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