July 19, 2023
July 19, 2023 - The Toronto Senior Housing Corporation (TSHC), Baycrest Hospital and North Toronto Ontario Health Team (NT OHT) have partnered to help low-income seniors age at home and improve their quality of life.
This partnership will establish clinical rooms in TSHC buildings with local support teams and clinical services that will increase senior tenants’ access to services that they need, including healthcare, home care and social services. Service providers from NT OHT partners will support these rooms, working in the place where the tenants live. This new program will be complemented by digital solutions to create a barrier-free and responsive care system at the doorstep of TSHC senior tenants.
To launch this initiative, TSHC has signed a lease agreement with Baycrest Hospital for clinical rooms located within eight TSHC buildings. Baycrest will be the lead collaborator on behalf of the NT OHT partners for this implementation. Work is already underway to initiate the program in four of the buildings, with plans to expand in the coming months.
This project was developed in response to TSHC’s Integrated Service Model, which works to improve tenant access to housing services, healthcare and community support, while building trusting relationships between tenants and staff. The approach puts tenant voices and co-design at the forefront, in alignment with the findings of the
Seniors Health and Wellness study conducted by Health Commons Lab in August 2022. The study emphasized the need for close engagement and co-design with housing tenants to understand their local needs. The study stated that there should be “no shortcuts to listening.”
Accordingly, this new program was informed by comprehensive consultations with tenants through door-knocking surveys, lobby engagements, tenant voting and co-design sessions to enable tenants to drive the priority and structure of the service delivery. In addition, consultations will be repeated to ensure the program is refined and adjusted to meet tenants’ changing needs.
This project is achievable thanks to the increasing membership of the NT OHT: a group of hospitals, primary care providers, and home and community care providers that are working together to provide easier access to care for people in North Toronto. Currently, membership includes Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, SPRINT Seniors Care, Vibrant Health, LOFT, Home and Community Care Support Services Toronto Central, SE Health, UNISON Health, VHA Homecare Health and Baycrest Hospital.
About Baycrest:
Baycrest is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Baycrest is home to a robust research and innovation network, including one of the world’s top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute; the scientific headquarters of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, Canada’s largest national dementia research initiative; and the Baycrest-powered Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults and an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals. Through these initiatives, Baycrest has remained at the forefront of the fight to defeat dementia. Our organization works to create a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration, and fulfillment. Founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information, please visit:
www.baycrest.org
For media inquiries, please contact:
Baycrest
Orsolya Soos
Manager, Marketing
osoos@baycrest.org
416-785-2500 x6579