Aging Well at Home Working Group achievements in 2023

The Aging Well at Home working group was created to encourage new ways of thinking about supporting older adults in the community to live longer in their homes with the right resources. 

“In 2024 our team will be looking to synergize the work of the Aging Well at Home and the Home Care Modernization Project,” says Dr. Catherine Donnelly, health services researcher at Queen’s University and Co-Chair of the Aging Well at Home working group. 

“We are seeking to be a collaborative focused on the aging population in the region and will continue to bring together the voices of partners and community members who are working to support older adults to age at home in their communities.” 

In 2023, the Aging Well at Home group made progress within three key sectors:

• Providing links to community support programs for those who are living independently.
• Embedding home and community services within a Health Home to help provide better integration and coordination with primary care for those older adults who are receiving home care services.
• Hosting interprofessional older adult rounds to facilitate collaboration across community sectors while providing additional social support and coordination for those at highest risk of moving to long-term care.

This year, the working group plans to formally evaluate a newly created single-point referral system, a project identified by the Aging Well at Home working group and supported through a collaboration between the Loyalist Family Health Team, led by Dr. Mary Kate Gazendam and the Community Support Sector, led by Lousie Moody.