Kevin Harding was devastated when he read about a 70-year married couple that was separated during their final days in 2006, against their own and their families’ wishes because of the “first available bed” policy.
Fanny Albo was transferred in frail condition on short notice by ambulance to a residential care facility an hour and 40 minutes away from the hospital she and her husband Al were admitted to in Trail, BC, setting the stage for a tragic story: After a hasty and emotionally distraught goodbye, Fanny died alone two days later. Al passed away less than two weeks afterwards.
This story – which sparked public debate and an investigation ordered by B.C. health officials – is highlighted in a report by the Canadian Co-op Association’s National Task Force on Co-op Elder Care. Based on the recommendations put forward by the task force, BC Co-op Association is spearheading a national elder care co-operative project, an initiative to pilot co-operative models of elder care and support across Canada.
Harding, the project co-ordinator, says stories like this one happen because of the combination of an over-stressed system and a model that is based on the goal of reaching its funding capacity.
“The elder care co-op model can avoid those stresses by being responsive in communities, by focusing on provision of services rather than profits meeting a goal,” he says. “The concern of the co-op model is that members of a co-op receive the services they need. They’re not designed on high and plopped into a community.”
The trans-province project is now accepting applications from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador from seniors’ groups, co-op developers, community partners and others interested in creating models that fall under three key types identified by the task force as the most promising for addressing elder care needs.
The three models are:
- Seniors’ co-op housing projects, where people can purchase a unit in a co-op housing that is built for senior support, including life-lease arrangements;
- At home aging, which focuses on bringing together a collection of services that seniors would likely need in their homes, such as health practitioners, transportation services or social services; and
- Co-operatively owned and operated seniors’ residential care facilities
Applications will be evaluated based on a set of collaboratively decided upon criteria, including the clarity of the project description and rationale, capacity and service to seniors.
Harding stresses the importance of giving communities and seniors the ability to decide how services should be designed and administered so that they meet local needs, rather than a model that is based on a province-wide analysis that is applied across the board.
“One of the advantages with the co-op model is that they have the capacity to bring in members and residents at a rate that is sustainable and that meets the needs and provides services that are needed. A co-op is always focused on making sure that it can provide those services,” he adds.
The project is being funded by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnership Program, which encourages the participation of various sectors in building the capacity of the not-for-profit sector in Canada.
“Under previous funding arrangements, projects were all considered in competition with each other. There wasn’t a great amount of consideration around co-ops with similar aims,” explains Harding. “We’ve brought together four or five partner groups that know how co-op housing works and we’re working with senior agencies to make sure all these resources are together in one place.”
The team is exploring the idea of turning the project into a social franchise, building things like how-to kits so that any group that wants to start a seniors co-op has data and examples of what works without having to reinvent the wheel.
The project will provide each successful applicant with up to $20,000 of seed funding for three co-ops in B.C, two in Alberta, and one each in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.
Successful applicants will be contacted in November to submit full proposals.
“The best case scenario coming out of this elder care project, where we’re piloting and testing the waters, is some stellar example that’s building on examples we already know exist across the co-op world, and building a network of projects that can meet the baby boom generation that’s looking at living out their lives comfortably,” says Harding.
“That way we don’t have those crises of beds and splitting families, but dignified, inclusive situations where you can feel comfortable at home and have a say in your life. I think the co-op elder care project will provide that.”
Relevant Links:
More information on the Elder Care Project
Letter of Intent Submission Page
A version of this article was originally written for the British Columbia Co-operative Association (BCCA) news service. This repost, for which we received permission, follows the style guidelines of the original post. To learn more about generative newsroom options for your organization or community, please contact peter(at)axiomnews.ca.
