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the HERALD Sunday January Community Services for the disabled woefully inadequate For six years Detores Presswood left of Georgetown has been taken care of eight hours a day by private nurses such as Karen Rice right of who help her with meals and personal care Presswood suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair Now the Insurance that paid for the private nursing has run out and Mrs Presswood must rely on government services such as Home Care and the Ontario March of Dimes which cant offer her the type of care shes become accustomed to She said the home care system in Ontario is inadequate and wants change Herald Photo By I ISA POT The Herald Delores of Georgetown has multiple sclerosis She cant walk clean her home go to bed or even go to the bathroom by herself or years she s had private sing care for eight hours a day everyday so she could stay her own Georgetown home with her husband The private care was paid for through her husband s company insurance plan But now the insurance has run out and Mrs Presswood cant afford to pay for private in home care So she like many other handicapped persons who want to stay in their own home is relying on the govern ment system of home care which she says is inadequate for her needs It seems the government is always talking about keeping poeple in their own homes and keeping them out of institutions said Mrs Presswood Why can do that for me People tell me I should go to a home where they can take care of me she said But why should This is my home and I paid taxes all my life to have this home So she wrote the Ministry of Com munity and Social Services which informed her a letter signed by Assistant Deputy Minister Michael Innis that while it will not be possible to provide the same hours of nursing care as you have received privately Home Care and the Ontario March of Dimes will work together to coordinate the most effective use of service can lose a lot more than your licence Ministry of the Attorney General available to meet your needs To be eligible for Home Care patients must meet certain criteria and be referred by a medical doc tor said Reed Davis the Supervisor of Rehabilitative Ser vices for Home Cape She said Home Care provides professional services nursing physiotherapy occupational therapy speech language pathology and support services nutntional counselling homemaking Wheels etc Ms Reed Davis said each referral is assessed individually and depending on the clients needs can receive a maximum of four visits per hours or up to visits per week The Ontario March of Dimes organization provides only support services such as bathing dressing grooming and transferring patients along with light meal i According to Shirley th Assistant Program Coordinator the Milton Chapter of the March of Dimes the maximum amount of service provided per patient is three hours per day or hours a week But Mrs fears the combined service of Home Care and the Ontario March of Dimes just isnt enough She fears not only for herself but for her 68 yearold husband Jim who has back problems He has been taking care of her at night moving her from chair to bed and bathroom which is all he can manage with his aching back She said he cant possibly do this for her during the day If he has to he could end up in the hospital which means she will also end up in hospital because she can t be left alone in the home The problem of lifting her could be alleviated if the in stall a lifting device in their home These devices of which there are a number of different models would enable nurses or her husband to move her with little strain to them selves However the lifting devices range in price from and Mrs said as a couple who lives off their pension they cant afford the system John Roe the Community Plan ning Coordinator for North with the Community Health and Support Services office said he agrees changes need to be made in the governments current system of home care We need more in home vices he said Its preferable to have people stay in their own homes rather than go to an institution He said the government is trying to change the system with the Redirection of Long Term Care and Support Services in Ontario plan In a public consultation paper on the redirection the government has issued as a key direction a Direct Funding Pilot Project paper states Many persons with disabilities want to choose the workers who assist them This would provide more control and less disruption in their lives The pilot would allow consumers to hire train and pay workers directly to provide attendant care in the home According to this document the government is trying to help people like Mrs Until changes are made however Mrs Presswood and others like her are going to have to survive with a system they feel doesnt fulfill their DISTRIBUTORS SPORTING GOODS CLOTHING SPECIALIZING IN TEAM CORPORATE WEAR 8730500 71 Mom St Georgetown