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Business Environment Seniors the HERALD SECTION B Wednesday January E HILLS B Palmer School News Entertainment It s obvious that Joseph and Mary Gooch of Acton share a great love ana it s s love that has kept Mr Gooch out of a nursing home or home for the aged You see Mr needs constant care which provided by Mrs Gooch and though she loves her husband she admits its hard on her She hoping proposed government changes to long term care and will help both their lives Herald Photo by Lisa Pot Love means togetherness By LISA POT The Herald he Ontano government is giving Hills residents a chance to suggest changes to its long term care system and one Acton woman said she has lots to say On Feb 6 in the Regional Police Station in Georgetown and on Feb 11 at the Royal Canadian Legion in Acton residents will have an opportunity to provide input on the government s Redirection of Long Term care and Support Ser vice in Ontano In its redirection document the government says it is planning to expand services and improve quality of long term care services Mary of Acton depends on these proposed changes in long term care to change her life and plans to be at the meetings to tell her tale Her story is a common and sad one It all began the year before Mary and Joseph got married Joseph at the age of began feeling in his chest Mrs said doctors diagnosed Mr Gooch as having angina At first the were in frequent and Mr continued with his job at the Robinson screw factory in Milton and fathered two children with Mary who is years his junior The got progressively worse and in the last four years as Mr Gooch entered his ninth decade the attacks left him weak and frail He cannot walk without the aid of a stroller is blind in one eye and needs physical help going to the bathroon to bed getting dressed and eating Mrs said doctors have also diagnosed Mr as suffering from dementia an unsoundness of the mind resulting from organic or functional disorders This makes him very depressed moody fretful and often as helpless and demanding as a newborn baby said Mrs Though Mr Gooch at 92 is the person who suffers with the diseases in reality both the Gooch s are victims Mr is the victim of his body but Mrs is the victim of the system because in order to keep her husband out of an institution she is tied to her home taking care of her husband I cant send him away it would break his heart com pletely says Mary Gooch caregiver It hard she says simply 1 get depressed at times and frustrated that he is the way he is Because of the love and devotion she has for her husband she won t consider putting him in a nursing home I won t send him away because he hate it she says It would break his heart completely I d also miss him terribly And so day by day she willingly takes care of her husband even though she s sacrificing her own personal life to do it Fortunately the Gooch s are eligible for home care and Mrs Gooch makes use of it once a week to allow her a day to do the grocery shopping and visit friends real problem with the current health care system is the lack of financial support and supportive- care seniors housing Because she has to stay home full time to take care of her husband she cannot maintain a job and being under age 65 does receive old age pension They now rely on Mr s pension but if he dies before she ns shell have to rely on her limited savings leaving her vulnerable Her financial situation also fects her living arrangements Now the Gooch live in an apartment building but really they can t afford to They need fordable housing for seniors but there just enough seniors housing in the Hills area She has had their name on the waiting lists for all the seniors homes in the area for months and not one call for a suitable room has come If I go to the meeting 1 11 tell them we need more senior apart more help in these apart ments for the healthy spouse she said It would be nice to have someone help me and make my life happier Until then Mrs Gooch will con to support and care for her husband and wait for the time when the government will recognize the contribution she making to the health care system and support and care for her Longterm care takes new direction For the first time the govern merit is undertaking a major overhaul of its health care system and how it meets the special needs of seniors and disabled persons It s called the Redirection of Long Term Cart and Support vices and local health officials A ant the disabled seniors and caregivers in and Hills to provide input We want to expand services and improve quality says the On government The government is holding com munity consultation meetings across the province for people to say what think In Halton Hills the meetings will be held on eb from 7 00 pm in the Regional Police Station on Guelph St in Georgetown and on Feb 11 from 7 10 m at the Royal Canadian Legion on Wright Avenue in Acton The Redirection is focusing on long term care which includes ser vices such as Meals on Wheels nur sing homemaking volunteer tran spoliation and adult da programs and respite The government s Ministry of Health Ministry of Communit and Social Services and Ministry of Citizenship are planning to expand ices and improve their quality Among the proposed changes ill be the establishment of a service coordination agency which would help people at home as long as possible and help people who vvint to leave hospitals homes for the aged or nursing homes to find com mumt alternatives Area Manager of Peel Community Health and Support Services is particularly in terested in the service coordination The stringent eligibility requireme nts for home care could become more flexible says Halton Region Home Care Director Now seniors sure who to call when they need help she said but if there was one agency they could call that could deal with whatever needs they have it would really reduce the confusion Other changes the government is proposing is reducing the cost to m for homemaking services they need to live at home for adult day programs and for care in sing homes To Sandra Shadwick Director of the Region Home Care Program this sounds like good news Her service provides funded care to approximately adults and children a year in But she says it could provide a lot more people with service if the Home Care Program didn t have such strict eligibility requirements She explained that for someone to receive funded care they must require three professional services such as nursing physiotherapy therapy or speech therapy If someone just needs services they don for home care she said Unless they require services have to pay for sup port care We re hoping with this lion it will allow us to be able to have more flexible eligibility requirements so we Can meet more needs In its public consultation paper on the redirection the government states up to 90 per cent of all assistance to seniors and people with disabilities come from family md friends not from the formal programs The consultation paper also con firms thdt people have often ex pressed their preference to live at There should be a builtin reward for people who stay at home to take care of a loved one says Brenda Elias home in their own communities in stead of going into a hospital home for the aged or nursing home Yet Ontano continues to on in it ions spending close to per cent of the monev for long term care on them rather than improving community based services But that is going to change reveals the document Funding will be provided to elderly people and persons with physical disabilities to live in dependantlj for as long is possible stated the document The amount of new funds will be increased every year over the next five years and by an ad ditional 647 million annually will be invested in long term care and support services Ms believes taking care of disabled persons and seniors at home is less costly than placing them in homes Studies prove that over the long term home care is very cost effective she said People make great sacrifices to stay at home and be caregivers she said There should be a built in reward for people who choose to do that some sort of incentive for them to carry on when the going gets rough Now the system makes them feel penalized for doing that She wants to see more supportive housing built in Halton for seniors like Mr and Mrs Once the community consultation process has been completed across the province the next step in the redirection will be the formation of Community Planning Groups Ms said these groups will be set up in every region review the findings of the consultation process and put into action their recommendations She says in Halton the first changes in the system could come as early as because Halton Region has already done a lot of work on how it can bet meet the needs of its seniors