ocsa-new

ojochico@careondemand.org

Capacity Builders

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 19:47:23 GMT

Training for Personal Support Workers and other Frontline Community Health Workers

About

Since 2001, Capacity Builders, a division of the Ontario Community Support Association , has been delivering affordable, high-impact training and professional development to organizations in community healthcare and other sectors across Ontario.

Through our roster of 20+ experienced trainers , we’ve delivered hundreds of custom webinars and live, in-person workshops in urban, rural and remote areas of Ontario.

We’ll work with your schedule to deliver practical, actionable training that can be applied right away in everyday work scenarios. Breakouts and group work give participants the chance to apply new skills and fosters joint problem-solving.

Our interactive virtual workshops give frontline professionals in community healthcare the chance to make connections while equipping them to address some of the most pressing and practical challenges they face day to day.

Services

Transformative On-Site and Virtual Training

Website

Phone

416-256-3010 or 800-267-6272

Caredove

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:59:19 GMT

Everything you need to streamline access to service and improve care transitions, today.

About

Caredove is referral management software that helps community health agencies effectively reach new clients and onboard them, efficiently. Agencies can establish trusted local care networks to respond to community health challenges.

Join the 800+ organizations across Canada in using Caredove to create trusted networks of care partners with secure and easy to use tools.

Services

Health & Information Management Software
eReferrals
Custom Forms
Integrations
Caredove WebBuilder

Website

Address

25 Mississaga St E, Suite 5

Orillia, ON L3V 1V4

CareOnDemand

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 16:34:13 GMT

Your Backup Staffing & After Hours Support of Choice

About

CareOnDemand is a service provider and a staffing agency that has a built-in navigational tool with a capacity to provide urgent staffing (PSW, RPN & RN) coverage as fast as 2 hours. Hospitals, facilities, and not-for-profit organizations are enjoying much support from our highly trained PSWs and Nurses that takes service requests as it comes. The tool prioritizes staff that has been with the facility and clients in the past. An excellent and dependable option for back filling staff at the most critical times when and where needed.

Services

Emergency & Backup PSW/Nursing Support
In-Home Care
In-Hospital Care
Ambulatory Care
Congregate Setting
Housekeeping
Transitional Care
Respite Care
Palliative Care
Incontinence Products & Supplies.

Website

Phone

647-219-1432

647-348-8588

Email

Address

150 Duncan Mill Rd Unit 2,

Toronto, ON

M3B 3M4

CARF Canada

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 16:48:02 GMT

CARF Canada

About

CARF Canada, part of the CARF International group of companies, is an independent, non-profit accreditor of health and human services. Recognized and approved by territories and provinces throughout Canada, CARF works in partnership with service providers in their efforts to meet internationally recognized standards for quality, accountability, and continuous improvement. The mission of CARF is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that centre on enhancing the lives of persons served.

CARF has many programs suitable for community providers including Personal Support Services, Home and Community Services, Community Housing, Community Integration, and Supportive Housing.

Services

Accreditation Services
E ducation and Training

Download CARF Program Descriptions

Website

Phone

1-888-261-6531 ext. 2198

Email

Karen Crichton, kcrichton@carf.org

Address

501-10154 104 Street NW

Edmonton, AB T5J 1A7, Canada

CILT

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 15:32:47 GMT

Centre for Independent Living Toronto (CILT)

About

The Centre for Independent Living Toronto (CILT) promotes the principles of the Independent Living approach which are: Self-governance, self-help, self-determination, community (grass roots) based, choice, control, autonomy, and empowerment.

Direct Funding is an innovative program enabling adults with physical disabilities to become employers of their own attendants. The program is administered by the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT). CILT is accredited by Independent Living Canada. CILT is one of 25 members of IL Canada and one of 12 members of the Ontario Network of Independent Living Centres (ONILC).

Participants on the Direct Funding program have attendants assist with routine activities of living, such as dressing, grooming and bathing. As employers, participants are fully responsible for managing their own employees within a budget that is developed on an individual basis.

Different people have different needs. Direct Funding is intended as an option suited to people with physical disabilities who are willing and able to take on the extra management responsibilities (and possible risks) of the program.

Available province wide, the Direct Funding Program enables adults with physical disabilities to receive monthly funds for attendants of their own choosing, to schedule as they please - whether their needs are at home, at work, or in the community. Individuals self-manage their lives, making their own choices with greater flexibility and control.

Services

Attendant Services:
Direct Funding, Attendant Service Application Centre (ASAC)
CORE Programs:
Independent Living Skills Training
Peer Support
Parent with a Disability Network
Service Navigation (Information and Referrals)

Website

Phone

Direct Funding Hotline: 1-800-354-9950,

416-599-2458 ext. 227

Email

dfinfo@cilt.ca

Address

Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) Inc. 902-365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON M4W 3L4

Dallas Mercer Consulting

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 18:33:17 GMT

We work to keep you working.

About

Founded in 2002, Dallas Mercer Consulting Inc. (DMC) is a national provider of Disability Management Services supporting over 750 employers in managing their workers’ compensation and sick leave claims. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, DMC serves as a trusted partner, offering comprehensive solutions tailored to each client's unique needs.

As a third-party entity, DMC brings a refreshing blend of objectivity and consistency to the intricate realm of workers' compensation and sick leave management. Our holistic approach encompasses all aspects of workers' compensation, sick leave, attendance management, and long-term leave, catering to public and private organizations across union, non-union, and multi-union settings. By leveraging our extensive knowledge and experience, we empower our clients to navigate these complex landscapes with confidence and ease.

At DMC, our mission transcends mere service provision – it's about optimizing employee engagement, minimizing lost time, increasing productivity and ultimately, driving tangible results.

Services

Workers' Compensation Claims Management
Sick leave/STD/LTD & Absence Management
Objections & Appeals Representation
Return to Work Planning
STD Adjudication
Accommodation Support Services
Psychological Health Claims Services
Harassment Investigations
Supervisor/Manager Training

Website

Phone

709-364-3900 ext. 128

Email

solutions@dmconsulting.ca

Address

47 Beclin Road

Mount Pearl, NL

A1N 5G4

Community health sector launches campaign profiling staffing challenges and impact to patient care

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 13:00:01 GMT

Sector calls for investments to close the growing wage gap for frontline workers

Toronto, October 17, 2024 – Ten provincial associations representing Ontario’s community health sector are raising awareness of a growing wage gap impacting the care millions of Ontarians rely on.

A new campaign launched today, entitled For Us. For You., highlights the need for urgent investments in Ontario’s community health sector to ensure crucial services and supports remain available to meet the needs of Ontarians of all ages.

Ontario’s community health sector is made up of over 200,000 workers in primary care, mental health and addictions organizations, home and community care, long-term care, and other community health settings. These workers help provide the right care in the right setting and keep Ontarians out of busy emergency departments and hospitals.

Despite their critical roles and the rising cost of living, community health workers face a combined wage gap of over $2 billion compared to their peers doing similar work in other publicly funded settings, including in hospitals and schools.

This growing wage gap is causing unprecedented staffing shortages, impacting the care Ontarians rely on. A recent survey conducted by the associations indicated that 94 per cent of community health organizations identify compensation as the biggest challenge with hiring and keeping staff. As a result, over 80 per cent are seeing wait times for services and supports continue to grow.

For Us. For You. wants to work with Ontario’s government to:

Invest over $500 million each year over the next five years to close the wage gap, in addition to sustainable and ongoing annual increases in line with projected inflation;
Address Bill 124 shortfalls that continue to impact the community health sector; and
Establish a working group with government to develop a sustainable approach to building and supporting the community health sector workforce.

Closing the wage gap means care in the community will be there when the people of Ontario need it, now and in the future.

QUOTES

“The growing wage gap is more than just a financial issue – it threatens the very foundation of care in Ontario’s communities. Rising staffing shortages and increasing wait times for mental health and addictions services have put the health and well-being of Ontarians at risk. Paying community health workers fair wages means better access to care, when and where it is needed. Our coalition is ready to work together with this government to close the wage gap and build a community health sector that meets the needs of all Ontarians.”

- Karen O’Connor, CEO, Addictions and Mental Health Ontario

"Not-for-profit seniors' care providers, including long-term care, have faced a staffing crisis for many years now, including well before the pandemic. We're asking the government to close the $2-billion wage gap for community health workers, so we can ensure that staff in senior care and other community settings receive equal wages for equal work, and to ensure our members are properly staffed to give Ontario's seniors the care they need, when they need it."

- Lisa Levin, CEO, AdvantAge Ontario

“Community health workers – from dietitians and physiotherapists to nurses and health promoters, and everyone else who helps make up the primary health care team – are the foundation of our health system. These folks are the core members of community health organizations, which people in Ontario depend on every single day to stay well and out of the hospital. Community health workers, and the teams they are part of, are being left behind. Many teams in Ontario have staffing gaps due to the wage inequities that unequal pay creates. For health care to be convenient and connected and delivered in the community, we need the Ontario government to step up now and pay community health workers fairly. The local health care services that people in communities across the province expect to be there for them require urgent government support, so we can recruit and retain dedicated and committed staff in the months and years ahead.”

- Sarah Hobbs, CEO, Alliance for Healthier Communities

“Primary care teams are experiencing ongoing recruitment and retention challenges, driven by wage disparities and the inability to offer competitive compensation. These staffing shortages result in fewer professionals available to provide the care patients need, leading to delays and reduced access to services. Addressing pay parity is a practical and necessary step to ensure we can attract and retain the skilled professionals required to maintain consistent, high-quality primary care for all Ontarians.”

- Dr. Kevin Samson, President, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario

“The community mental health and addictions workforce continues to struggle with staff retention and difficulty attracting new workers at a time when there is a surge in demand for our services. Meanwhile, the wage gap for the community health sector continues to grow. Our staff deserve to be paid an equivalent living wage as that of their counterparts in health and other sectors so that they can focus on providing quality care for Ontarians.”

- Camille Quenneville, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario

“There is a crisis in child and youth mental health that we can’t solve without addressing workforce shortages. Too many families are turning to hospitals in distress because of long wait times and a lack of treatment availability at community-based child and youth mental health centres. This is further exacerbated by frontline vacancies and high turnover because our wages can’t compete with hospitals and schools.”

- Tatum Wilson, CEO, Children’s Mental Health Ontario 

“By addressing wage disparity, we can strengthen the entire system and ensure that Ontarians have access to the comprehensive care they need, when and where they need it.”

- Susan Somogyi, CEO, Family Service Ontario

“For Indigenous communities and the Indigenous primary health care organizations that serve them, community health workers are inclusive of Traditional Healing practitioners that play a key role in ensuring that First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples have access to culturally safe care spaces for integrated primary health care. The health human resources crises due to the growing wage gap leads to an inability to retain staff to continue creating and sustaining culturally safe environments. Addressing the wage gap means putting funding and resources in place to ensure community health workers are compensated equitably so that they can continue to advance Indigenous cultural safety in all care spaces.”

- Caroline Lidstone- Jones, CEO, Indigenous Primary Health Care Council

“Primary care has been battling a human resources crisis for the past three years that continues to escalate, fueled by wage inequalities and a lack of government investment in our highly valuable and skilled workforce. Recruitment and retention issues have become a daily concern as staff vacancy and turnover rates have reached 40 per cent annually. Primary care is not sustainable as the foundation of the health care system if we do not receive an ongoing equitable investment to keep the workforce in place.”

- Valerie Winberg, President, Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association

“Ontario’s entire community health sector is facing a staffing crisis caused by the wage gap. In the home and community care sector, organizations are battling 20 per cent average frontline vacancy rates, and it is becoming more difficult to recruit and retain the workers we need. The government needs to continue to invest in the home and community care workforce to close the wage gap and ensure that Ontarians have access to the right care in the right place.”

- Deborah Simon, CEO, Ontario Community Support Association

About the Campaign: For Us. For You. represents Ontario’s community health sector coming together in support of our workers and the Ontarians we care for. The campaign is a collaborative effort by 10 provincial associations, representing over 200,000 community workers who together care for millions of Ontarians, seeking to work with the Ontario government to find solutions for the health human resources facing the sector.

The associations include:

Addictions and Mental Health Ontario;
AdvantAge Ontario;
Alliance for Healthier Communities;
Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario; 
Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario; 
Children’s Mental Health Ontario; 
Family Service Ontario;
Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic Association
Ontario Community Support Association

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext 242

OCSA celebrates Community Support Month 2024

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:29:39 GMT

October is Community Support Month

Ontario – October 1, 2024 – The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is proud to recognize October as Community Support Month, a time to celebrate the vital contributions of community support service (CSS) organizations across the province.

These services range from falls prevention programs and exercise classes to Adult Day Programs, Meals on Wheels, transportation to medical appointments, and much more. The work of CSS staff and volunteers ensures that individuals can live independently and safely, reducing the need for hospital visits and long-term care placements.

Throughout the month, OCSA will join with our members to highlight these services and their impacts on individuals, families and communities. This year, we are pleased to add a new service celebration date to the calendar. October 17 ^th has been designated as Falls Prevention and Exercise Day. This day will highlight programs like VON's SMART program , which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

“CSS organizations provide invaluable services to our communities,” said Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA. “This month, we encourage everyone to take a moment to acknowledge the hard work of these dedicated professionals and volunteers who go above and beyond to support Ontarians.”

In celebration of Community Support Month, OCSA member organizations will host a series of events and activities across the province, including community workshops, informational sessions, and opportunities for the public to engage with local support service organizations. These initiatives aim to foster greater awareness of the resources available and to encourage community involvement.

OCSA invites Ontarians to participate in activities happening in your community. Share your experience online using the hashtag #CSM2024

About OCSA
The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) champions a strong, sustainable home and community care sector in Ontario. The association represents over 220 not-for-profit organizations deliver high-quality services that help seniors, people with disabilities, and those with complex care needs remain independent in their homes and communities. These proactive and cost-effective services prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. For more information visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext 242

Give Ontarians The Care That's Needed - OCSA launches their 2025 Pre-Budget submission

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:28:25 GMT

Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) calls for urgent investments in Home and Community Care

Toronto, Ontario – September, 2024 – The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) has released its 2025 pre-budget submission report, The Care That’s Needed – The Care That’s Wanted, highlighting the critical need for increased investment in home and community care services across the province.

As Ontario’s aging population continues to grow, so too does the demand for services that allow seniors and people with disabilities to live safely and independently at home. The report outlines the steps needed to address the urgent challenges facing the sector, including expanding service capacity and improving workforce retention. Among its key recommendations, OCSA calls for:

A 5% funding increase to expand access to essential services, such as personal support, Meals on Wheels, transportation, and other community-based supports that allow individuals to remain in their homes.
A 3% wage increase for frontline workers, who provide critical care to vulnerable populations, ensuring fair compensation and supporting the sector’s ability to retain experienced staff and deliver high-quality care.

OCSA emphasizes that despite the growing demand for home and community care, the sector is struggling to keep pace. Waitlists for services are getting longer, and chronic staff shortages are making it increasingly difficult for people to receive timely and appropriate care.

"Without immediate investment, Ontario risks leaving many individuals and families without the support they need to live independently," said Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA. "We are at a pivotal moment. The solutions are clear, but action must be taken now to prevent the crisis from worsening."

The pre-budget submission is a direct appeal to the Ontario government to prioritize home and community care in the upcoming budget. These services are not only cost-effective but are essential in supporting the health and well-being of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext 242

corporateprograms@goodlifefitness.com

Eugeria

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 19:36:39 GMT

Products for improving the quality of life of older adults and people living with dementia

About

Eugeria Care is a purpose-driven organization dedicated to empowering older adults, caregivers and care practitioners through tailored products and useful information focusing on dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment.

Products

Everyday essentials for aging well
Autonomy and safety tools
Engaging activities adapted to changing needs
Care and well-being support
Caregiver resources
Professional tools for care environments

Website

Phone

1-855-554-3742

Address

4020 rue Saint-Ambroise, #497, Montréal, QC H4C 2C7

GoldCare

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 19:16:32 GMT

A trusted provider of cloud-based, healthcare information management software.

About

GoldCare, backed by Constellation Software, is a trusted, leading provider of cloud-based, healthcare information management software serving home & community, children’s services and long-term care organizations. For over 30 years our team of experts have tailored our solutions to our customers to deliver an exceptional, client centred, digital experience. We deliver Innovation, Integration and Interoperability in support of healthcare today and beyond.

Services

Healthcare & Information Management Software

Website

Phone

1-800-463-2688

Email

info@mygoldcare.com

Address

600 Weber Street N., Unit C

Waterloo, ON

N2V 1K4

GoodLife Fitness

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:47:45 GMT

With a GoodLife Fitness membership, you can access: fitness classes, premium equipment, training programs, and much more.

Corporate Member Benefits

OCSA members have access to savings on all membership types

Waived enrollment fee exclusive to corporate partners (regular fee $99+tax)
Corporate rate may be extended to two family members
State-of-the-art cardio equipment
Free weights and weight machines
Showers available
World-renowned Group Fitness classes (select memberships only)
Professionally trained staff to assist you in achieving your goals
24-hour locations (select Clubs only)
Access to GoodLife Rewards
GoodLife On-Demand Included

How to Join

Interested OCSA member employees must contact memberservices@ocsa.on.ca for your unique 10-digit code and instructions to join.

Website

GoodLife Contact

1-800-287-4631

Address

GoodLife Fitness

710 Proudfoot Lane

London, ON

N6H 5G5

OASSIS Benefit Plans

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 19:01:44 GMT

Benefit Plans for Not-for-Profits.

About

OASSIS is OCSA's Preferred Partner for Employee Benefit Plans. OASSIS is an association plan and has been providing Employee Benefit Plans across Canada since 1990, with an exceptional history of serving its members in both service and in price. We offer affordable and comprehensive Employee Benefits to not-for-profit organizations of all sizes (1 to over 1,000 employees) exclusively. Benefits are available to full time, part time, and contract employees. View our 2022 OASSIS Brochure here (PDF).

OASSIS is a not-for-profit organization and sets its rates to cover claims and administrative costs only. At the end of the year any surplus goes back into the plan. OASSIS is not a broker and therefore no commissions are charged, resulting in greater savings for you. OASSIS has a history of stable rates, and we have a 5 year trend report that we can point to.

OASSIS offers hassle free, equitable access to employee benefits for all employees; no employees are denied coverage upon enrollment. We align ourselves with Industry Leaders. Health & Dental claims are processed by Canada Life, and Disability claims are processed by GWL.

Brokers do not invite OASSIS to provide a quote as we do not pay their fees or commissions. Please reach out to us directly for more information and/or a quote that mirrors your current coverage.

Services

Not-for-profit Group Benefit provider, exclusively for not-for-profit organizations
Extended Health Care and Dental
Health Care Spending Account (HCSA)
Life and Disability insurance
Critical Illness coverage
Employee Assistance Plans (EAP)
Retiree Health and Dental Insurance

Website

Phone

Toronto: 416 -781-2258 ext. 305
Toll Free: 1-888-233-5580 ext. 305

Email

Cameron Ponting, Sales Associate at cponting@oassisplan.com

Address

5407 Eglinton Ave West, Suite 208

Etobicoke, ON
M9C 5K6

Office Central

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 13:23:54 GMT

Building customer relationships through a "human 2 human" connection

About

Office Central (Ontario) operates out of our 100,000 sq foot facility in Richmond Hill Ontario. Why choose us? We offer special OCSA custom pricing; free next day delivery; Canadian owned & operated; in business for over 42 years; easy 24/7 online shopping; exceptional customer service

Services

Office Supplies
Office Furniture
Breakroom Supplies
School Supplies/Arts & Crafts
Janitorial Supplies
Hardware Store & Industrial Supplies
Health & Safety Supplies
Office Design Services

Website

Phone

1-800-835-9565

Email

Trevor Katz, ztkatz@officecentral.co

Address

60 Leek Crescent,

Richmond Hill, Ontario

L4B 1H1

Paige

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 13:17:24 GMT

Paige makes video calls with loved ones and care teams effortless for your aging clients, even those with cognitive challenges.

About

Paige™ is a one-touch video calling device designed for older adults. With the familiar look of a classic tabletop clock, Paige is elegantly simple, safe, and secure—ideal for seniors who may struggle with technology or experience mild cognitive impairment. There are no menus to navigate, usernames to enter, or passwords to remember. Mom simply taps your photo!

How Paige Supports Care at Home

One-touch video calling: Seniors can connect with family, friends, and care providers instantly—no tech skills required.
Remote care coordination: Care teams can check in visually between visits, reducing unnecessary travel and improving peace of mind.
Dementia-friendly design: Simple, familiar interface supports independence and minimizes confusion for clients with cognitive decline.

Why it matters

Reduces isolation and boosts emotional wellbeing
Supports aging in place with dignity
Enhances communication between families and professional caregivers

Partner with Paige

Request a free in-home trial device for your clients.
Read our founder’s caregiving story and the inspiration behind Paige.
Visit our Newsroom for the latest updates, research, and testimonials.

Services

Home Technology

Website

Contact

Address

KiloBryte

12 Waterwheel Crescent,

Dundas, Ontario L9H 7B6

PooranLaw

Fri, 17 May 2024 14:20:06 GMT

A social justice law firm focused on the promotion of a just society for persons with disabilities.

About

PooranLaw provides essential legal services and resources to individuals, families and not-for-profit disability service organizations throughout Canada. We aim to improve the lives of our individual clients and their families, support the success and services of the organizations we serve, and strengthen grassroots efforts in the broad-based movement for progressive, systemic social change.

Services

Labour & Employment
Corporate Governance
Service Contracts
Compliance
Occupational Health & Safety
Collective Bargaining
Privacy
Workplace Investigations
Human Rights
Change Management

Website

Phone

416-860-7572

Email

info@pooranlaw.com

Address

1500 Don Mills Road, Suite 400

Toronto, Ontario M3B 3K4

Purpose Analytics

Mon, 06 May 2024 14:47:34 GMT

Building a Data-Informed

Non-Profit Sector

About

Purpose Analytics is a non-profit consultancy that helps other non-profits and charities to understand, use, and harness the power of their data more effectively. Our services fulfill a range of needs for organizations who either do not have in-house expertise or who require extra capacity or specialized skills for their data projects.

In addition to our consulting work, we undertake activities that seek to develop the data capacity of the non-profit sector more broadly. By engaging our consulting services, Purpose Analytics customers help to fund our free, public benefit initiatives.

Services

Dashboard design
Reporting and analytics
Digital transformation
Automation and data integration
Vendor migration support
Data strategy development and implementation
Ask Us data helpdesk (FREE)
Non-profit Data Network (FREE)
CensusAggregator.ca (FREE)

Website

Contact

Address

Remote Offices across Ontario

Shift IT Solutions

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 20:18:07 GMT

Make the Shift

About

Founded in 2005, Shift IT Solutions is a trusted Canadian provider of managed IT services. With offices in Oakville, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta, we proudly support businesses across Canada by delivering reliable, secure, and customized technology solutions.

Shift IT Solutions works with a number of Non for Profit organizations providing leading edge Technology solutions.

Services

Managed IT Services
Shield Cyber Security
Comprehensive IT Solutions
Strategic IT Consulting
Hardware Procurement
Project Services
Data Backup & Recovery
Network Security
Advisory VCIO Services

Website

Phone

Toll Free : (866) 418-4535 Extension 231

Direct: 416-648-2722

Email

Danny Vasic, dvasic@shift-it-solutions.com

Address

700 Dorval Drive, Suite 601 Oakville, Ontario L6K 3V3

Solpak Inc

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 14:45:23 GMT

Your meal-packaging partner

About

Solpak is the leading provider of meal-packaging and delivery solutions in Canada

They serve over 600 food-service organizations looking for efficient, turnkey, eco-friendly meal-packaging and transport solutions.

Whether they cater to homes, schools, hospitals or detention centres, their clients appreciate their innovative packaging and delivery options. They are pleased to be reducing their impact on the environment, and enjoy the peace of mind offered by a turnkey partner.

Their friendly, competent team members make it easy to order supplies and services. They have the tools and systems to ensure fast reliable deliveries. Ask Solpak about their not-for-profit program!

Click here to download our flyer (PDF)

Services

Meal packaging
Tray sealers
Delivery Bags & Thermal Accessories

Website

Phone

1-877-476-5725

Email

solutions@solpak.ca

Address

Solpak Packaging Solutions Inc.

12 Rue Agathe-Séguin, Rigaud

J0P 1P0

Ontario Community Support Association Applauds Provincial Budget Investment in Home and Community Care Organizations

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 20:08:53 GMT

Toronto, March 26, 2024 — The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) commends Ontario for its significant investment in the Home and Community Care sector. This important allocation will go towards improving the compensation of our dedicated workforce and bolster the organizational capacity of home care and community support organizations, ensuring that Ontarians continue to receive high quality services in their homes and in their communities.

OCSA recognizes the importance of such investments in improving the effectiveness of organizations dedicated to home and community care. Currently, PSWs working in home and community care still earn 19% less than those working in hospitals and 9% less than those in long-term care. This critical funding helps to narrow the compensation gap between the Home and Community Care sector and other areas of health, signaling the essential role of this sector in the wider health system.

"We applaud the province for recognizing the significance of investing in our sector," said Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA. "This allocation takes a first step in improving the livelihoods of workers in home and community care and positively affects the lives of over one million Ontarians who rely on our services."

OCSA looks forward to continued collaboration with the provincial government to ensure future investments into the sector and that this year’s investments translate into tangible improvements in service delivery, workforce development, and client outcomes. Our association has been advocating for wage enhancements for many years, and it is highly encouraging to see government making progress on this critical issue.

About OCSA

The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents over 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to over one million Ontarians. Our members help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These proactive and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario. For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 242

TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University)

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 15:47:50 GMT

Master of Health Administration (Community Care)

About

The Master of Health Administration (Community Care) program prepares graduates to effectively manage and lead organizations in the dynamic and growing Community Care sector. With the increasing importance of community care across healthcare systems, this program addresses the critical need for leaders who know how to negotiate and manage care delivery across networks of provider organizations to a range of clients and families. The program’s convenient downtown Toronto location and modular format enables students to work full-time while completing the program in 16 months.

Services

Home and Community Care Education & Training
Download the Program Details

Website

Contact

Contact Form

Address

Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University

55 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2C5

OCSA Members celebrate March for Meals and rally support for Meals on Wheels programs across the province

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:30:58 GMT

March for Meals 2024 is being led by Meals on Wheels Ontario with support from our sponsor, belairdirect.

ONTARIO, March 1, 2024 – Today marks the launch of the annual March for Meals, a month-long campaign to promote Meals on Wheels programs across the province. This year’s celebrations are being led by Meals on Wheels Ontario, with the sponsorship of belairdirect.

In the last year, Meals on Wheels programs delivered over 3 million meals to over 60 thousand Ontarians. As well as providing nutritious meals to vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities, these programs have been proven to help combat loneliness and social isolation, and reduce the risk of chronic disease.

“The evidence is overwhelming regarding the benefits of Meals on Wheels,” says Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association. “At a time when the cost of living has increased dramatically and many seniors are grappling with food insecurity, Meals on Wheels programs provide critical support. We are proud to work with our members to raise awareness of Meals on Wheels programs across the province as part of the March for Meals campaign.”

Throughout the month, special events and activities will be hosted by Meals on Wheels programs and communities across Ontario. March 18-22 is designated as Community Champions Week, when local public figures lend their support and help to deliver meals in their communities.

For more information on March for Meals and to find out how you can volunteer with Meals on Wheels, visit www.mealsonwheelsontario.ca .

About OCSA

Interviews are available with Deborah Simon, CEO, OCSA. For more information please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 242

Click here to read our Suggested Action Plan .

VendorBay

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 14:44:23 GMT

Group Purchasing Program

About

VendorBay is a Canadian-owned purchasing program and procure-to-pay platform built for the healthcare industry.

Purchasing scale: $3B+ annual food spend; $1B+ annual nursing/clinical supply spend
Vendor ecosystem: 100+ preferred vendors
Categories: Foodservice, nursing/clinical supplies, cleaning & janitorial, office supplies, and service providers
Member results: 10–20% savings through preferred pricing and stronger purchasing compliance
Software: Makes purchasing easier, more transparent, and more efficient (ordering, approvals, and spend visibility)

Exclusive for OCSA members: membership and access to the VendorBay software are provided at no cost.

Website

Phone

289-339-4440

Email

raz.tram@myvendorbay.com

Address

23 Glebe Rd W, Toronto, ON M5P 0A1

How to Support Our Frail Elderly: A Suggested Action Plan (November 2023)

rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca (Rhiana Alfadili) — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 03:04:38 GMT

(Toronto, Ontario. January 29, 2024.)

There is a profound demographic shift underway. The 80+ population in Ontario is projected to more than double by 2040.

People want to age at home – yet one in five older adults today have complex care needs which make remaining at home very challenging. Plus, the family and other loved ones who are taking care of older adults are struggling, with 63% of caregivers saying they reached their breaking point last year but had no choice but to keep going.

Couple this with the fact that we have almost 43,000 Ontarians on waitlists for long-term care – more than the populations of a mid-sized town such as Bradford, Orillia, Stratford, Orangeville, or Leamington – with those waitlists expected to grow to 48,000 individuals by 2029 based on population growth and complex care need trends.

The bottom line is that there will not be enough long-term care beds for those who need them, even with the significant investments and historical commitments already made by the Ontario Government, and the commitment by long-term care homes to deliver on the Government’s pledge to redevelop older homes and to create 30,000 new long-term care spaces.

Collectively, with leaders across our sectors, we have identified existing solutions that can be expanded to reduce the long-term care wait lists, help more older people with complex care needs age at home, and fast-track access to long-term care for those who really need it.

ABOUT

How to Support Our Frail Elderly: A Suggested Action Plan was a collaborative effort by 8 provincial associations to provide insightful data for government and community care providers in Ontario.

Ontario’s Community Health Sector Pre-Budget Submission 2024-25

rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca (Rhiana Alfadili) — Tue, 16 Jan 2024 17:33:37 GMT

(Toronto, Ontario. January 16 , 202 4 .) As representatives of 10 provincial community health care associations, spanning 1,300 member agencies, Ontario’s community health sector welcomes the opportunity to participate in Ontario’s pre-budget consultation process. This provincial budget comes at a critical juncture in Ontario’s health care system as the government continues its work to ensure Ontarians can connect to the care they need where they need it most, providing faster access to services, and growing the province’s health care workforce.

Notwithstanding these important commitments, Ontario’s community health sector is facing a critical staffing crisis, stemming from a widening wage gap between community health care workers and health workers in other sectors. The wage gap has resulted in the community health sector lagging behind by more than $2 billion, compared to those doing similar work in hospitals and other sectors. As a result, the community health sector is witnessing an exodus of skilled workers to other fields, making it increasingly challenging to recruit and retain essential health workers.

The community health workforce encompasses a range of specialized health care roles, including nurse practitioners (nurses) in primary care, addiction and social workers in mental health organizations, and personal support workers in home and community care and long-term care. This multifaceted workforce cares for patients with highly complex needs that often have multiple severe and chronic conditions, and many patients face barriers to accessing health equitably. These healthcare workers often provide 24/7 service delivery, all while working with limited resources relative to acute care facilities.

These workers play an essential role in Ontario’s health care system, ensuring patients receive the right care in the right place. Through a social determinant of health approach and a focus on prevention, where possible, our workforce also aids in reducing the burden on acute care settings, such as hospitals and emergency departments.

Action from the Ontario government is needed to close this gap and secure the stability of Ontario’s health care system.

PAY PARITY IN CONTEXT

A new report, the Ontario Community Health Compensation Market Salary Review , presents compensation trends, challenges, and gaps from a study of market compensation within the community health sector.

The report underscores several key findings:

The community health sector is experiencing significant staffing challenges, including high turnover rates, minimal compensation increases, severe staffing shortages in rural areas, and limited growth opportunities.
Compensation emerges as the most pressing labour challenge.

Benchmark jobs in the community health sector are compensated significantly less than similar roles in Ontario’s broader public sector, including hospitals, acute care, and the education sector.

Multiple factors contribute to the existing wage gap between community health workers and their counterparts in other health sectors within Ontario. These factors include a lack of investment and funding into the community health sector, legislative compensation restraints particularly imposed by Bill 124, and the rising wages in other health care sectors.

2023 AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT

The community health sector frequently serves as the initial point of contact for patients within the health care system, delivering essential and accessible care for Ontarians in their communities and homes. Our sector helps to prevent, manage, and treat various health issues such as chronic diseases, mental health, substance use and social determinants of health.

The findings from the Ontario Community Health Compensation Market Salary Review are in line with the 2023 Auditor General’s report, which highlighted the continued pressures faced by Ontario’s hospitals and emergency departments. However, without substantial investments in community care, the burden on Ontario’s hospitals will increase exponentially. The Auditor General recommends, among other measures, increasing the capacity and availability of community resources to ensure patients receive the care they need in a timely manner and in the most appropriate setting.

The Auditor General’s report also highlights the significant consequences of the pay disparity in long-term care settings, a finding that is consistent with the data from our recently conducted compensation review. The report discusses how the pay disparity between homes and other health care settings has contributed to higher turnover and staff vacancies, which we have seen first-hand.

While the government has committed to strengthening the community health sector, and we acknowledge the actions taken to date, the growing wage gap threatens our ability to deliver the community services Ontarians need and deserve, including primary care, home care, mental health and addictions care, and long-term care, and will impact the ability of the government to achieve its goals in the health system, overall.

CONCLUSION

The community health workforce remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the health and well-being of Ontarians. However, in light of the rising cost of living, a sustainable approach to addressing the wage gap is critical in ensuring the continued delivery of safe and high-quality community health services. We are ready and willing to work with government to increase funding for the community health sector and connect the people of Ontario to the care they need, in the right place, when they need it most.

ABOUT

The Ontario Community Health survey was a collaborative effort by 10 provincial associations to provide insightful data for community care providers in Ontario.

OCSA calls for sizeable 2024 investment in home and community care to allow sector to pay staff equitably and meet skyrocketing demand for services

rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca (Rhiana Alfadili) — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 19:24:04 GMT

(Toronto, Ontario. December 12, 2023.) The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) urges the provincial government to make a significant investment in home and community care in the 2024 Budget to allow the sector to compensate their staff fairly, and to meet the increasing demands for services as Ontario’s population ages.

In their pre-budget submission , OCSA recommends that the province commit to an investment of $533 million to fortify and stabilize the home and community care sector. It suggests the $533 million investment be structured as follows: 

$290 million to increase service providers’ operational budgets by 3% and service volumes by 3% this year to meet growing community need and to build a comprehensive basket of home and community care services in each community across the province.  
Up to $77 million for retroactive pay increases to prevent wage disparities from worsening as a result of Bill 124 arbitration awards
$116 million in increases to keep pace with increases in other sectors and start closing the gap between the sectors. 
Approximately $50 million to apply the permanent $3 an hour PSW wage increase to all hours of work not just direct care hours.

“We acknowledge and are grateful for the government’s substantive investment in home and community care in the 2023 budget,” noted Deborah Simon, CEO of Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA). “Unfortunately though, our sector is facing a perfect storm - a health human resources crisis due in large part to wage inequity between sectors, as well as skyrocketing demand for services. Without significant financial investments and dedicated strategic planning over the next few years, this storm will continue to worsen, and many vulnerable Ontarians will be denied the services they rely on to live well and safely at home and in their communities.”

In the last budget, the province allocated $18 million for community support PSWs and other community support staff were allocated wage increases of 2%. Home care staff also received increases of 3 and 4.6%. While OCSA is grateful for these increases, they are still a considerable distance from the 11% increase awarded to hospital nurses and the 8% increase for emergency medical services, and therefore exacerbate the wage gap and prevent services providers from being able to recruit and retain the workforce they need to deliver these critical community healthcare services.

“We know that the majority of elderly Ontarians and those experiencing disability prefer to receive care at home,” says Simon, “And with Ontario’s 80+ population projected to more than double by 2040, the government needs to take urgent action to ensure that the home and community care sector is adequately funded and resourced to provide Ontarians with healthcare where and how they prefer to receive it – at home and in their communities, and delivered by trained professionals.” 

To read OCSA’s full pre-budget submission, click here .  For further information, please contact Rhiana Alfadili at OCSA at rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca .  

OCSA Urges Government to Close Healthcare Sector Wage Gaps

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 19:17:12 GMT

(Toronto, ON. November 3, 2023.) Yesterday the government released its Fall Economic Statement . While it was good to hear the province echo their $370 million commitment to the home and community care sector, more support is needed. The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is reiterating its urgent call to close the wage gaps that exist between healthcare sectors to ensure that Ontarians across the province receive the best care possible. While OCSA appreciates the significant investments made in home and community care (HCC) in the 2023 provincial budget, closing the wage gap is essential to attract and retain skilled healthcare professionals in this sector.

The wage disparity between healthcare sectors has become a critical issue. On average, hospital nurses earn $10 more per hour than those working in HCC. Additionally, Personal Support Workers (PSWs) in Long-Term Care (LTC) earn $4 more per hour than PSWs in the community. This wage gap not only discourages professionals from working in HCC but also impacts the care available to clients who wish to remain in their homes and communities.

Retroactive increases to hospitals linked to Bill 124 arbitration awards threaten to exacerbate the wage gap. If we allow these disparities to deepen, healthcare professionals will continue to be deterred from working in HCC, resulting in a shortage of skilled workers for the sector and a reduction in service for clients.

Vacancies for front-line positions in home and community care are also alarmingly high at nearly 20%, and annual staff turnover is approximately 25% - staggering statistics that underscore the urgent need for action.

Past wage increases for PSWs have improved staff retention. Recently published research demonstrated that a wage parity would retain 1 in 5 PSWs who would otherwise have left their jobs in HCC, resulting in an additional 23.5 million care hours annually for Ontario's HCC clients.

OCSA strongly urges the government to take immediate action to close the wage gap in the healthcare sector to ensure fair compensation for healthcare workers while also improving access to high-quality healthcare for all Ontarians.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Rhiana Alfadili
OCSA Communications Manager
416-256-3010 / 1-800-267-6272, ext. 219
Rhiana.Alfadili@ocsa.on.ca

Community Support Month: Celebrating Our Resilient Heroes

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 13:31:17 GMT

(Toronto, ON. October 1, 2023.) In honor of Community Support Month this October, the Ontario Community Support Association acknowledges the unwavering commitment and resilience of the home and community support sector’s incredible staff and volunteers. As the healthcare system continues to face unprecedented challenges, the demand for community-based services has never been higher and these incredible service providers continue to go above and beyond to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and reduce premature admissions to long-term care.

Each year, more than one million Ontarians reach out for community support services (CSS) to help them live well at home, and this number continues to rise as our population ages. These services have become an indispensable part of our healthcare system and Community Support Month is an important time to recognize the tremendous impact that these services, and the providers who deliver them, have on the lives of some of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens.

Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA, acknowledges the profound impact of CSS organizations, stating, "CSS organizations are pillars in our healthcare system and have expert knowledge of client needs, priority populations, and service delivery. OCSA is honoured to celebrate these incredible organizations and their dedicated staff throughout the month of October, and we extend our deepest gratitude for their commitment to ensuring that seniors and people with disabilities receive the care they deserve in the comfort of their homes and communities."

The sector includes over 25 essential programs , including nursing care, personal care, homemaking, Meals on Wheels, Alzheimer's and adult day programs, medical appointment transportation, caregiver support, hospice, and palliative care services, among many others. These services are delivered by a workforce of over 22,000 staff plus tens of thousands of dedicated volunteers who contribute nearly 3 million hours of service each year.

We encourage everyone to participate in the Community Support Month celebrations this month by:

Taking time to learn about the importance of community support services this month by visiting OCSA’s Community Support Month page at https://www.ocsa.on.ca/csm.
Joining the conversation on social media at #CSM2023
Familiarizing yourself with the organizations who provide these critical supports to vulnerable citizens in your area by exploring OCSA’s list of member organizations here: https://www.ocsa.on.ca/membership#FULLOCSAMEMBERS.

For media inquiries or further information, please contact:

Rhiana Alfadili
OCSA Communications Manager
416-256-3010 / 1-800-267-6272, ext. 219
Rhiana.Alfadili@ocsa.on.ca

Newly published research supports investment in home and community care

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 18:19:03 GMT

Newly published research supports investment in home and community care

(Toronto, Ontario. September 7, 2023.) Research has just been published that provides data to support investing in home and community care in Ontario.

Economic Evidence for Home and Community Care Investment: The Case for Ontario PSW Wage Parity, published this month in Longwoods Healthcare Policy, uses available personal support worker (PSW) wage data to build an evidence-based business case to demonstrate that even with equitable pay for point-of-care providers working in the sector, home and community care remains a less expensive option for delivering care in Ontario.

“This evidence aligns with the government’s announced plans to invest more than $1 billion to help more Ontarians age in place,” noted Deborah Simon, CEO of Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA). “While other investments are also needed, ensuring PSWs are compensated equitably across the health sector will mean support for more Ontarians and significant cost savings for the province.”

“Working alongside family caregivers, home and community care PSWs support clients to live independently at home, often caring for those with complex needs and requiring specialized care. However, they are paid significantly less than PSWs working in institutional long-term care homes (ILTC) or in hospitals,” shared Simon.

PSWs in the home and community care sector provide the bulk of paid care to over a million Ontarians each year. But more than 30% of Ontarians who require home or community care supports cannot access them because of a serious shortage of PSWs in the sector.

“Even if wages for home care PSWs were increased to match those working in ILTCs, the cost per patient per day would still be lower for home care than for care provided in a long term care setting. This would result in significant cost-savings for our publicly-funded health care system by delaying entry to ILTC for those who are able to remain in community with homecare support,” noted health economist Dr. Katherine Zagrodney, Senior Research Associate, Quantitative Lead at VHA Home HealthCare, who conducted the research for OCSA.

This new analysis uses the example of wages for PSWs to show that even with investment to align wages between home and community care and ILTCs consistent, home and community care remains the most efficient way to deliver care. The wage discrepancy between sectors experienced by PSWs also exists with other healthcare roles. Future analyses could examine wages for nursing or rehab therapy roles, or the impact of investment in administrative and other supporting functions for home and community care.

“Given the increased demands on health care, we need to ensure we have an appropriately resourced and sustainable system. This research demonstrates that investing in home and community care is fiscally responsible and will allow more Ontarians to receive care when and where they want it, enabling more seniors to age at home where most people want to be,” added Simon.

Economic Evidence for Home and Community Care Investment: The Case for Ontario PSW Wage Parity is published in issue 19.1 of Longwood’s Healthcare Policy. Read it here .

For further information, please contact Rhiana Alfadili at OCSA at rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca .

About OCSA

Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 230 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services that help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These compassionate and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario.

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

OCSA Statement - National Indigenous Peoples Day 2023

rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca (Rhiana Alfadili) — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 13:15:22 GMT

Today, OCSA acknowledges National Indigenous Peoples Day and Indigenous History Month – an important time to recognize the extraordinary histories and cultures of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples who have called Canada home for many centuries.

June 21st was first named National Aboriginal Day in 1996 by then Governor General of Canada, Roméo LeBlanc. This date was selected in part due to the significance of summer solstice in Indigenous culture, and was renamed National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2018 to align with government’s commitment to advancing reconciliation.

As one of Ontario’s preeminent healthcare advocacy organizations, OCSA is greatly concerned with the inequitable health disparities experienced by Indigenous Canadians, due in part to increased rates of poverty and food insecurity, as well as a lack of employment opportunities and suitable housing1. More needs to be done to ensure that Indigenous Canadians have equitable access to quality healthcare services, and that those services are developed and delivered in consultation with Indigenous communities to ensure that they are in sync with cultural values.

“Today, we recognize the incredible work of our Indigenous health and community care members and partners, and thank them for providing such critical community health supports to some of Ontario’s most vulnerable citizens,” says Deborah Simon, OCSA CEO. “Delivering community healthcare is challenging in the best of times, never mind in a time when we have a rapidly aging population, profound staffing and funding challenges, and institutional racism to contend with. I hope that Indigenous health and community care organizations will consider OCSA an ally and invite them to reach out to us should we be able to support their advocacy efforts for improved HCC funding and services for their communities.”

To expand your knowledge about National Indigenous Peoples Day and about the history, heritage, and resilience of Indigenous cultures across Canada, please visit these links:

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (PDF) -  https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. (English only)  https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html

Indigenous Perspectives Education Guide (Historica Canada) -  http://education.historicacanada.ca/en/tools/493

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For information requests please contact:
Rhiana Alfadili – Communications Manager
Ontario Community Support Association
416-256-3010 ext. 219
rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca

OCSA Statement - Personal Support Worker Day 2023

rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca (Rhiana Alfadili) — Fri, 19 May 2023 12:59:51 GMT

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For information requests please contact:
Rhiana Alfadili – Communications Manager
Ontario Community Support Association
416-256-3010 ext. 219
rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca

OCSA Celebrates National Nursing Week 2023

Mon, 08 May 2023 13:44:05 GMT

About OCSA

Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 240 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services that help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These compassionate and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario.

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For information requests please contact:
Rhiana Alfadili – Communications Manager
Ontario Community Support Association
416-256-3010 ext. 219
rhiana.alfadili@ocsa.on.ca

Vulnerable Ontarians set to receive nearly 1 million fewer hours of care due to service cuts

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 05:30:12 GMT

Survey shows significant service reductions across the province without urgent investment in community support services

ONTARIO, February, 2023 - Vulnerable Ontarians are at risk of losing access to critical services like Meals on Wheels, transportation to medical care, and assisted living programs, due to impending service cuts. This is according to a recent survey conducted by the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA).

Results show that without urgent investment, there would be a drastic 27% reduction in the volume of services provided by Community Support Service organizations, including independent living organizations, across the province. This equates to over 870,000 hours of community-based care such as respite, personal support and homemaking services not being delivered to clients, over half a million meals not being delivered to those in need, and over 200,000 fewer rides being given to clients for critical medical appointments. These cuts will mean less visits and increased and increased isolation, leading to faster deconditioning for those living at home, greater caregiver burnout rates and possible earlier admissions to long-term care. This will have a devastating impact on thousands of Ontarians who depend on these services daily.

OCSA represents over 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to more than one million Ontarians. OCSA members care for clients of all ages and backgrounds, including those with mild needs and those who require acute, complex care.

“Our members play an integral role in virtually every community across the province,” says Deborah Simon, OCSA CEO. “The threat of reductions in service and increased waitlists essentially means that many Ontarians will no longer have access to the care they need. We are calling on the province to address the situation as a matter of urgency and ensure that these services receive adequate funding in order to combat the impacts of inflation and increased operational costs.”

OCSA underscores the benefits of the home and community care sector and outlines the level of investment needed in its 2023 pre-budget submission titled, Putting People First with Home and Community Care. Ontarians are invited to visit the OCSA website to learn more and take action.

“If nothing is done, this situation has real and harmful consequences for many Ontarians,” adds Simon. “Clients and caregivers across the province are in danger of being without a critical service or having to be placed on an extended waitlist.”

About OCSA

Interviews are available with Deborah Simon, CEO, OCSA. For more information please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 242

Today marks the start of the month-long March for Meals celebration with OCSA members across the province

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 22:40:04 GMT

Recognizing the contributions of Meals on Wheels volunteers with the support of March for Meals sponsor, Johnson Insurance

ONTARIO, March 1, 2023 – This March, Meals on Wheels Ontario, with the support of Johnson Insurance, is pleased to participate in the 21 ^st annual March for Meals – a month-long celebration of Meals on Wheels (MOW) and the thousands of people across the province who rely on this critical service. This year we acknowledge the tireless efforts of the many volunteers who support MOW programs; preparing, packaging, and delivering meals, and helping to address hunger and social isolation.

Ontario's most vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities are currently facing extraordinary levels of food insecurity. With the demand for nutritious and affordable meals growing each day, Meals on Wheels continues to rise to meet the need.

“Due to the pressure of increasing food costs and overall higher costs of living, we are seeing overwhelming demand for Meals on Wheels programs,” says Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association. “Many of our association members have reported significant drops in the number of volunteers due in part to many of them being seniors themselves and unable to participate in the same way during the pandemic. With the dramatic jump in the need for services, volunteers are needed now more than ever and we say a big thank you to everyone who is willing to commit their time and effort to MOW programs across the province.”

During the month of March, community-based Meals on Wheels programs across the province will participate in activities and awareness campaigns to promote the impact of these programs and highlight the importance of vulnerable seniors having access to a nutritious meal, friendly visit and safety check.

For more information on how you can volunteer, visit Meals on Wheels Ontario

-30-

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For interviews and information requests please contact:

Karla Sealy – Manager of Communications

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

Karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca

Ontario Community Support Program Funded 2.3 Million Deliveries to Over 84,000 Vulnerable People During COVID-19

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 04:41:46 GMT

Emergency funding supported deliveries of meals, groceries, medicines and more to help low income, vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities stay home safely in the pandemic

TORONTO, March, 2023 – The Ontario Community Support Program (OCSP) – which has helped coordinate, subsidize, and expand deliveries of meals, medicines and other necessities to low-income seniors and people with disabilities in need since April 2020 – is coming to a close.

Part of the Ontario government’s emergency pandemic response measures, the OCSP was a $21.8 million project from April 2020 to March 2023. The program was administered by the Ontario Community Support Association, and funded 136 Meals on Wheels and other organizations across Ontario.

Over the course of the pandemic, the OCSP helped over 84,000 vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities stay safe and independent at home – and out of the healthcare system. For these people – many of whom cannot prepare their own food, live alone, lack family or social support, or face food insecurity due to financial barriers – OCSP deliveries were a lifeline.

Over 3 years, OCSP funding helped coordinate and subsidize over 2.3 million deliveries of meals, medicines and other necessities to low-income seniors and people with disabilities in need.

“We’re proud of how our members have stepped up throughout the pandemic to serve their communities with compassion and commitment,” says Deborah Simon, CEO of Ontario Community Support Association, which represents home care services, Meals on Wheels and congregate dining programs, transportation, and other community support services. “With widespread uncertainty, continuing demand , rapidly increasing operational costs, and many community support organizations struggling with volunteer recruitment, it hasn’t been easy to maintain – and enhance – services to keep the most vulnerable people in our communities safe in COVID-19. OCSP funding helped to meeting the demand.”

As Ontario emerges from the pandemic, the government is re-focusing its supports to help those in greatest need by working with partners to redirect them to other services that were in place prior to the pandemic and will continue to offer support going forward.

“People need to know that the pandemic continues to leave its mark,” cautions Simon. “Rapid health declines, rising food costs and other pressures mean that seniors and people with disabilities continue to rely on home and community care to keep living safely and independently at home.”

Local community support organizations are calling on individuals or organizations with time or funds to contribute to their ongoing efforts to support Ontario’s most vulnerable people. Find out more at www.ontariocommunitysupport.ca .

- 30 -

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For interviews and information requests please contact:

Karla Sealy – Manager of Communications

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

Karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca

Improving Access to Data for Better Outcomes in Home and Community Care

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:14:01 GMT

Ontario Community Support Association Launches New Research Centre to Support Evidence-Based Transformation in the Home and Community Care Sector

TORONTO, January 2023 – The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) announced today the launch of the Elevate Impact Hub, a major new initiative to curate and share data-driven research and insights that’s designed to help home and community care providers, planners, and policy-makers ensure Ontarians get the best possible care now and in the future.

The Elevate Impact Hub will collect, curate, and disseminate research, reports, and white papers that generate new knowledge and insight into home and community care. It will also help bring research insights to life through implementation-focused webinars and peer learning opportunities.

 “Historically, home and community care organizations haven’t had strong relationships with research institutions. They just haven’t been on each other’s radar,” says Deborah Simon, CEO of Ontario Community Support Association, whose membership includes over 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services across the province. “That means cutting-edge research hasn’t been finding its way to providers, and on-the-ground provider innovations haven't been finding their way to researchers and institutions with research interests in the health system.”

“The Elevate Impact Hub will open up these channels of communication, helping to advance home and community care with evidence-based research, while also supporting more and better research into the work of the sector and its impact to support smart, strategic decision-making for the future of the health system.” 

An independent division of OCSA, the Elevate Impact Hub will connect with researchers, providers, and others to collect, share, and encourage the implementation of evidence-based insights into practice. It welcomes inquiries from researchers with an interest in home and community care, and from providers interested in participating in, supporting, or leveraging insights from data-driven research. 

Find out more at www.elevateimpacthub.ca .

 About OCSA

Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents over 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services that help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. 

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For interviews and information requests please contact:

Karla Sealy -  Manager of Communications

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca

Investing in home and community care puts Ontarians first

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:53:50 GMT

OCSA'S 2023 Pre-Budget Submission

By increasing its commitment to the home and community care sector Ontario will enable people to receive care where they want to, at home and in their community.

TORONTO, JANUARY 12, 2023 – The Ontario Community Support Association calls on the province to invest $212 million to enable home and community care organizations to meet growing client needs, address the impact of inflation, and support healthy system innovation – ultimately improving Ontario’s health system.

Over 1 million Ontarians depend on home and community care annually. The sector serves diverse clients of all ages, from those with mild needs to those with the highest needs, including persons on dialysis and ventilators. OCSA represents close to 230 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services across the province. As a result of the last two years of the pandemic, the combined impact of scarce health human resources and high inflation rates have forced 76% of OCSA members to either cut services or increase waitlists.

In addition to this investment, OCSA is appealing to the government to strategically allocate the historic $1 billion announced last year for the sector to support contract rate increases, which will add 2.72 million hours of home care services to the health system and divert $302 million in long-term care and ALC costs.

“In Budget 2022, the province announced significant investments into the home and community care sector” said Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA. “While a positive step, the level of investment cannot adequately address current and future demand. The province has an opportunity to create a sustainable, integrated health system that fully incorporates home and community care.”

To read how Ontario can put people first by investing in the home and community care sector, see our pre-budget consultation submission here.

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About OCSA

the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 230 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to over one million Ontarians. Our members help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These proactive and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario. For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets.

Interviews are available with Deborah Simon, CEO, OCSA. For more information please contact:

Karla Sealy (she/her)

Manager of Communications

416-256-3010/1-800-267-6272, ext. 242

Open Letter to Minister Duclos and Minister Jones

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 15:35:28 GMT

Regarding the Canada-Ontario Home and Community Care and Mental Health and Addictions Services Funding Agreement

Minister Duclos and Minister Jones,

Canadians want to receive care at home and in their communities. 97% of Ontarians believe it is important to improve access to home and community care. They also want governments to enable them to make this choice by making investments in home and community care a priority. The Canada-Ontario Home and Community Care and Mental Health and Addictions Services Funding Agreement signed in 2017 reflects these priorities.

As you embark on negotiating the framework for the allocation of $1.2 billion annual funding until 2026-27, we’d like to take the opportunity to urge you to add health human resources as a key priority to the agreement.

The first five years of the agreement identified expanding access to home care, including palliative and end-of-life care, caregiver supports and information technology as priority areas for investments. It also led to the development of national indicators. These national indicators have been key in tracking the impact these investments have had on our health system.

Over the next five years, we will only be successful in keeping vulnerable people living at home if we shore up our sector’s health human resources. Across Canada there are a considerable number of people having their hospital stays unnecessarily extended and others admitted to long-term care earlier than necessary due to the lack of staff within the home and community care sector. This places additional burden on a struggling long-term care sector – and costs far more money than care in a home or community setting.

In Ontario at the end of January 2022, there were 567 people still in hospital waiting to be discharged home with home care service. This lack of capacity in the home and community care sector cost the province an additional $355,509 a day.

Further, a report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information confirms that 1 in 9 newly admitted residents to long-term care in Canada could have been kept at home with the right supports in place. That means over 8,000 Ontarians could have stayed home and received the necessary supports in their communities.

Home and Community Care organizations are unable to continue or expand on current service levels without the ability to recruit and retain health human resources. Home and community care staff are leaving the sector in droves, many to other sectors where there are incentivized opportunities to take up similar roles. In September 2022, across the three key home and community care frontline positions (PSWs, RN, RPNs), 12.8% of positions were vacant in Ontario. This is almost double the rate of 6.8% in January 2021.

The reason so many positions are vacant is that staff in the home and community care sector are the lowest paid in the health system. PSWs in Ontario in home and community care are making on average approximately 21% less than PSWs in hospitals and 17% less than PSWs in long term care. The median salary wage gap for RNs working in home care versus hospitals is $11.00 an hour.

We urge you to include health human resources as a key priority in the Canada-Ontario Home and Community Care and Mental Health and Addictions Services Funding Agreement. It is only by implementing a comprehensive health human resource plan that tackles wage disparity, recruitment, and retention that we will be able to provide care for people where they need it most.

Thank you,

Deborah Simon

CEO

Ontario Community Support Association

OCSA publishes paper - Paths Worth Exploring: Four promising practices that integrate Home and Community Care with Primary Care

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 18:38:12 GMT

October, 2022 - The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) has published a brief paper Paths Worth Exploring: Four promising practices that integrate Home and Community Care with Primary Care . This paper looks at examples of the integration of Home and Community Care with Primary Care, and highlights a few interesting collaborations. Some of the positive outcomes identified include:

A 100% reduction in one client’s ED visits and hospitalizations, compared to the 24 months prior, due to Primary Care Integration with Supportive Housing for those with Acquired Brain Injuries
The delivery of nearly 10,000 in-home visits per year, leading to over 1,100 fewer hospital admissions and hospitals days under the multi-agency Senior Care House Calls program

We invite you to download the full paper above.

Celebrating Community Support Month 2022!

karla.sealy@ocsa.on.ca (Karla Sealy) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:53:54 GMT

Toronto, Ontario - This October, we are proud to recognize and celebrate Community Support Month and the thousands of staff and volunteers who deliver critical community services across the province. With the health care system currently experiencing significant challenges, community-based services are even more important, as they help to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and alleviate pressure on long-term care. Over one million Ontarians access community support services (CSS) annually, and the need is growing.

“CSS organizations have deep-rooted connections with their communities,” says Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA), “they understand the needs of their clients, the diversity of their populations, and they utilize their knowledge of their geographic locations to ensure that Ontarians receive care where they want it, at home and in their communities. This Community Support Month, we want to raise awareness of the tremendous work these organizations do, and applaud the commitment of their staff and volunteers.”

There are over 25 different programs offered by the sector, including services such as nursing care and personal care, homemaking, Meals on Wheels, Alzheimer and adult day programs, transportation to medical appointments, caregiver support, and hospice and palliative care services, just to name a few. These compassionate and cost-effective services are delivered by staff and volunteers. Dedicated volunteers donate close to 3 million hours of service each year.

Community support services are a lifeline for many Ontarians, keeping them healthy at home and in their communities.

Community Support Month celebrations are scheduled as follows:

October 3-7 Meals on Wheels Week

October 5 Congregate Dining Day

October 7 Supportive Housing/Assisted Living Day

October 10-14 Community Care Worker Week

October 11 Friendly Visiting/Telephone Reassurance Day

October 12 Respite Services Day

October 14 Client Intervention and Assistance (CIA) Day

October 17-21 Adult Day Program Week

October 21 Home Help/Maintenance Services Day

October 24 Transportation Services Day

October 25 Attendant Services Day

October 6/13/20/27 OCSA’s Virtual CommunityConnect Speaker Series

October 28 Hospice and Palliative Care Services Day

Follow the conversation on social media in October at #CSM2022

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets.

For comments/queries please contact:

Karla Sealy

Communications Manager

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

OCSA applauds efforts of PSWs in protecting thousands of Ontarians

Thu, 19 May 2022 18:53:14 GMT

Toronto, Ontario – Personal Support Workers (PSWs) have a critical role in our healthcare system and assist in the provision of care to thousands of Ontarians. This is the message from the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) this PSW Day, May 19th.

“PSWs have remained on the frontline throughout the pandemic, supporting vulnerable seniors and their families,” says OCSA CEO, Deborah Simon, “As we mark another PSW Day, we recognize the work of PSWs across the province and say thank you.”

Against the backdrop of a severe PSW shortage, OCSA is also highlighting the need for wage parity for PSWs across healthcare. “Regardless of the setting, PSWs possess the same qualifications and are expected to perform similar tasks,” says Simon, “Yet PSWs in home and community care are paid less than their counterparts in long-term care and hospitals. This compounds the challenge of PSW recruitment and retention and is having a devastating impact on families that depend on PSWs coming to their homes.”

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For comments/queries please contact:

Karla Sealy

Communications Manager

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

OCSA recognizes National Nursing Week amid calls for a system wide health human resource plan

Tue, 10 May 2022 20:53:36 GMT

Toronto, Ontario – This National Nursing Week, May 9-15, the Ontario Community Support Association joins in recognizing the contributions of the registered nurses (RNs), registered practical nurses (RPNs), and nurse practitioners (NPs) who provide support and care to Ontarians daily.

“Over the course of the pandemic we have witnessed the extraordinary efforts of nurses, whether it be at home and in the community, in long-term care or in hospital,” says OCSA CEO, Deborah Simon, “This Nursing Week, we say thank you to all nurses for your commitment.”

The OCSA is also renewing their call for wage parity for nurses and other frontline positions in the home and community care sector as an important way to ensure staff retention. According to a recent OCSA membership survey from December 2020 and December 2021, there has been a 421% increase in vacant RN positions and 331% increase in vacant PSW positions in the home and community care sector.

“Ontario needs a comprehensive health human resource strategy that includes funding for home and community care as part of the overall continuum of care in our province,” says Simon, “As we celebrate the tremendous efforts of nurses this week, we urge the province to build capacity across all sectors so that Ontarians have access to a high performing health care system and integrated care delivery.”

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

For comments/queries please contact:

Karla Sealy

Communications Manager

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

OCSA applauds the province for its significant commitment to home and community care

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 20:35:01 GMT

Toronto, Ontario - April 28, 2022 - The provincial government’s plan to significantly increase funding for home care will help to ensure Ontario’s most vulnerable are able to age and live well in their homes and communities. This much needed funding will play a crucial role in helping the sector continue to deliver services and reduce the growing pressure on hospital capacity.

We commend the government’s continued investment into the Ontario Community Support Program. Over the past two years, this successful program has completed more than 1.6 million meal and medicine deliveries to over 70,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities in communities across the province.

Community support service agencies continue to play an essential role in the system by supporting vulnerable Ontarians and maintaining their independence at home. A strong community care sector is the bedrock to a sustainable health system. The base increase and service expansion of community support services announced in today’s budget represents a vital and much-needed injection of funding to maintain the viability of these services in the short-term. However, we need a plan for the long-term sustainability of these critical services which support one million Ontarians to age at home and in their community.

“Budget 2022 will help the more than one million and growing Ontarians who rely on home and community care to remain living well at home.” said Geoffrey Quirt, Board Chair of OCSA, “Our members have stepped up throughout the pandemic to serve their communities with compassion and commitment and these investments will help them continue to do so.”

About OCSA

For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca and https://twitter.com/OCSAtweets .

Interviews are available with OCSA Board Chair Geoff Quirt.

For more information please contact:

Karla Sealy

Communications Manager

Ontario Community Support Association

416-256-3010 ext. 242

Action needed now - new campaign highlights crisis in home and community support sector

Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:51:30 GMT

Ontario Community Support Association launches a campaign clearly outlining sector struggle to continue supporting vulnerable Ontarians

TORONTO, March 9, 2022 - Following the recent release of its member survey results, which convey the bleak state of Ontario's home and community support services sector, the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) has launched a campaign to raise awareness of a sector in crisis.

After releasing data from their 2021 member survey that conveys staff vacancy rates have nearly tripled from 2020 to 2021, OCSA is now outlining the dire staffing impacts, significant wage disparity and a system in desperate need of funding in shareable infographics as part of its awareness campaign.

OCSA is a member organization representing more than 220 agencies across Ontario that together support more than one million Ontarians in home and community care services. The sector cares for diverse clients of all ages across the province, with a range of care needs including vulnerable clients on dialysis and home ventilators. Services include nursing care, personal care, rehabilitation, adult day programs, supportive housing/assisted living programs, Meals on Wheels, transportation, transitional care and much more.

"We are now seeing Ontarians unable to access care due to extreme staffing shortages," says Deborah Simon, OCSA CEO. "We desperately need funding and a comprehensive strategy that includes wage parity across the health care sector."

OCSA is calling on Ontarians to visit their website to learn more and to take action. This includes sharing infographics on social media to raise awareness, writing letters to MPPs, reading client stories to learn more about home and community care and sharing personal home and community care support stories to help put a face on the diverse people in need of these services.

OCSA member organizations rely on government support and fundraising. The growing staff shortages are leading to longer waitlists and at the current trajectory, will lead to the cancellation of programs or services. This will mean increased caregiver burden as well as added pressures on long-term care and hospitals across Ontario.

"We are committed to shining a bright light on a desperate situation that needs action now," adds Simon. "These issues must be urgently addressed if we expect to have a health care safety net that keeps vulnerable Ontarians safe at home and in the community."

About OCSA

Celebrating our 30th anniversary, the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents over 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to over one million Ontarians. Our members help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These proactive and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario. For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets.

For further information: Media Contact: Janice Bedore, Executive Assistant, Janice.bedore@ocsa.on.ca, 1-800-267-6272 ext. 224

Michelle

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:26:52 GMT

Michelle, an energetic and dynamic individual receives assistance that enables her to be an active member of her community. Michelle lives in a supportive housing facility where she receives daily assistance with her personal care as well as trach care. Michelle suffered a spinal cord injury at birth and as a result lived in a hospital setting for 14 years. The attendant support that Michelle receives allows her to live outside of a hospital setting and in her own apartment.

-Michelle

Aaliyah

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:25:44 GMT

Aaliyah is a 25 year old physically disabled woman of colour. She has lived in a Community Support Service Congregate Care program for 6 years. When Aaliyah first moved in, she was a quiet and timid teenager who was afraid to speak up for herself. She was guarded and

skeptical when it came to trusting and accepting the help of her new team. Over time, Aaliyah’s team worked with her to earn her trust and prove that she can rely on them for support. Now, Aaliyah is a strong self-advocate who controls the direction of her

own life. She has developed life skills and independence, effectively directing the services she receives and collaborating with her team. Aaliyah has also made strong connections within her community and earned the respect of others for her kindness and compassion.

With the support she has received; Aaliyah has learned the power of her own voice and gained the confidence to use it!

-Aaliyah

Greg

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:24:33 GMT

Greg, a vibrant, active person with disabilities who receives support services that have enabled him to live independently in supportive housing for 18 years and volunteer in the community. The attendant outreach services Greg receives enable him to volunteer four days a week at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital where he is proud to give back to the hospital he called home from age nine - 18 before moving into his own apartment in the community. Greg has also received support from a specialized rehabilitation centre which helped set up his computer and voice-activated software, as well as assistance with his wheelchair, bed, lift and phone from an occupational therapist with the Home Care program.

- Greg

Arun

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:23:28 GMT

Arun, who has renal system complications and major health concerns that have seen him regularly in and out of hospital. During one of his hospital visits, staff referred him to a Community Support Service Transitional Care program. Arun receives dialysis transportation rides three times a week, a Personal Support Worker (PSW) to help him three times a week with personal care, assistance with meal preparation, and medication reminders. The PSW assistance has reduced the pressure and stress on his spouse as his sole caregiver. She no longer feels alone and is very relieved that she and Arun do not have to rely on the hospital system as much as they did in the past.

- Arun

Grant

Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:21:17 GMT

Grant, who was involved in a serious car accident when he was 20, had extensive injuries to his head, and needed additional support once he left acute care.

- Grant

Pandemic Casts a Long Shadow on Food Security

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 20:07:54 GMT

OCSP funding has helped combat food insecurity throughout the COVID-19 crisis, but food insecurity will persist for vulnerable seniors even as pandemic ends.

February 28, 2022

An estimated one in seven Canadians struggle to afford basic nutrition, according to Dietitians of Canada. This number is up from the one in eight Canadians who were food insecure prior to the COVID-19 crisis, and with costs increasing everywhere, there’s concern that the number will rise further still.

Since April 2020, the Ontario Community Support Program (OCSP) has been helping organizations like Circle of Care Sinai Health and VON North Bay get food to the vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities who need it the most, through their Meals on Wheels programs. The funding, from the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility and administered by the Ontario Community Support Association, has been extended to March 2022. Organizations will need on-going funding past this date to continue to meet the needs of the many folks who benefit from this program.

Ensuring that isolated seniors and people with disabilities have access to reliable, nutritious food is an important preventative measure that helps to ease the strain on the healthcare system. Terry-Lynn Gravelle, the Meals on Wheels Coordinator for VON North Bay, has seen first-hand the transformative effect that access to healthy meals has had on clients in her program, like the gentleman who was on a liquid diet when he signed up for Meals on Wheels.

“Now he gets regular food to cook himself, because his health has improved,” she says. “I have another gentleman who is a diabetic and it was uncontrolled. Now his sugar is averaging eight, which is much better than [it was] in the high teens. So this funding has allowed me to assist them and improve their health, but they otherwise would not be able to afford to get fresh produce because it's too expensive.”

While the cost of fresh produce continues to rise, base funding for these organizations often remains the same. “We're renegotiating with our three different food providers, and they're all looking for 10 to 20% increases depending on the vendor and their prices. So obviously, that drives our costs up and our funding is fixed,” says Josi Sarne, Director, Community Engagement & Growth at Circle of Care. “That puts us into a position of needing to find ways to get more money, either through increasing our base funding, or raising our prices to clients, which you know, we absolutely do not want to do, or cutting back in other ways. None of those are easy choices, or ones that we want to make.”

71% of respondents to a recent OCSP survey estimated that more than 25% of their clients are facing food insecurity, and for many Meals on Wheels clients on a fixed income, even a minimal charge like $6.50 a meal is out of reach, and without additional funding, either from the government or corporate and individual donors, organizations are challenged to make tight funding stretch even further. The program is already reliant on the thousands of volunteers who not only donate their time to deliver meals and produce boxes, but also use their own vehicles, often without reimbursement for gas or mileage.

These volunteers, like Noah, a young adult with a disability who delivers with the help of his parents; David, whose delivery companion is his daughter’s 18-month old Bernedoodle dog; Lissie and Gail, a pair of friends who volunteer together; and one of the women who helped to start the North Bay Meals on Wheels program in the 70’s, are not only a friendly face for isolated seniors, in some cases they’re a lifeline.

“It's not just the food and the nutrition that [seniors are] getting,” says Lisa Rae, Director of Volunteers, Intake and MOW Services. “It's that safety check. That's very important for a lot of our seniors. And unfortunately, our volunteers have found clients on the floor periodically, throughout the year, where EMS has had to be called, or a relative has had to be called to come and attend to them.”

With Spring on the horizon and an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, life is beginning to feel a bit less precarious for many Ontarians. But the reality is, even once the pandemic ends, food insecurity will remain. “The need is out there,” Josi says, “It continues to be out there, it's not going away. And, you know, if you add on an additional pressure of costs, reducing the amount you can provide, and you've got more people, then it makes for a pretty significant challenge to continue the program the way we'd like to continue the program.”

Peter, a volunteer with Circle of Care Meals on Wheels, feels fortunate to be in a position to help others. “If we have learned nothing else during this historic pandemic, it is that in order to survive, we must do so as part of a larger community,” he says. If you have been looking for ways to help your community, either by donating time or money, please consider Meals on Wheels , as the need has never been greater.

Staffing crisis threatens home and community care sector with 421% increase in vacant RN positions and 331% increase in vacant PSW positions

Fri, 11 Feb 2022 19:28:27 GMT

Staffing crisis threatens home and community care sector with 421% increase in vacant RN positions and 331% increase in vacant PSW positions

New survey from the Ontario Community Support Association shows sector frontline staff vacancies nearly tripled from 2020 to 2021

TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2022 - The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is sounding the alarm on the state of their sector with the latest survey* results on staff vacancy rates.

According to the recent OCSA member survey results for 2021, across their three top frontline positions (PSWs, RN, RPNs) for both full-time and part-time employment, 17.4% of positions are vacant. This is nearly triple last year's survey results which showed a vacancy rate of 6.8%. As well, 26.1% of all RN positions are vacant, an increase of 421% while 14.2% of full-time PSW positions are currently vacant – this is a 331% increase in vacant full-time PSW positions in the sector.

"Our member organizations can no longer maintain current service levels without adequate resources," says OCSA CEO Deborah Simon. "These are non-profit organizations that rely on government support and fundraising. Many have long waitlists and no staff to service the clients. The shortage has led to longer waitlists, triaging of clients, and the current trajectory will lead to cancellation of programs or services and with it, increased caregiver burden as well as added pressures on long-term care (LTC) and hospitals across Ontario."

Staff are leaving the home and community care sector in droves, many to other sectors where there are incentivized opportunities to shore up similar roles in hospitals and LTC. This means PSWs in the home and community care sector have the same education yet make an average of 19% less than PSWs in the hospital sector and 9% less than PSWs working in long-term care. Registered nurses in home and community care also make significantly less despite the same education – an average of $11.00 less per hour, or 32% less than in hospitals.

OCSA is calling on the government to urgently address this by:

Repealing Bill 124 – Home and Community Care Health Service Providers cannot compete with LTC/Hospitals that are able to pay higher wages for the same staff roles
Making pandemic pay permanent
Recognizing the massive wage parity issue
Striking an urgent task force in the sector to address these HHR issues and report back to government with a system wide plan

"We've seen that this crisis has been quietly building as one arm of the system gets funding while the other, which is designed to keep people safe at home and alleviate the burden, is in dire straits. There is no longer any runway," says Simon. "We are sounding the alarm bells before it's too late."

About OCSA

Celebrating our 30th anniversary, the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 220 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to over one million Ontarians. Our members help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These proactive and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario. For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets.

About the Survey*

OCSA conducted two surveys, one in February 2021 and one in February 2022. Both surveys had over 60 OCSA member responses. The returned samples represented over 11,000 frontline positions in both surveys. Both surveys asked members to identify the number of FT, PT and casual RN, RPN and PSW/Attendant care positions in their organizations and the number of people filling those positions on December 31st, 2020, January 30st, 2021, December 31st, 2021 and January 30th, 2022. We used December 2020 and December 2021 data due to data completeness. Some entries were missing January 2022 data.

For further information: Media Contact: Janice Bedore, Executive Assistant, Janice.bedore@ocsa.on.ca, 1-800-267-6272 ext. 224

Three Key Investments into Home and Community Care Needed to Safeguard the Future Sustainability of our Health System

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 14:11:04 GMT

OCSA’s 2022 Pre-Budget Submission

TORONTO, JANUARY 31, 2022 – The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) calls on the province to invest $677 million into the home and community care sector to enable Ontario’s most vulnerable to live well at home and in their communities, protect and optimize hospital and long-term care capacity and strengthen the frontline workforce.

In our pre-budget submission, we outline seven clear reasons why the province should invest $677 million into the home and community care sector in Budget 2022. This investment would:

1) Ensure there is capacity to deliver home and community care services by providing $470 million to increase the salaries to home and community care frontline staff and exempting the entire community health sector from Bill 124 , including community primary care, mental health and addictions and not-for-profit long-term care.

2) Prevent cuts to community support services and independent living services that would lead to more hospitalizations and early admissions to long-term care by investing $57 million in community support services base funding. Without this 5% increase, many organizations will either be in financial deficit position or be forced to cut service levels, leading to insurmountable waitlists and increases to client fees.

3) Allow the clearing of the surgical backlog by ensuring the delivery of the additional home care volumes announced in the Fall Economic Statement by injecting an additional $150 million directly into the sector’s service providers. Without this 5% rate increase, providers won’t have the necessary infrastructure and operational sustainability to continue delivering services.

Home and community care services serves diverse clients of all ages, province-wide, from those with mild needs to the highest needs clients, including persons on dialysis and ventilators.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the importance of these supports, and the critical role they play in the health care sector helping clear the surgical backlogs and relieving pressure on long-term and acute care” said Deborah Simon, CEO of OCSA. “The lives of patients and clients are at risk without the necessary and sustainable funding from the province; the well-being of caregivers is at risk, and the unmanageable impacts on hospitals and long-term care will continue.”

To read all the reasons why Ontario’s home and community care sector needs funding now, see our pre-budget submission here. Follow #7reasonstocare on social media.

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About OCSA

Celebrating our 30th anniversary, the Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) represents close to 230 not-for-profit organizations that provide home care and community support services to over one million Ontarians. Our members help seniors and people with disabilities live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. These proactive and cost-effective services improve quality of life and prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature institutionalization. They are the key to a sustainable health care system for Ontario. For more information, visit www.ocsa.on.ca or @OCSATweets.

Interviews are available with Deborah Simon, CEO, OCSA. For more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant

janice.bedore@ocsa.on.ca

416-256-3010

1-800-267-6272, ext. 224

2022 Ontario Pre-Budget Submission

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 14:08:30 GMT

Three Key Investments into Home and Community Care Needed to Safeguard the Future Sustainability of our Health System

To enable people to live well at home and in their community, to protect and optimize hospital and long-term care capacity and to strengthen the front-line workforce, this year the government must invest $677 million into the home and community care sector.

This investment would enable three key results:

1) Stem the mass exodus of staff and ensure there is capacity to deliver home and community care services by providing $470 million to increase the salaries of home and community care frontline staff and exempt the entire community health sector from Bill 124.

2) Prevent hospitalizations and early admissions to long-term care as a result of cuts to community support services and independent living services by investing $57 million in community support services base funding. Without this 5% increase, many organizations will either be in financial deficit position or be forced to cut service levels, create of waitlists, or increases to client fees.

3) Enable the clearing of the surgical and procedural backlog by facilitating the delivery of the additional home care volumes announced in the Fall Economic Statement by injecting an additional $150 million directly into home care service providers. Without this 5% rate increase, providers won’t have the necessary infrastructure and operational sustainability to continue delivering services.

OCSP Funds in Action: Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 18:02:09 GMT

How one CSS organization used OCSP funding to safeguard hospitals throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

January 24, 2022

While taking preventative actions to safeguard our healthcare system may have been a new concept for the general public, brought to light by COVID-19, it has long been a driving force for Community Support Sector (CSS) organizations.

Such is the case for Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot , the only CSS provider across three townships and rural Waterloo Region. “We are the go-to organization for supporting seniors, or what we would call ‘adults with unique needs’ to live in their homes,” Executive Director Cathy Harrington explains.

These supports include home care services like light housekeeping or home maintenance assistance, nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels, transportation services to help seniors and adults with disabilities attend their medical appointments, and respite and adult day programs, which afford family caregivers essential rest and support.

Cathy explains that, without services like the ones they offer, vulnerable individuals would struggle, putting physical and financial pressure on other parts of the healthcare system. “They would be contacting their physician, if they had one, they'd be showing up in Emerge. Their needs would be escalating to a certain point that they would become much more in a state of crisis.”

But individuals in need don’t always approach organizations like Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot for help. Sometimes, they don’t know help is available, or worry that it will come at a cost. “Many people fear that someone will assess them, and decide that they can't stay in their own home,” Cathy says. The reality is, CSS organizations will not remove folks from their homes– in fact, their aim is to do the exact opposite. Helping people age at home – and keeping them out of hospitals and long-term care – is exactly what the community care sector excels at.

With a catchment area spanning a large, rural geography, and an aging population, where “two of the three townships that we serve have a higher percentage of older adults than in the rest of the region,” connecting their services with the people who need them the most can be challenging for Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot.

To help, they’ve developed a network of community partnerships to connect with potential clients as efficiently as possible—a system that prepared them well for the past couple of years. “The pandemic really shone a spotlight on our need to work together,” Cathy says, “For us, it's trying to figure out…what other services [folks are] already engaged with, and how we can work with those other providers to complement the work that they're doing.”

While reaching and helping people who need it is always a win for Community Care Concepts, the risk that a growing number of people may become reliant on their services comes with a new set of challenges. “I think that the challenge for us is, what happens after the end of [the Ontario Community Support] program? Because we have attracted far more individuals than we would have been serving before, [who] all have very real needs. And those needs will not go away when the funding [ends],” Cathy says. “How do we sustain that?”

Although Ontario’s strong Home and Community Support Sector is vital for a sustainable health system, precarious funding puts the future of programs like these in serious jeopardy – and puts the entire health system at risk. “We were so thankful to have the Ontario Community Support Program, because it gave us additional flexibility, to be able to truly respond to those needs that were out there,” Cathy says. “But…the needs continue to climb. And long after the program is over, we'll have to continue to figure out as an organization how we respond to those needs.”

While the future may be uncertain, Community Care Concepts of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot, like so many CSS organizations, is leaning on its strengths to find the way forward: resilience, productive partnerships, and a strong sense of what vulnerable people need locally, on the ground.

Maclean's | Demand for Meals on Wheels—and the Volunteers Who Make It Possible—Is Soaring

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 15:25:48 GMT

Community support service providers are entering their busiest season, as the demand for meals and essentials shows no sign of slowing down.

December 7, 2021 - Maclean's

Low-cost meal delivery services have become fundamental components of communities across the country, mostly by way of local Meals on Wheels agencies. Hundreds of thousands of adults in Canada—from seniors and their care workers to people with disabilities—count on the affordable and nutritious meals the services deliver. Many also look to the volunteers for companionship.

Independently-run agencies that prepare and deliver meals exist in almost every province, running primarily on irregular donations and government funding. In Ontario, 74 of the province’s Meals on Wheels providers are members of the Ontario Community Support Association, which helps them with advocacy work and government relations. Without the association, the individual providers “wouldn’t have a voice with the provincial government”, said the association’s CEO Deborah Simon.

As Meals on Wheels providers rev up for their busiest winter season to date, Nathan Sing spoke to Simon and Shannan Ketchabaw, the executive director of Meals on Wheels provider Sudbury Meals, on the staggering demand for low-barrier food delivery services and why nutritious food should be treated as preventative health care.

Read the entire article written by Nathan Sing at Maclean's online.

OCSA Response to the Auditor General Report on Assisted Living Services

nalini.cudzilo@ocsa.on.ca (Nalini Cudzilo) — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 19:22:06 GMT

December 7, 2021

Auditor General highlights key opportunities for improvements but misses mark on recommendation

for competitive procurement of Assisted Living Services

OCSA welcomes the Auditor General’s Audit on Assisted Living Services as this report confirms several of the concerns our members, clients and their caregivers have raised for years. Most notably it makes it clear that the province has not invested enough in the development of assisted living services to improve the performance of the entire health system. We must work together to focus on a system-wide solutions-based approach that benefits the growing numbers of people who urgently need these services to live well at home and in their community.

The audit identifies several improvement opportunities related to client safety and health system efficiency. We and our members look forward to working with the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health on these recommendations to build a better health system, one that leverages assisted living services more effectively and allows vulnerable Ontarians to live well at home.

The Auditor General’s report makes it clear that we all must work together to focus on a system-wide solutions-based approach that benefits the growing numbers of people who urgently need these services.

However, OCSA strongly opposes the Auditor General’s recommendation that funding of these services be allocated through a competitive bidding process. As the province’s experience and the evidence has shown, competitively acquired service delivery of key health service does nothing to improve the quality of care or cost effectiveness of service. Competitive bidding processes are disruptive, create unnecessary turnover in front-line staff, hurts care continuity and quality, and reduces client satisfaction. OCSA strongly rejects this recommendation and implores the government to do the same.

“Assisted living services have experienced tremendous growth in the past years due to their success at keeping people at home and in their community” said Deborah Simon, CEO of Ontario Community Support Association. “The recommendations identified in the report are opportunities to strengthen and expand these tremendous services across the province.”

About OCSA

About Assisted Living Services

Assisted Living Services enable over 23,000 vulnerable Ontarians such as seniors those with physical disabilities, Acquired Brain Injuries and HIV/Aids to live well at home and in their communities. Through a combination of 24/7 available supports, scheduled personal support services, homemaking and other services, these programs are a less costly alternative to long-term care or hospital care.

To arrange an interview and more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant

416-256-3010

1-800-267-6272, ext. 224

OCSA Statement - Ontario Fall Economic Statement 2021

nalini.cudzilo@ocsa.on.ca (Nalini Cudzilo) — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:57:57 GMT

November 16, 2021

The Ontario Community Support Association (OCSA) is calling on the Ford Government to do more to support the more than one million vulnerable Ontarians relying on Community Support Services after the release of last week’s Fall Economic Statement which did not provide an investment for these important services.

The Ontario Government announced an injection of $548.5 million over three years specifically for the expansion of home care services to support client’s post-hospitalization. This funding is long overdue, and more is required to ensure that critical home care services can continue.

However, home and community care services can do more. While Ontario hospitals and long-term care homes are still under tremendous pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, Community Support Services play a critical role in providing much needed support to the health care system by preventing unnecessary hospitalizations and delaying admission into long-term care. These services include programs such as Meals on Wheels©, Adult Day Programs, Attendant Care services, assisted living and respite care that all allow vulnerable individuals to continue to live independently and safely in their homes and communities.

Like other parts of the health care system, Community Support Services have seen increased demand and increase costs due to the pandemic.

Community support services are provided by not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to support the most vulnerable in our society with services they are unable to access elsewhere. Without crucial new investments, many of these organizations will be left with financial deficits and no choice but to cut services, create waitlists or in some cases, increase client fees. OCSA urges the government to take immediate action to ensure community support providers also receive a necessary investment to continue to care for their clients, many of whom have nowhere else to turn.

The sector cannot retain and deploy adequate staff to meet the needs of clients without increased support from government - millions of Ontarians - seniors and people with disabilities across Ontario - depend on this service.

The OCSA is calling on the government to act urgently to address an impending crisis, leaving Ontarians with no support when they are most at risk. We will continue to stress to the government that without supporting the entire home and community care sector, pressure on long-term care will increase as well as the ability to clear hospital post-surgical backlogs.

About OCSA

About Community Support Services

Community Support Services are an essential part of home and community care and include programs such as Meals on Wheels©, Adult Day Programs, Attendant Care services, assisted living and respite care. The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the importance of these supports, and the critical role they play in the health system.

To arrange an interview and more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant

416-256-3010

1-800-267-6272, ext. 224

OCSA Statement on Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 20:10:51 GMT

Toronto, Nov 4, 2021 - Today, the Ontario Government released the Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review: titled “Build Ontario,” which made a commitment to invest $548.5 million over three years in the home and community care sector. A news release of the 2021 Fall Economic Statement can be read here .

This investment will expand home care and community care services, support additional staff including personal support workers and connect patients to the services they require. $61 million was also committed to expand home care services to enable the transition of patients recovering from surgeries or living with complex conditions from hospitals back into their homes. It is our understanding from communication with the Ministry of Health, there will be further investments to come for community support services (CSS). This is welcome news to OCSA and a serious step in the right direction.

The Economic statement also included a WeRPN Bridging Program. Through this program, Ontario is adding 900 registered nurses (RNs) and 700 registered practical nurses (RPNs) to increase nursing capacity to the home and community care sector. The program is upskilling personal support workers to registered practical nurses, and registered practical nurses to registered nurses.

“We appreciate the Ontario government’s willingness to invest in home and community care and launch a bridging program to recruit more RNs and RPNs,” said Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association. “Over one million people receive home community care services, and the need is growing. This funding will help enable individuals to receive care at home and in their community which is where Ontarians want to be. However, more must be done to address wage disparities in our sector.”

The health care system is experiencing a dire staffing shortage and the bridging program will support bringing more RPNs and RNs into the home and community care sector. We appreciate the dedicated investment in the Economic Statement to our sector, however, the challenge remains, due to Bill 124, that these investments cannot go into wages beyond one per cent. As we have noted on several occasions, the challenge remains that PSWs and Nurses in the home and community care are the lowest paid in the entire health system. Our sector is experiencing a significant shortage of PSWs and has lost over 3,000 nurses.

This alarming attrition rate of staff is due to these compensation disparities, and organizational capped salaries due to Bill 124, Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act, which restricts providers from increasing salaries beyond a one per cent annual pay increase. Both have made recruitment and retention of home and community care staff extremely difficult.

We are pleased to see investment for the sector but will continue to stress to government that without appropriate staffing in our sector, pressure on Long-Term Care will increase as well as our ability to clear hospital post-surgical backlogs. Achieving wage parity for our sector is critical.

About OCSA

To arrange an interview and more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant

416-256-3010

1-800-267-6272, ext. 224

Letter to Ontario Premier regarding province-wide vaccination mandate for HealthCare Settings

nalini.cudzilo@ocsa.on.ca (Nalini Cudzilo) — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 12:52:12 GMT

October 20, 2021

Copy of the Letter to Premier Ford

About OCSA

To arrange an interview and more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant

416-256-3010

1-800-267-6272, ext. 224

Ontario's health care sector requires an integrated health human resource strategy

nalini.cudzilo@ocsa.on.ca (Nalini Cudzilo) — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 17:43:25 GMT

October 16, 2021

OCSP Funds in Action: East York Meals on Wheels

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 18:24:49 GMT

How the OCSP helped two community organizations come together to create a Halal Meals on Wheels program.

For over 36 years, East York Meals on Wheels has been delivering affordable and nutritious meals to seniors and adults with disabilities in the Thorncliffe community of Toronto. This summer, thanks to the Ontario Community Support Program and partnerships with neighbouring community organizations, they were able to add Halal meals to their offerings in a pilot program catered to their Muslim community-members.

East York Meals on Wheels is based in Thorncliffe Park, a 2.2 square kilometre neighbourhood in Toronto, with around 30,000 inhabitants housed largely between several dozen apartment buildings. Adriano Murarotto, Executive Director of East York Meals on Wheels explains, “The community here is a landing spot for a lot of newcomers, especially from the Pakistani area...and unfortunately, there's just many layers of barriers,” including limited settlement services, grocery stores, and transit options in the area.

Food insecurity in the community, worsened by the pandemic, prompted another Thorncliffe community support association, The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO), to set up a food collaborative, an impromptu food bank of sorts. Invited for a tour, Adriano was faced with a long line of people stretching through the parking lot, and across the plaza. “I thought originally ‘These people are lining up for their vaccines,’” Adriano remembers. But he quickly realized, “These people aren't here for vaccinations, people are here for food.”

The staff at TNO explained that, as many community members as there were in line, there were still others, mostly seniors and adults with disabilities, who weren’t physically able to get to the food collaborative or carry items home, and TNO didn’t have the infrastructure for delivery. Adriano said, “Well, this is a perfect match because we have infrastructure for delivery, via our volunteers, and we have a history of doing this and we may be in the same buildings during the day as the clients that you're serving.”

The TNO and East York Meals on Wheels worked quickly to put a pilot project together, teaming up with additional community organizations like Health Access Thorncliffe Park, who helped to connect the program with community members in need, and The Bike Brigade, a group of volunteer delivery cyclists, who were instrumental in getting the meals to the clients who needed them the most.

“The connections within the community have been wonderful,” Adriano says, noting that collaboration between organizations isn’t always so simple. “In this sector, we're so territorial about our catchment areas...that's sort of been the way that we’ve been funded. So it's what we know. But through this project, I've reached out to our bordering neighbors, agencies, and I told them about what we're doing. And they said, ‘Please, we welcome you to come into our catchment area...because we don't know what to do.’”

It wasn’t a matter of simply adding these new clients to their existing Meals on Wheels program though. A key demographic of the community is Muslim, meaning the meals needed to be Halal -- the dietary standard prescribed in the Qur’an, which requires paying attention to ingredients and how food is prepared. Adriano and his team got to work researching local Halal meal providers, participating in cultural training and food safety training from the Halal monitoring authority, and purchasing new storage and transport equipment to properly segregate the Halal meals from other meals, in part made possible by the OCSP.

“The OCSP has been key in starting this pilot up,” Adriano says, noting that the funding also helped with administrative costs to coordinate the new routes and volunteers, and with the subsidy of the meals, which was a huge relief to the folks receiving them. Many people admitted they were often skipping meals, were forced to choose between medication and food, or may have had to eat ‘haram’ (‘forbidden’ foods) simply because that’s all that was available to them.

“We learned a lot about our blind spots as an agency,” Adriano says, “Because we were, for so many years, serving the same types of meals on a very limited menu, and really not catering to this community that is at our doorsteps here.”

With 418 meals sent out in the first full month the program was operating (and that’s just for two days a week!) more people are already being served in their Halal program than their regular Meals on Wheels program. “I think if there's one thing that we can say, it’s that we're sad that we hadn't done this sooner, because it's a program well overdue,” Adriano says.

Due to the success of the pilot, it has been extended, with the intent of making it permanent. Clients are so grateful for the program that some of them are coming on as volunteers. “It was beautiful to see,” Adriano says, “Because the need was finally being connected with the resources.”

“Without the help from the OCSP, this program wouldn't have been possible,” Adriano says, “And we wouldn't have come out so wholesome from the pandemic, if it wasn't for the OCSA support, and the continuous advocacy that OCSA provides. It's a beautiful association, and we're honored to be part of it.”

East York Meals on Wheels is one of 136 community support service organizations who has received OCSP enhancement funding. Since May 2020, the program has provided over 1.3 million deliveries of food, medications and essentials that have helped seniors and people with disabilities stay safe during the pandemic. The OCSP program is funded by the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility.

PSW Wage Enhancement Funds are Needed Immediately

nalini.cudzilo@ocsa.on.ca (Nalini Cudzilo) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 12:38:14 GMT

TORONTO, October 8, 2021 -The temporary wage enhancement announced by the government on June 11, 2021, was a welcome relief for frontline Personal Support Workers (PSWs) and providers in the home and community sector. As a sector however, we remain concerned that this funding has not yet been released and the burden it places on cash strapped providers.

As of August 23rd, there was another announced extension of the temporary wage enhancement to October 31st but the June funding has not been released.

“It is astounding that given the incredible work by our frontline staff and the importance that this enhancement is to our sector, that there would not be a timely administration of funds” says Deborah Simon, CEO of the Ontario Community Support Association. “Some of our agencies simply do not have the resources to provide this level of cash flow for their PSWs and as a result, some have had to temporarily halt paying the enhancement.” says Simon.

The home and community care sector is in crisis due to lack of investments, significant shortages of PSWs due to compensation, and a lack of inclusion in government incentives for the sector. The cash outlay to provide this enhancement in many cases exceeds the funding available in many organizations.

“Candidly, what these workers need is a permanent increase but these drastic delays in administering temporary funds is unacceptable. The government must immediately ensure these past funds are approved and transferred as required and ensure the October 31st extension funding is appropriately managed” says Simon.

About OCSA

To arrange an interview and more information please contact:

Janice Bedore

Executive Assistant