ElderCare for Apsley & Region

If we build it, they will stay

Coming of Advanced Age

A high proportion of Apsley & region residents are at, or nearing the age when they will have to decide where they can live when they can no longer keep up a private home

Health, taxes, finances and physical limitations will make relocating an unavoidable reality

Decisions, Decisions …

The first decision is to accept that moving from where they live is not optional

The second decision is where to move … and, WHY

Each decision is independent…. Because …

… One Decision does not make the other

The decision to leave a family home, does not automatically make the decision to remain in and around the Apsley region

There must be influences and attractions which make that decision reasonable and comfortable

Needs … Seniors must continue to be needed

and utilized so that their presence and intellectual skills can contribute to the whole community

They will stay where they have friendships, associations and activities which are difficult to re-establish in a new, perhaps alien community

They need the means to meet and socialize with the entire community, young and not so young … In addition to

… Housing and Activity Facilities

They need to be able to stay in their homes longer; supported by the Age in Home Program (MOHLTC - LHINS)

They need ‘transitional’ housing which allows freedom from upkeep, yet permits extended Independent Living

Seniors will eventually need Long Term Care in a purpose-built facility

… Recreational and Activity Focal Points

The ministries of MOHLTC and Culture and Recreation must redefine ‘Recreation Center’ to include all age groups in the potential user population

It requires more than a rink and a bingo hall to fill these needs

Exercise, therapeutic recreation, life-style support and amusement should be available in a rural Recreation and ACTIVITY Center

For the Young (at heart) - indoor

Ice Sports: Including hockey, figure skating, short-course speed skating

Aquatic Sports: Swimming, diving and life-saving instruction

Floor Sports: Basketball, floor hockey, badminton, volleyball, martial arts, gymnastics, etc.

For the more ‘Mature” - indoor

Ice sports: Leisure skating, old-timers hockey, coaching team sports

Aquatic Sports: Swimming, diving, aqua-robics, warm-pool exercise

Floor Sports: Age-defined volleyball and badminton, Yoga and Calisthenics, dancing, off-season golf instruction, card games

Plus …

‘Mind-space’ facilities, for …

Book clubs and cultural discussions Musical and arts-crafts instruction Counseling – diet, exercise and

medications; social adjustment, grief, health issues

Youth-Seniors interchanges related to local history, life-style & career advice, ethics and values

The first vital piece in the puzzle

Before we put up residences and other facilities, we must have a centralized place where most activities can take place.

That makes the new Recreation and Activity Center vital to ElderCare quality!

The Bricks and Mortar When the activity and cultural

amenities are in place, the need for seniors’ accommodation can be addressed

This need not be ‘public’ or ‘charity’ based

The public purse should only play a minimal part in the development of seniors’ accommodation

The Bricks and Mortar (cont’d)

‘Transitional’ accommodation is envisioned to be a campus of ‘senior-friendly’ small bungalows or single storey town houses.

This recognizes the need for independence and the fact that this group still has functional health and is ‘auto-mobile’

The Bricks and Mortar (cont’d) Another building unit would be for

people requiring health supervision, and some living assistance

This structure would also house ‘full care-dependent’ residents

This building would provide ‘first-response’ medical attention through either resident staff or an on-call contract (24/7) with the Medical Center.

More Bricks and Mortar The ‘transitional’ housing and the Full

Care facility would not be publicly funded

With a proven market, private operators would seek to provide these facilities with non-monetary public assistance

The complexities and liabilities attached to operating a Seniors’ facility should be left to professional operators, not the local government

What’s in it for the Senior? … The option to remain in a locale they

love, enjoy friends and local services, and retain their rights to make life decisions

Seniors would still be able to pass on talent and experience to the young

Seniors would continue to make a valuable contribution to the Apsley region socially, economically and politically

Seniors will have money.

The economic activities of Seniors would assist the area to develop

The leadership and knowledge offered by Seniors is a mentoring resource

Employment. The desire to retain more of our young people would be realized through new careers and service jobs related to serving seniors in all phases of this project (Construction, trade services, care-giving)

What’s in it for Apsley & Region? (cont’d)

In addition to the economic activities of seniors, the creation of needed utilities will open the town for more commercial development

This would be in the form of services and vendors to residents, tourists and Signature Park trail-users

This would expand the tax base beyond residential and lakefront owners

What can we do now? Conclude that we all face the coming

of senior-hood and will need facilities not yet present in this region

Talk and promote the idea of Apsley as a potential model rural Seniors’ center.

Make sure your elected representative knows what is needed

Support the creation of utilities that will serve all regional citizens (ie. water & sewage systems) … plus

What can we do now? (cont’d) Form alliances and connections to

the Provincial Ministries and the agencies that can help expedite our ElderCare initiatives

Create a working group by March 2008, made up of seniors’ activists and members of Council; to form strategic alliances and be energized to bring action to these proposals

… Determine what we have Inventory all activities that take

place under different roofs so that we can promote them to the community

Inventory the available township lands that could be used to create the physical buildings and plant

Decide the area from where we draw ElderCare clients and how many there are in that area

Hey, won’t this take a long time and a lot money?

For some this will be like planting an Maple tree for later generations to enjoy the shade

As to money, the public purse has ways to provide the utilities and to house various activities while sharing the cost with other levels of government

Actual seniors’ residences can be privately funded while accommodating a targeted user-fee structure

If they build it, they will stay Unless, the community wants to see

retirees move away with their intellectual and economic power, building a seniors’ infrastructure in Apsley is

The right thing to do. Most of us will stay if we can retain our

friendships and associations, be free of the toil and strife of a house and grounds and be able to exercise body and mind within this community

And, that’s the bottom line --- to be continued.