Four years ago, at age 84, my dad survived a severe stroke. The downside is that during his hospital stay this otherwise fit person was put on a drug regimen and has been taking nine prescription drugs a day ever since.
The phenomenon is not exactly marginal: according to a recently released government report, one in every three workers in Canada is assisting a chronically disabled person — many of them seniors — with transportation, household maintenance or day-to-day tasks.
Will the cost of senior care in Canada one day break the bank? Probably not, contrary to common perceptions.
Most people hope to be able to age in their own home. But seniors and their families don’t always have that choice. Four health care policy experts, Dr. Ivy Bourgeault, Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, Dr. Neena Chappell and Dr. Michel Grignon, believe it is time to rethink the philosophy behind long term care in Canada.
Almost continuously since the second half of the 1990s, Canadians have pointed to health care as their largest national concern and the issue that should receive the greatest attention from Canada’s leaders. Polls taken over the last decade or so have found that health care is typically the highest priority among voters.
