According to an OCSA poll, six in 10 Ontarians support equal prioritization of home and community care with long-term care, and the vast majority of Canadians — 78 per cent — would like to see more home and community care programs. These types of programs currently receive a much smaller percentage of the health budget than long-term care programs, according to OCSA.

Ontario’s latest health budget reflects these opinions, as home and community care services received a three-per-cent increase from the previous budget, double the increase for hospital funding.

“There’s no question that as we are preparing for the aging of the population, we must invest more in home care,” Ontario Minister of Health Deb Matthews told The Catholic Register. “It’s what people want. They absolutely want to be home if they can.”

Many people in hospitals, said Matthews, could be taken care of out of hospitals, and up to 30 per cent of those in long-term care could remain at home if there were home and community care services available.

“The most important thing we can do is make sure the resources are there,” she said.

Though Aging With Dignity is not religiously affiliated, Beth Johnson, communications director at Toronto’s Providence Healthcare, said the values the initiative promotes are “intrinsic to everything we do here.”

“By and large, people would prefer to stay at home, and the more we can do to support that, the better,” said Johnson.

Providence Healthcare is a Catholic organization that provides long-term care as well as home and community care programs. Human dignity is one of six core values in Providence’s mission.

Johnson explains people generally prefer to stay in their homes because living at home is a form of independence. For those still able to live at home, Providence also provides pharmacist visits and day programs, including woodworking, gardening and baking, at its community centre.

Even when someone arrives at Providence, she said, it’s all about “helping people to achieve the highest level of independence and dignity.” Providence tries to create a “home-like environment” for its residents, encouraging them to function as independently as possible.

Harry Lynch, manager of spiritual and religious care at Providence, recalls a woman who attended the day program for five years before being admitted into the residence. Without the program, he said she would have been admitted much earlier. Lynch also relates a personal experience as his mother lives on her own with the help of caregivers and services that help her maintain her home.

In both cases, the women appreciated being able to remain in their homes.

“It’s everything from the flowers at your front door to the smell of the living room,” said Lynch.

For Thorning, the enjoyment of being at home is what the Aging With Dignity program is all about.

“It’s about living a rewarding and dignified life. Those are values that resonate across society, across religions. They are part of the Canadian culture regardless of religion,” she said.

“It’s about people and not politics.”

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