Senior Services

As people age, everyone experiences changes, but these effects can be more pronounced in individuals who are living with a brain injury. Some examples of the challenges that seniors living with an ABI experience include:

• Increased risk of social isolation
• Ongoing cognitive challenges
• Increased risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia
• Increased risk of falls
• Multiple medical conditions
• Increased risk of behavioral challenges

Our Seniors Program was introduced in 2008 and includes a team of staff that provides specialized behavioural support and social engagement to seniors living with ABI who reside in long-term care settings and present with cognitive/behavioural challenges in Long Term Care settings, as well as in home and hospital environments.

The program is based on the demonstrated premise that providing augmented ABI-specialized staff in long term care settings for individuals with cognitive and behavioural needs can increase their quality of care and effectively prevent and manage responsive behaviours that may be associated with physical caregiving.  These behaviours, in turn, result in a risk of these individuals losing their placement and/or being transferred to a less appropriate living environment (e.g. hospital, mental health unit, heavily staffed assisted living site, etc.). 

The goals of the program are to assist clients in sustaining their living environment, increase opportunities for recreational engagement and quality of life, decrease the possibility of relocation to inappropriate environments or hospital, assist in ALC transitions, and provide support to the attending caregiver (i.e. education).