B.C. announces virtual long-term care support, monitoring for seniors

The provincial government is adding a new virtual care program for seniors who need daily care but want to remain in their own homes rather than a long-term care centre.

It’s called the long-term care at home program and some of the first homes being fitted with health technology will be in Delta and Victoria.

Eligible seniors will receive tech products like medicine dispensers, robot vacuums to help with housekeeping, and wearable pendants for fall detection — but also devices to help with communication.

Derrick Bernardo, president and CEO of Broadmead Care Centre in Victoria, tells 1130 NewsRadio it will provide seniors with a direct line to its healthcare workers. 

“They can connect 24/7 to any of our expert staff to support them in any of their requirements, whether it be health-related, wellness-related and so forth,” said Bernardo.

Interested people might be seniors on a long-term care waitlist or assisted living waitlist while living at home and living with a primary caregiver — or they could be living at home without a caregiver but may be at risk of isolation or falling and might benefit from vitals and medication monitoring.

Health Minister Adrian Dix tells 1130 NewsRadio the program is fully funded for the next four years, and he expects it to support around 2,700 participants.

He says the provincial government worked with the federal government to secure “around $45 million” in initial funding for an initiative unlike any other.

“It’s a real innovation. No province in Canada has a program like this, and we haven’t found them in the United States either,” said Dix.

The project is being piloted with the support of KinVillage in Delta, where 11 seniors are already enrolled, and Bernardo’s Broadmead Care, where he says his team will be serving 75 participants by this fall.

“It’s about being proactive and making sure seniors have the tools to survive and stay and age seamlessly in their own homes,” said Bernardo.

—With files from Kier Junos.