Elder Care Program
Specialized Geriatric
Ambulatory Services
One of our four areas of focus at North York General is Care of the Elderly.
We offer many services for seniors with medical or mental health problems
that threaten their independence or the ability to live at home. All the
health needs of seniors can be met through one central telephone number.
When a senior is assessed through our specialized services, he or she
may be referred to services at the Seniors' Health Centre, General Site,
or Branson Site.
Our Specialized Geriatric Services belong to an important network: the
Regional Geriatric Program of Metropolitan
Toronto (RGP), an umbrella organization that plans and coordinates
specialized geriatric services.
Most services require a doctor's referral, but if you or your family have questions about seniors' health problems, you can call our Geriatric Services Line at 416) 756-6050 to get information from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.
Our services include:
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This is a service for seniors unable to come to the Seniors' Health Centre Day Hospital for assessment (the person may be frail, cognitively impaired or have a safety concern).
- These two geriatric clinics offer specialized assessment by a geriatrician and other health professionals to help seniors get the right care, at the right time. The Elders' Clinic provides a complete medical assessment, and the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic specializes in mental health services for seniors. The clinics complement one another in order to address complex physical and mental health concerns experienced by seniors.
The elderly have unique age-related psychosocial and socio-economic
stress factors such as coping with the loss of loved ones, dealing
with declining health, and struggling with poverty and loss. The clinic
specializes in seniors' mental health problems such as depression,
dementia (memory problems), behavioural difficulties and anxiety.
Learn about our North York General
Hospital Geriatric Mental Health Program. Read an
article on our Memory Clinic.
Assessments at the Elders' Clinic can last up to two and half hours, and help the staff determine what health care services would be the most appropriate for the patient. Patients often can coordinate their visit to the Elders' Clinic with a visit to the Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic.
Seniors can make appointments for the clinics and other specialized geriatric services by calling
416) 756-6050, a convenient central intake number.
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Our Day Hospital is an outpatient rehabilitation service aimed at helping seniors maintain their sense of dignity and independence through improved health and quality of life. We offer a range of services at our Day Hospital, including assessment, treatment, rehabilitation and education for the elderly and their families. Seniors can come to the Day Hospital for an assessment; if they are too frail to make the trip, our Geriatric Outreach Team can visit them at home.
The Day Hospital operates four days a week, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Clients typically attend twice a week until their treatment goals are met.
- Decrease the need for admission to a long-term care facility.
- Provide services that make earlier discharge from hospital possible.
- Decrease the need for emergency admission to hospital.
- Where appropriate, help the discharge of residents from a long-term care facility back to the community.
Helping a senior to regain independence involves caregivers as well as the client. We also work with community services such as home support agencies and others dedicated to the health and well-being of seniors. We offer both individual and group health counselling to patients and their families.
Our professionals are highly trained in all aspects of geriatric care. Members of your health care team at the Day Hospital may include: dietitian, nurse,
recreation therapist, pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, social worker, and physician. Other professional services are used on a consultation basis, as required.
Our services help elderly persons whose complex health and social problems make it difficult for them, their family members, family physicians and other health care services, to provide the support they need. To be admitted, applicants must:
- be age 65 or older;
- have multiple medical, functional or psychosocial problems;
- show potential to benefit from a team approach;
- not reside in a long-term care facility, unless considering a return to community living; and
- be willing and able to participate safely within the group.
Referrals may be made by physicians or other health professionals, family members, friends, community agencies or seniors themselves. However, the patient's primary care physician must agree, since our service does not replace the physician, who will continue to be responsible for the client's ongoing care.
To find out more about this and other services provided by the Seniors' Health Centre, please call 416) 756-6050.
It's never too late to look after your bones! That's the message we want seniors to hear in the fight against the silent disease, osteoporosis, a brittle bone disease that is the leading cause of hip fractures. This Clinic offers a specialized consultation by a geriatrician and physiotherapist.
The POWER Program (Promoting Osteoporosis Wellness Through Education, Exercise and Resources) is a six-week education, nutrition and exercise wellness program (two hours each week) for seniors diagnosed with osteoporosis. Sessions are held at the Seniors' Health Centre, (as well as Baycrest and Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care). Toronto Public Health is also a partner in the program.
Your doctor must refer you to the POWER Program. He or she can find out more by calling (416) 756-6050.
Highlights of the program:
- It's designed for seniors who can benefit from more information about their condition and who can make positive lifestyle changes.
- The nutrition component has an ethnic-specific focus. Participants learn which foods from within their traditional cuisine are rich in calcium.
- Exercises are introduced to show seniors how to slow bone loss related to aging, increase functional ability, and reduce chronic pain.
- Participants also receive tips on how to reduce the risk of falls, including a safety assessment of their home by Toronto Public Health.
North York General Hospital offers on-going educational opportunities for our community to learn about their health and wellness. Many of our seminars and programs deal with issues of interest to older adults.
This service provides in-home assessment for seniors with physical and mental health problems associated with aging.
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