1. Senior Citizens’ Association of BC Houston
May 5th, 2017

2. Legislative Mandate & Scope
Monitors the provision of seniors’ services
Analyzes systemic issues
Provides information and referral to seniors and their family members
Reports to Minister and to the public on issues affecting seniors, and provides recommendations to the Minister and other service providers
5 mandated areas
Health care
Housing
Income support
Personal Support
Transportation
Establish standardized measurements for key services to seniors
Provide better, more co-ordinated information for seniors and their families to navigate the network of services and supports
Achieve 100% awareness of all services and supports available to seniors in B.C.
Ensure the basic needs of seniors, with a particular emphasis on low-income seniors, are met
Ensure the system is hearing and respecting the wishes of seniors

3. Who are seniors and what do they want?
Easy question to ask, difficult to answer

4. Seniors not all the same
“Jane”
“Anne”

5. Seniors not all the same
“Jane”
“Anne”

6. Stereotypes of seniors

7. Some Common Perceptions of Seniors
Burden to society - a problem that needs to be solved
Overrunning emergency departments
All going to end up in nursing homes
The “problem” dominating
health care system
Silver Tsunami
Financially secure
Homogeneous

8. B.C. Seniors - Reality
850,000 seniors in B.C. (18% of population), projected to grow to 24% by 2031
Indicators
Over 65
Over 85
Median income
$26,800
$24,600
Senior homeowners household income
24% <$30,000
Senior renters household income
35% <$20,000
% Living Independently
93%
74%
% Living in Residential Care 4%
15%
% that Use Publicly Subsidized Home Support
13%
Use of Emergency Department
22%
Average Life Expectancy
21.6
7.1
% Living in Urban Areas
65%
% of Seniors with Active Driver’s Licences
76%
34%
% that Live Alone
26%
46%
% that are Employed
26% (65-69)
7% (70+)
% that Volunteer
40% (65-74) avg. 235 hrs per year
31% (75+) avg. 198 hrs per year
% of Seniors Living Without a Diagnosis of Dementia
94%
80%
% Living Independently – 2016 Monitoring Report
% Living in Residential Care – Monitoring Report
% of seniors that live alone – 2016 monitoring report
% of seniors using publicly subsidized home support. Katherine’s data for monitoring report
% of Seniors with Active Driver’s Licences – BCIT numbers using population of seniors in 2014 – 34% of seniors over 85 have drivers licences
% that Volunteer - – Giving, Volunteering and Participating survey
Emergency Department Use - CIHI
% the are Employed –BC - Table – Labour Force Survey Estimates by sex and detailed age group
% without a diagnosis of dementia –Monitoring report

9. BC Seniors – Living Longer
BC Life expectancy - 83 years
Canada – 82.2
U.S – 79.3
Sweden – 81.7
U.K. – 81.2

10. What We’ve Heard
Seniors concerned they may not be able to live where they want
Fixed and diminishing incomes
Poor transportation alternatives
Inconsistent home care services
Reduced access to residential care beds
Caregiver burnout
Devaluation of seniors by an ageist society
Seniors lack respect to make decisions
Fragmented care system overall

11. Targeted Issues To Date - Housing
Access to affordable housing for low income seniors
Rents ↑34% since 2005/ rents subsidy ↑ by only 9%
Subsidized Housing – long wait lists, more units needed particularly in rural/remote areas
Use of Property tax deferment ↑
Home owners need new mechanisms to leverage home equity

12. Targeted Issues to Date - Caregivers
97% of home support clients have an unpaid caregiver
53% of home support clients fit the clinical profile of a residential care client
29% of caregivers are in distress, one of the highest rates in Canada
Rate of distress increases to 38% for those caring for the more complex

13. Targeted Issues to Date – Residential Care
Care staffing
91% of facilities not meeting provincial guidelines
$500 m announcement will ensure standardized benchmark, means 3
million more care hours per year
Drug use
26% taking antipsychotics without a diagnosis, dropping, but still one of highest rates in Canada
48% taking antidepressants
Resident to resident aggression
Quality indicators being measured may not reflect experience of residents – OSA survey of 27,000 of residents will capture what they see is working/gaps in care

14. Targeted Issues To Date – Home Support
Availability of adequate levels of home support
60% of clients receive one hour or less per day
Increase in clients, but decrease in hours per client
Variation between health authorities
Not enough flexibility
20% say too many regular workers & 28% say too many substitute workers
System too rigid in what it delivers
Clients want ability to choose service required
Cost a barrier for some seniors

15. Targeted Issues To Date – Transportation
OSA HandyDART survey of 7,500 HandyDART users
91% satisfied with service, yet nearly 1/3 say it does not or
only moderately meets transportation needs
wait times and length of ride times an issue – only 46% always picked up within 30-minute window
cost an issue for some seniors – 53% of users have income of less than $20,000
Encouraging municipalities to ensure senior pedestrians are safe – decreased speed limits, road/intersection design/visibility
Full systemic review of transportation issues underway

16. Key OSA Resources : Monitoring Report
Brings information/trends about seniors’ services together in one place – shows where we are doing well and where improvements are needed
Comparisons year over year in key service areas: health care, housing, transportation, income and personal supports
Highlights from last year:
Residential care wait times ↑
Wait times for subsidized housing ↓slightly
Number of seniors with driver’s licences ↑
Max payment for CPP ↑3%
Monitoring report available on our website:

17. Key OSA Resources: Quick Facts Directory
Lists information for 292 publicly subsidized facilities in British Columbia 
Designed to be a starting point to find reliable data on residential care facilities in the province
Information includes bed counts, food
Licensing inspections, complaints,
languages, care quality indicators, funded
care hours etc.
Available

18. Progress to Date CCALA Changes Some↓ in antipsychotic use
Additional $500 m committed to increased home support and care hours in facilities
Regulatory change allowing more seniors to stay in Assisted Living longer
↓ in antipsychotic use (more progress needed)
↑ in recreational therapy (more progress needed)
Increased eligibility for, and awareness of, MSP Premium Assistance
Working group on Resident-to-Resident Aggression
Health Authority working on reducing inappropriate residential placement
Discussing SAFER changes
CCALA Changes
Some↓ in antipsychotic use
Expanded income brackets and awareness on MSP and Premium Assistance
Working group on Resident-to-Resident Aggression
Health Authority residential placement process
Discussing SAFER 18

19. Work Ahead Home Support review
Residential care survey report and review
Transportation review
Abuse and neglect of seniors initiative to improve tracking and collection of data
Hospital Discharge and Emergency Department report

20. Contact www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca Toll-free: 1-877-952-3181
In Victoria:
Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
Translation services available in more than 180 languages.
facebook.com/SeniorsAdvocateBC
@SrsAdvocateBC