Am I Eligible?

ELIGIBILITY

To live in a long-term care home, you must:

• be age 18 or older
• have a valid Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) card
• have care needs including: 24-hours nursing care and personal care, frequent assistance with activities of daily living, on-site supervision or monitoring to ensure your safety or well-being
• have care needs which cannot be safely met in the community through publicly-funded community-based services and other care-giving support
• have care needs which can be met in a long-term care home

COST

All personal and nursing care provided by long-term care homes in Ontario are funded by the government. You must pay for accommodation charges such as room and board.

Click here to see current accommodation rates and learn how to get help paying.

Arrangements

HOW TO ARRANGE CARE

All applications and admission to long-term care homes are arranged by Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). These services used to be provided through Community Care Access Centres—or CCACs.

To start this process:

1. Call Your Local Health Integration Networks

Your local LHIN will help you every step of the way. LHIN staff will:

• Determine your eligibility
• Tell you about homes in your area
• Tell you about costs
• Help you apply

To contact your local LHIN:

• Enter your postal code online
• Call 310-2222

2. Choose a Long-Term Home

To find a home that offers the care you are looking for, you should:

• Visit more than one home
• Ask the right questions when you visit
• Read the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s report about each home

Download:

• Checklist to help you ask the right questions (PDF)

Read:

• Reports on long-term care homes
• Checklist to help you ask questions about fire-safety

3. Apply for Care

Once your LHIN has determined that you are eligible, you can apply to a maximum of 5 homes. Your local LHIN will coordinate your application for you.

To apply, contact your local LHIN

4. Waiting for an Offer

If your application is accepted by the home(s), you may have to wait until a bed becomes available. The time you wait depends on:

• The number of beds available in the home
• The type of bed you’ve requested
• Whether the bed you’ve requested is in a private, semi-private or basic room

LHIN staff will contact you when a bed becomes available. You have 24 hours to accept or reject the offer.

If you accept the offer, you have up to five days to move in. If you refuse the offer, your application to all chosen homes will be cancelled. In this case, you cannot re-apply for 12 weeks after the day you were removed from the waiting list, unless there is a significant change in your condition or circumstances.

For more questions, contact your local LHIN.

Am I Ready for Long-Term Care?

If you are wondering if long-term care is an option for a loved one living at home, you should ask yourself these questions:

• Can I provide the safety, medical attention and around-the-clock supervision that could be required?
• Will living with me in my home, or on their own, meet my relative’s companionship and care needs?
• Will I be able to provide a relatively safe and secure environment?
• If my relative lives with me, or on their own, how will that affect my life and the other relationships important to me?
• How do my spouse, my children and my siblings feel about the impact it will have on my time and attention?
• Have I considered the financial and emotional means needed to be responsible for my relative’s care on a constant basis?

If you answered “No” or “Not Sure” to any of these, you might consider a long-term care home.

All long-term care homes in Ontario are governed by the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (LTCHA). The requirements in the LTCHA ensure that residents of these homes receive safe, consistent, and high-quality resident-centred care in settings where residents feel at home, are treated with respect, and have the support and services they need for their health and well-being.

The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) provides funding for residents for basic accommodation in long-term care homes. Residents are expected to pay for upgrades to semi-private and private accommodations through a co-payment program. The MOHLTC sets accommodation co-payment rates.

How Do I Choose a Home?

• Is the home clean? Does it smell fresh?
• Do you feel welcome and is your relative treated with respect? Are staff compassionate and do they take as much time as you need to answer all your questions?
• How do staff interact with the people who live in the home?
• How will staff come to understand the unique needs of your relative? Will your relative be involved in making decisions about medical treatment and diet choices, for example?
• Will the menu appeal to your loved one?
• What can friends, family and others tell you about the home’s reputation? Is the home accredited?
• Can residents make choices about the programs they participate in?
• Does the home offer activities and therapies your loved one will enjoy, such as art, horticulture, aromatherapy, massage, or pet therapy? What about foot care or physiotherapy?
• Are there spiritual programs? Are there social, recreational, and cultural resources available, such as movies, games, books and music?
• What role can you play in caring for your loved one? How will you have an ongoing opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions that will improve your relative’s care?
• How will your concerns be dealt with? Can you join a Family Council or Advisory Board? Are there support programs for family caregivers?
• Under what circumstances will your family member be sent to hospital?
• How do home management and staff make sure that residents’ rights and choices are respected, as laid out in the Resident’s Bill of Rights?