Seniors forced to stop driving faced with finding transportation plan Via LizBraunSun
means single seniors are sometimes forced into a care home option.Article contentCity dwellers have transit, taxis and Ubers to get them where they’re going — if they can afford it.Ontario Tech University Professor Vivian Stamatopoulos, an outspoken advocate during COVID for Long-Term Care residents, said that losing the ability to drive involves a loss of identity and is correlated with poor health outcomes, “especially depression. People feel socially isolated.
As for physical health, “when there’s no one to help seniors get to a doctor’s appointment or checkup, they often just don’t go. You don’t go to medical appointments, you don’t socialize.”Article content“You have to get qualified for Wheel-Trans, for example, and many seniors don’t know how to do that.
“And seniors aren’t using transit if they can help it — nobody is masking. If you have money, taxis are available, but the number of seniors living in poverty has increased markedly.”Advertisement 6There’s no option to age gracefully at home unless you’re wealthy. Single women, widowers — they’re the most vulnerable, and this is how we treat them.”
There are simple things that can be done, she added, such as setting up Wheel-Trans ahead of time and walking the person through the process.enlists students to live with seniors in their home for a reduced rent and for their help with some errands.”Markham, founded by Shanta Sundarason. Her volunteer group drove 10,000 seniors to their COVID vaccinations.
But there have to be more government-sanctioned transportation aids. Without that, “people stay in and rapidly deteriorate,” said Stamatopoulos.If you need to take their car away, you must have a backup plan. It would be nice if Ontario Health actually helped with that.”
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