What is PEP Seniors Therapeutic Centre?
Developed in response to both the growing needs in the Perth-Smiths Falls communities, and the mandates of the Seniors Strategy of Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care, PEP is a program of care, direction and therapy which focuses on helping older Ontarians to stay healthy and stay at home longer. Our community based, adult day program is designed to support and enrich the functionality of older adults through individualized plans of care. It is structured as a comprehensive, holistic care program that provides a variety of health, social and related services in a protective setting during daytime hours.
The day program has two primary goals directed toward the enrichment of the lives of both the participants and their caregivers; (1) to enhance and/or maintain the functioning level (physical, social, emotional, and cognitive) of older adults on an individual basis in concert with input from their healthcare providers and family, and (2) to provide respite, encouragement and education for family/caregivers of our participants.
Who attends PEP?
The PEP – Seniors Therapeutic Centre participants are adults over 55 who are living at home independently and who wish to remain in their own home as long as possible. Attendees are generally looking for cognitive stimulation to exercise their brain, physical assessments and therapy to address specific complaints and maintain and/or improve physical strength and stability and also to access opportunities for socialization.
Program Details
Operating Monday to Friday from 9:30am till 3pm PEP will offer a therapy centered program for it’s participants which will include socialization, nutritional assessment and instruction, physical assessment and activation, cognitive assessment and activities which will improve function, and emotional stimulation and support. Detailed aspects of our program include exercise and fall prevention training, health optimization interventions, advocacy for seniors, medication monitoring and family caregiver leave. Participants will receive nutritional mid-morning snacks, as well as a hot lunch each day they are at the program. Intake as well as ongoing assessments will guide program staff to work towards outcome goals set with participants, family and healthcare providers. Family and Caregivers to older adults within the program will receive not only much needed daytime respite, but will also be provided with professional counseling and social work services.
Projected Outcomes of PEP Within Our Community
PEP will facilitate socialization, encourage fitness, promote mental/cognitive stimulation, perform professional counseling and cooperative planning with family physicians and other community care agencies. Older adults within the program will benefit on a daily basis through improved nutrition, activation, social, mental and emotional stimulation activities. Caregivers to older adults within the program will receive not only much needed daytime respite, but will also be provided with professional counseling and social work services. This will allow for less caregiver burnout, and increase the social, mental and physical health of the older adults in our program.
We expect that more patients will be able to be enrolled in primary care as the health professionals working at PEP are able to improve the health and decrease the visit frequency of our clients. In addition, we expect to reduce demand for inpatient beds, and beds in long term facilities. The three full time health professionals working within our program,along with trained volunteers from our community, will be able to care for 12 clients daily, 5 days per week for a total of over a thousand patient-days of therapy in the first 12 months.
Service Support Synergy
These three words sum up our core values at PEP.
We are committed to the very highest standards of professional quality care.
- We serve and support each client and their caregiver, by respecting their dignity and worth, no matter their age or illness.
- We believe and maintain the right to privacy and confidentiality.
- We strive to maintain and develop best practices and a commitment to excellence, recognizing flexibility is key in our ever changing community.
- We foster synergies as we partner with family health teams, South East LHIN, CCAC, local hospitals and care agencies to best meet the needs of our clients and their caregivers.
- PEP’s staff and volunteers are our primary resource for the successful delivery of quality care.
- We are committed to leadership, innovation, improvement, research, education and the development of programs which will optimize the health and well being of each participant.