Before Allan Dugas moved into long-term care, he feared he91裸聊视频檇 be forced to share a bedroom in an impersonal, institutional building, where a regimented schedule would dictate when he ate and what time a staff member would 91裸聊视频渂arge in91裸聊视频� to get him out of bed early every morning.

So after he was hospitalized for a fall, he chose to be discharged to a facility that health-care workers told him they91裸聊视频檇 be comfortable placing their own parents 91裸聊视频� a 91裸聊视频渟mall care home91裸聊视频� in Digby, N.S., made up of 10 houses, each with nine residents and a small group of designated staff.

Dugas called the last four years of his life at Tideview Terrace 91裸聊视频渨onderful.91裸聊视频�

He has his own bedroom and bathroom, and the freedom to get up and go to bed when he wants. He even has a drum set in his bedroom, where his only roommate is his cat, Jones.

Dugas shares a kitchen and living room with eight other housemates, and said 91裸聊视频漷here91裸聊视频檚 a lot of laughter here.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淟ife isn91裸聊视频檛 over, it91裸聊视频檚 just a different chapter,91裸聊视频� said 59-year-old Dugas.

91裸聊视频滻t91裸聊视频檚 about respect and autonomy and making this our home.91裸聊视频�

Dugas was born with spina bifida that weakened him as he got older to the point he needed full-time care. He91裸聊视频檚 the youngest resident of the home and estimates the majority are between 65 and 95 years of age.

Tideview Terrace is a complex divided into interconnected but separate houses but the small care home model can be applied in different ways, ranging from single houses integrated into residential neighbourhoods to larger buildings, where a floor might be designated a single 91裸聊视频渉ousehold91裸聊视频� for several residents.

However they91裸聊视频檙e designed, their hallmark is having just 10 to 12 residents per household and a more comfortable home-like environment, instead of the more commonly seen hospital-like institutions.

Each resident in a small care home has their own bedroom and bathroom, and their household group shares a kitchen and living area.

In a report released last week, the National Institute on Ageing called on all levels of government to make small care homes the standard across Canada, pointing to a survey it did in 2021 that found nearly all respondents said they91裸聊视频檇 91裸聊视频渄o everything they could91裸聊视频� to avoid living in an LTC home.

Co-author Dr. Samir Sinha said that since it91裸聊视频檚 not realistic for all seniors to remain in their own homes, the next best thing would be better quality long-term care in home-like settings 91裸聊视频� especially since the majority of residents are likely to have some form of cognitive impairment.

91裸聊视频淲hen you start thinking about what91裸聊视频檚 ideal for a person living with dementia, it91裸聊视频檚 not living on a unit with 32 other people and staff 91裸聊视频� a whole bunch of different faces all the time,91裸聊视频� said Sinha, a geriatric specialist at Sinai Health in Toronto and the NIA91裸聊视频檚 director of health policy research.

Small care homes in Europe, the United States, and the handful that exist in Canada report more one-on-one care for residents, as well as greater staff satisfaction that leads to less employee turnover, the report said.

The U.K. and Europe have largely shifted to developing small care homes, while 91裸聊视频淣orth America has emerged as an outlier91裸聊视频� in its preference for 91裸聊视频渓arge institutional care settings that resemble lower acuity hospitals rather than home-like settings,91裸聊视频� it said.

In small care homes, each resident largely follows their own daily sleep schedule and has flexibility around meals and activities, in contrast with traditional 91裸聊视频渢ask-oriented91裸聊视频� homes that seek efficiencies through regimented wake and sleep times and mass meals delivered in large dining rooms, Sinha said.

In addition, each household has a small, dedicated staff of personal support workers and other front-line workers, providing consistency and more personal care based on knowing each resident91裸聊视频檚 likes, dislikes and habits.

Everyday tasks such as cooking and cleaning in smaller settings are often split between staff members and can serve as opportunities for more interaction with residents, Sinha said. For example, residents can help prepare meals if they91裸聊视频檙e willing and able.

More specialized staff 91裸聊视频� including registered nurses, physiotherapists and dietitians 91裸聊视频� are shared by all the households.

The National Institute on Ageing91裸聊视频檚 report said more research is required to determine if small care homes are actually more cost-effective than traditional long-term care homes, but said 91裸聊视频渢he initial studies are promising.91裸聊视频�

Debra Boudreau, Tideview Terrace91裸聊视频檚 administrator, said that91裸聊视频檚 been the case at her facility, which transformed into a small care home from a traditional institution in 2011, a few years after Nova Scotia became the first province in Canada to incorporate small care home design.

Boudreau, who has worked there for almost 20 years, said the small care home structure doesn91裸聊视频檛 cost any more to build and run than other public long-term care facilities in the province, since all homes are allocated the same funding per resident 91裸聊视频� it91裸聊视频檚 just used differently.

91裸聊视频淲e had a certain footprint that we needed to work within in order to meet the design guidelines, and so we really maximized as much resident space as we could,91裸聊视频� Boudreau said.

That meant allocating less space to administration offices and more to living space.

91裸聊视频淵es, we work here, but the primary purpose of the facility is to be a resident91裸聊视频檚 home,91裸聊视频� she said.

The small care home model also excels at infection control, which became very clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, Boudreau said.

While the virus tore through many long-term care homes and killed thousands across Canada, Tideview Terrace was largely spared because 91裸聊视频渨e could close a house, isolate everybody, keep consistent staffing,91裸聊视频� she said.

The home didn91裸聊视频檛 have a COVID outbreak until two years after the pandemic began and ultimately had three deaths.

In addition to Nova Scotia, six other Canadian jurisdictions 91裸聊视频� Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut 91裸聊视频� have supported the 91裸聊视频渕ass development91裸聊视频� of small care homes, the National Institute on Ageing report said. Other jurisdictions have made varying commitments to the model.

Ontario is the only province where 91裸聊视频渘o current initiatives have been identified supporting the development of small care homes,91裸聊视频� the report said.

The province91裸聊视频檚 ministry of long-term care said in an email that it 91裸聊视频減rovides flexibility to operators to propose smaller scale projects as there is no minimum bed requirement for a new or redeveloped long-term care home in Ontario.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淥ntario will continue to encourage construction of projects, while providing operators with the flexibility to meet the needs of their communities, that meets the demands of Ontario91裸聊视频檚 growing population,91裸聊视频� spokesperson Mark Nesbitt said on Friday.

Advocates argue provinces and territories have an obligation to actively prioritize small care homes.

91裸聊视频淪omehow we need to change people91裸聊视频檚 mindset on what it means to age when somebody can no longer live (at home),91裸聊视频� Boudreau said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not OK to just keep warehousing people in traditional institutions.91裸聊视频�