A new support program for area seniors looks to bridge gaps and improve quality of life

At the beginning of October, the Town of Whitecourt received word that a bid to receive grant funding to provide social prescribing services for seniors in the area had been approved. At the October 23 Regular Meeting of Council, a breakdown of what the program and services entail was provided. The program is called the Social Prescribing Program.

Chelsea Grande, Director of Community Services for the Town of Whitecourt, said the FCSS (Family and Community Support Services) team successfully snagged grant funding for a two-year term, allowing them to hire a Seniors Resource Lead. Once in place, the lead will receive referrals for social prescriptions from those within the healthcare system, such as doctors, nurses, homecare, the Primary Care Network, or the hospital following discharge.

Social prescribing links patients with non-medical activities and programs in their community, enhancing their quality of life. The programming is a holistic approach that addresses different social needs and helps seniors with limited natural support thrive in their community, staying put longer rather than transitioning to higher levels of care. Referrals can help with various things like housing, food, transportation, income, and social support.

“It’s a 35-hour position that will provide wrap-around services for seniors in our community who are referred through the health system. They (professionals in the system) will make the referrals, and then the Seniors Resource Lead will provide wrap-around services,” explained Grande. “This directly complements our Community Services Program Coordinator position within the FCSS area as they were providing some of these services before, but not at a capacity that this will be able to do,” she said.

By helping link seniors to the supports available to them, it quickens the window of time needed to connect them. “This is going to be great for the community because it’s going to increase the assistance of seniors and the services for seniors. This position will also be working to build community capacity, so they will be looking at the gaps that they see when they meet with these seniors and then encouraging the community agencies that are providing services to seniors, or within our community, to try and fill some of those gaps so we can help seniors age well in place in our community,” explained Grande.

The increase in service delivery this grant will provide for seniors in the Town of Whitecourt and the area could play a significant role in improving quality of life. It will also give service providers and stakeholders a chance to see where gaps still exist for seniors, encouraging the local system to fix needed areas.

“The funding that we are receiving for this program is from the United Way and through Healthy Aging Alberta,” said Grande. Healthy Aging Alberta is a province-wide network of community-based senior serving organizations and allies (https://calgaryunitedway.org/healthy-aging-alberta) with a shared vision of making Alberta one of the “best places in the world to grow older.”

Healthy Aging Alberta (HAA) has built a framework that connects seniors to the organizations and community supports that exist to help them. HAA also advocates for investment in the senior sector and is working towards a regional approach to help build capacity.

From the program booklet attached to Council’s agenda, many older adults in Alberta, especially those who live alone, often need to gain knowledge of the resources in their community, including those they need to complement their medical care. Data provided by the Alliance of Healthier Communities stated that three months after receiving social prescription support, there was a 57 percent improvement in patients rating their health and well-being. Within nine months, there was a 41 percent decrease in repeated clinic visits.

There are five key outcomes of social prescribing for older adults: Improved physical and mental health, increased confidence to live at home, reduced isolation and loneliness, reduced length and frequency of hospital stays, and increased community connections and natural support networks.

The social prescribing approach will not only focus on the unique needs of aging residents but will help build relationships, making sure the area’s seniors get the help they need when they need it.