A program in Alberta has been giving younger people living in long-term care access to the community for more than a decade.
How Does Community Access for People in Continuing Care (CAPCC) Provide Long-Term Care?
Karol Gouschuk, a registered social worker, is the Community Access Coordinator for CAPCC. CAPCC is a Spinal Cord Injury Alberta program that is funded by the provincial government. They provide community interaction for people between the ages of 18 and 65 living in long-term care.
CAPCC tries to make client-focused community outings possible. Whether that means going to concerts, movies, fitness classes, museums, church services, volunteering, sports, etc.
The program was initially created in 2008 to reduce social and cultural isolation and offer clients individualized options for activities in the community.
“A lot of individuals in long-term care settings can experience isolation. Also, the focus in those settings is on group activities without the option to cater to individual interests,” says Karol, who has been with CAPCC since its inception.
“The circumstances are very broad regarding clients,” says Karol. “We don’t focus on why they are in long-term care. We focus on getting them into the community based on their individualized interests and requests.”
The program serves 350 clients throughout Alberta, which is the only province where CAPCC exists.
Classic LifeCare is one of the contracted agencies in Calgary to provide caregiver support for CAPCC’s clients.
“Classic attends the initial meeting with a new CAPCC clients along with Karol and a representative of the long-term care facility where the client lives – often a social worker or recreation therapist,” says Britney Didier-Shaw, Classic LifeCare Alberta Leader.
Karol gathers information about the client, their specific needs, and, especially, their ideas about what they want to do in the community.
“I help them explore options available and, if they present a specific request, I research how to make that happen. For example, we have a client right now who wants to shoot some hockey pucks. So I find out where that can happen for him.”
Britney says the Classic LifeCare Calgary employees enjoy the outings with CAPCC clients. Some great relationships have developed between client and Health Care Worker through these outings.
Karol says it’s been gratifying to see the program grow.
“There are a lot of spokes in the wheel to make this work happen. We are extremely thankful for our partnerships with facilities, staff, clients and agencies.”
