At the recent Barry’s Bay and Area Senior Citizens Home Support Services (BBAHS) Annual General Meeting (AGM), members expressed appreciation for a year of excellent service, during which clients and staff maintained high safety standards in response to the pandemic. Client satisfaction is above 90 percent, which is wonderful. The biggest area for improvement is ensuring people are aware of the services we provide and what is available to help them. Above: Some BBAHS Board members at the AGM (others joined virtually). Photo submitted.
As a result of the pandemic, services were more in demand. We experienced an increase in Meals on Wheels (MOW), both hot and frozen, by 33 percent in the last fiscal year, with a corresponding increase in the number of people requesting this service. This level of need is continuing into this year. MOW hot meals are prepared for South Algonquin Township residents once weekly, in partnership with the Community Resource Centre (CRC) Daycare. St. Francis Memorial Hospital Dietary Department prepares hot meals that are delivered to the other communities served by trained and dedicated BBAHS volunteers. Thank you all for your service to your neighbours!
Another service that increased hugely as a result of Covid is the Telephone Security program. This program provides phone calls to ‘check-in’ to see how you are today, as well as medication reminders. Each person decides what steps we are to follow if they are not ‘OK’, who to call, and what to do. The demand for this program has increased by more than 400 percent.
Transportation service requests declined, as many appointments were cancelled and people stayed at home more. BBAHS provides free transportation to Vaccination Clinics and has continued to assist people needing help with grocery or prescription deliveries. Medical trips have continued throughout the pandemic. We often have a problem arranging ‘last minute’ trips as we do not have as many volunteer drivers as we did in the past. Please call as early as you can to let us know about your medical trips.
Assisted Living Services for High Risk Seniors (ALS-HRS) provided 538 more days of support in the 12 months from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, than in the previous year — an additional year and a half of service!
Please reach out to the BBAHS office at 613-756-2772 Ext.2 to find out more about the services offered and how to ‘sign up.’
Volunteer opportunity
October is celebrated across Ontario as Community Support Services (CSS) month. CSS services are funded by the Ministry of Health and are delivered through the non-profit, charitable sector. Community Support Service agencies support over one million Ontarians each year including seniors and people with disabilities. BBAHS helps clients live independently in their own homes and communities as long as possible and reduces the burden on family caregivers and other parts of the health care system. We rely on volunteers to help deliver services like Meals on Wheels, Transportation, Friendly Visiting, Palliative Care Home Visitors and more. If you are interested in volunteering please call our office at 613-756-2772.