A partnership between Family Counselling Centre and Lambton Public Health to create a single-point service for older adults within our community.
Tel-Check is a voluntary telephone support service which enables clients to stay at home while receiving a daily (if needed) telephone call from trained volunteer workers. The workers provide the individual with social contact, reassurance and a sense of connectedness while unobtrusively monitor physical, nutritional, and mental health needs during the telephone conversation. Besides the socialization aspect, to lessen the isolation, the workers can offer support referrals, or if necessary, contact the appropriate agency or service on behalf of the individual.
The type of support under the Older Adults Care Pathway could vary depending on each case, but could cover:
Referrals: Clients can self-refer or may be referred to the program by their health-care providers or by other agencies such as Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), Geriatric Emergency Management (GEM) nurses at Bluewater Health, Lambton Elderly Outreach or Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Family members and friends can also make referrals on behalf of the client. Referrals are made by contacting the Program Coordinator directly at Family Counselling Centre.
Tel-check is a service that is provided at no cost to seniors or individuals with disabilities living alone in the community. At this stage, funding is provided by the Ministry of Health Long Term Care and United Way Sarnia-Lambton.