Human Resources committee  Good afternoon, and thank you very much for the opportunity to present to you today. The Canadian Home Care Association is a national not-for-profit membership association dedicated to advancing excellence in home care through leadership, advocacy, awareness, and knowledge. Clo

Human Resources committee  I think there are a number of things that can be done. One thing that springs to mind—and we're involved in some pilot studies—is the provision of respite care and having that managed by the provider. For example, we're working with some hospitals in Toronto where, as the patient

Human Resources committee  It depends on the frequency of calls and everything. It's a very low cost. I don't have the figures with me. It really is a telephone service run by specially trained companions who are not registered health professionals but who work in collaboration with health processionals. I

Human Resources committee  We run this from our offices which are based in Mississauga, and we run it across Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Human Resources committee  We do. I don't have them with me, but we certainly have them.

Human Resources committee  Sure.

Human Resources committee  Definitely, yes.

Human Resources committee  There needs to be a focus, first of all, on making it an attractive option for people, because that's one of the big issues we have. People are not attracted to it. It's not a glamourous role, and it doesn't pay well. It's a matter of making sure that people can sustain themselve

Human Resources committee  The Canadian Home Care Association is busy working on this. I think one has to ask, first of all, what people can expect. I really think getting expectations is critical. People must know what is going to be the government's responsibility and what is going to be their responsib

Human Resources committee  Again, we must make sure we have those curricula in place. We've seen a drop-off in that, so it needs to be looked at from a college point of view. Then we need to recognize people by way of increasing remuneration for various training. What we're seeing is people come on to the

Human Resources committee  Very definitely, because you want to plant the seed early. You want to raise the profile of what is being done.

Human Resources committee  We make sure we're addressing their needs. In many cases, when we are providing services to these communities, it involves an enormous amount of travel. It means that we need to remunerate for travel. That's something that is not being well done, I don't think, for rates for pers

Human Resources committee  It's not an area of my expertise other than to say we need to again.... It sounds like I'm wanting incentives for everything, but I think one needs to look at tax breaks for investment in these things in order to keep people out of facilities that are much more expensive.

Human Resources committee  There's no problem with the concept. Everyone accepts that it's something that has to be done. It really comes back to looking at the way in which we fund the health care system and making sure we're increasing funding to the home care environment. We have a very hospital-centric

Human Resources committee  It's 3% to 4% of the budget.