• Canada’s guide to retirement living and care
• Retirement homes
• Ontario
• Ottawa Region

Convalescent care in Ottawa Region

Post-operative care and other options are available at nearby retirement homes

For families and seniors seeking short term help, either in recovery from surgery or other medical problem, or with an HCSS-recommended stay, Ottawa care homes are waiting to offer assistance. Assistance offered by retirement homes in Ottawa, Kanata, Orleans and other cities in the region includes a bed, on-call or round-the-clock care, and all the amenities and features of a retirement home.

The advantages of a recovery stay in a retirement home

Retirement homes offer a wide variety of services that will make your life so much better than it would be if you were to go home too early. In most retirement residences, you will find the following care options:

• Help with tasks of daily living, including everything from bathing to transferring to catheter care, incontinence care, and anything else you might require
• Medication administration to help ensure that you or your loved one is staying on the right dose 
• Professional nursing staff prepared to offer you personalized support and care.
• Preparedness for extended or specific care requirements. Today's retirement residences are increasingly flexible and willing to make adjustments that meet your specific needs. Flexible services range widely, and can include help for those with developing dementia, assistance with various physical ailments and disabilities, and extensive experience with dealing with many other elderly people.

Perhaps the biggest benefit is the availability of nearby help, just a call button away. Daily housekeeping, easy dining, the availability of snacks and other food, are all benefits of taking a convalescent bed in any of the Ottawa retirement residences that you find listed above.

Recover at home with professional care

Home care services can be a further bridge to a full recovery. There are several home care providers in Ottawa who can further help you recover after an operation or illness. Professional home care -- most often hired at an hourly rate, but also available for 24-hour in-home stays -- can help you recover fully. Home care services listed here at Comfort Life are professionally trained and can assist you with detailed care needs, including catheter care and similar personal care for tasks of daily living. Care workers are often trained to deal with the elderly using gentle persuasion and other tactics.

Convalescent care contrasted with respite care

For our purposes here, we define convalescent care as something distinct from respite care. These definitions are followed by many (but not all) in the care industry, including Ontario's Home and Community Support Services (HCSS). Respite care is defined as focused on relief of caregiving, providing a short term stay for Ottawa seniors requiring persistent care (often dementia patients). Convalescent care is defined as recovery, often from surgery and other medical problems. Many homes offer both respite care and convalescent care as short terms stays and distinguish or define these terms differently from the way we have done so here (that's why we recently added a senior care glossary).  

Be sure to talk to the retirement residence about your distinct needs and be sure that they are prepared to offer you the care and assistance that you require.