ABSTRACT
Ontario’s nursing homes and homes for the aged are funded by the Province’s health and social service ministries. In the absence of a concerted government policy on emergency response systems, Provincial and municipal governments and local communities have responded to the need for emergency response service (ERS) on an ad hoc basis. Close to half of the existing seniors’ housing stock was built 15 to 25 years ago for the healthy and independent senior. However, instead of moving on to care facilities later in life, as expected, seniors have tended to age in place. The Ontario Government has put a good deal of thought into what it feels is needed in an ERS, and has sought information from ERS firms at home and abroad as to the systems that are available. In conclusion, the Government of Ontario has made great progress in the area of investigating emergency response systems.
