Six years ago, Judy King was told by her doctor that she would likely never garden again.
“I’ve had a knee replaced, but I have spinal stenosis in my back, and I’m waiting for another knee transplant” King said.
Fortunately for Judy, she had access to rehabilitation through her doctor, but many other seniors are having to wait for the same kind of care and an organization that works with people with limited mobility says it’s struggling to keep up with demand for their services.
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“We are beginning to see the need to wait list seniors that are accessing our service,” said Haley Flaro, director of Ability New Brunswick.
Ability New Brunswick provides rehabilitation services for people with limited mobility, including seniors, but they say they don’t have enough rehab counselors to fill the demand.
“Now we are seeing an increase in the number of seniors needing our service, it’s getting a little bit beyond out reach,” Flaro added.
As a result, seniors with mobility issues aren’t getting the home care they need in order to live independently.
“Unfortunately, we’re seeing increasing trend of the seniors choosing nursing home care when they could be staying at home with added support,” Flaro said.
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But that trend goes against the government’s goals to keep seniors in their homes longer, says Cecile Cassista of the Coalition for Seniors Rights.
“Staying at the hospital to the tune of $800 a day is a lot of money to taxpayers and I think that wherever the government could lend a hand they should,” Cassista said.
Ability New Brunswick is trying to get more money from the province to hire three more rehab workers.
“So we can fill the demand in the province especially in Northern New Brunswick and Saint John regions,” Flaro said.
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