Seniors are vulnerable for serious and life-threatening complications from COVID-19. An extensive screening process continues for everyone coming into our long-term care homes. Access is restricted to essential visitors only. Essential visits include:
For more information on program and service interruptions visit COVID-19.
Long-term care homes provide adults whose needs can no longer be met in the community a place where they can live and get:
Start your search for a long-term care home by contacting your Local Health Integration Network’s (LHIN) Home and Community Care. Ottawa is part of the Champlain LHIN. Staff at the LHIN will:
Many long-term care homes have waiting lists. The wait time for a bed in a long-term care home can vary based on the level of care needed, type of room and the number of beds available. The LHIN manages the wait list and prioritizes placement based on individual needs.
For more information about eligibility and admission into a long-term care home, visit the Home and Community Care Champlain website or call 310-2222 (no area code).
All personal and nursing care in long-term care homes in Ontario is funded by the government. Residents pay for room and board. Read more about the costs for long-term care.
If you don’t have enough income to pay for a basic room, you can apply for a government subsidy with the Ministry. Subsidies are not available for private or semi-private rooms. To apply for a subsidy, If you need help to fill out forms, contact your long-term care home or the Long-Term Care Action Line at 1-866-434-0144.
The City operates four long-term care homes:
The homes are accredited by Accreditation Canada.
All four of the City’s long-term care homes have registered nurses, registered practical nurses, and personal support workers on duty 24-hours a day to care for our residents. Our Hospitality team takes care of food services, laundry and housekeeping. Our Recreation team plans events and daily activities.
We provide the following services in each of our long-term care homes:
Other services for a fee include:
Each of our homes offer both private and shared rooms with washrooms. The average room is 150 to 300 square feet, including the washroom.
For more information about rooms, refer to each of the City’s homes and floor plans.
There are common areas for family visits. Families can also book space for private events.
Every resident must have a written plan of care that:
Short-stay respite care residents must have a 24-hour admission care plan.
All food is planned based on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care legislation.
Each home offers a 3- or 4-week seasonal menu. Menus are posted in the dining room area. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are served daily. Residents have a choice of two main entrées at lunch and dinner. Prepared plates are displayed in the dining area to help with the resident’s choice. Here is a sample daily menu.
Breakfast:
Lunch:
Choice of roast beef and onion gravy or glazed chicken tenders
Dinner:
Choice of:
Each home plans weekly activities for its residents. Activities include arts and crafts, exercise, movies, games, guest entertainers, and more. Activity calendars are posted in the homes and are available by email upon request to help family members plan their visits. Here are some of the activities in the homes:
Exercise
Intellectual
Social / emotional
Special events
Spiritual
Carleton Lodge and Centre d'accueil Champlain offer Adult Day Programs for seniors who have dementia or face other barriers that prevent them from taking part in regular activities. Small group activities promote good health and social interaction. The programs also provide a break for caregivers.
To apply for an adult day program, contact the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) at champlain.on.ca/ or call 310-2222 (no area code).
We are always looking for volunteers to join our team. Volunteers work with our staff and help to improve quality of life for our residents:
Volunteers can help in many ways such as:
Student volunteers also make a valuable difference to our homes. Students can fulfill their volunteer hours for high school and add new skills to their résumé or college applications.
For information about our Volunteer program, contact one of our homes or ottawa.ca/volunteer and ‘Browse all volunteer opportunities’.
Each long-term care home has a Residents’ Council. We encourage residents to join. The council meets once a month to:
Feedback from the Residents’ Council helps our care teams evaluate and change our services and programs to better meet the needs of our residents.
Each of our homes has a Family and Friends Council where friends and family of our residents work together to improve the quality of life for all residents. The council provides information sessions and advocates to improve services. Family Councils are also a way for families to give each other support, encouragement and information.
Once a year, residents can take part in a resident satisfaction survey. This survey gives residents an opportunity to give feedback anonymously.
In Ontario, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care regulates, inspects and sets out the resident fees for all long-term care homes.
Provincial standards for long-term care homes are set out in the Guide to the Long-Term Care Home Act, 2007 and Regulation 79/10. This includes the Residents’ Bill of Rights.
The ministry conducts annual inspections of each home. All reports are public and displayed in the long-term care homes. Read reports on long-term care homes on the Ministry’s website.
Each long-term care home in Ontario must develop a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP). This document sets out a plan for change on key issues over the coming year. QIPs help enable high-quality patient care. Visit the Health Quality Ontario website to read the QIPs on our long-term care homes.
The City is responsible for protecting health information under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). The act has rules to protect personal health information while in the City’s care.
All complaints are taken seriously. If a resident or family member has a complaint, they can inform the nurse or manager at the home over the phone, or in writing. All complaints are investigated, and a response and resolution are provided to the person who made the complaint. By law, some complaints must also be sent to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care by the home. For more information about types of complaints and how to make them, visit the Ministry’s website.
The City of Ottawa receives funding from the Champlain Local Health Integration Network. The opinions expressed on this website do not necessarily represent the views of the Champlain Local Health Integration Network.
To book a guided tour of Garry J. Armstrong Home, call 613-789-5100.
To book a guided tour of Peter D. Clark Home, call 613-274-2671.
7 and 9 Meridian Place, Ottawa, ON K2G 6P8
Tel: 613-274-2671
Fax: 613-560-1324
TTY: 613-580-2401
Replica bus stop
To book a guided tour of Centre d’accueil Champlain Home, call 613-746-3543.
To book a guided tour of Carleton Lodge, call 613-580-2953.
55 Lodge Road, Ottawa, ON K2C 3H1
Tel: 613-580-2953
Fax: 613-825-0245
TTY: 613-580-2401
Bus stops are not found just on city streets and at transit stations anymore. In fact, Long-Term Care and OC Transpo recently partnered to create replica bus stops inside two of the City’s long-term care homes.
These stops provide safe spaces for conversation and intervention with residents who live with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“When some of our community members are disoriented, fatigued or anxious, they want to leave our building and ‘go home,’” said Paula Edwards, Personal Support Worker and Behavioural Support Champion at the Peter D. Clark Centre. “They may not literally want to go back to their old residence, but they are seeking the same sense of comfort and relief that most of us experience when we enter our home after a long day.”
When residents are troubled, staff may encourage them to wait at the replica stops. The replica bus stops provide a secure, comfortable space where staff can patiently intervene by offering support and reassurance. The stops provide residents who are prone to wandering with a chance to sit down and rest.
“Best practice research recognizes replica bus stops as a valuable tool in dementia care. The stops add a point of reference for residents. Waiting at the bus stop is a daily activity that people remember from earlier in their lives,” explained Jacqueline Roy, Administrator of Centre d’accueil Champlain.
“OC Transpo worked collaboratively with Long-Term Care to re-create a bus stop at the Peter D. Clark Centre with all the amenities you would find on the street—a bench, stop flag, route schedule, transit map and even newspaper boxes,” said Kathy Riley, Transit Accessibility Specialist with OC Transpo Customer Services. “We have added a large poster of a bus and a book with historic transit photos. All of these elements combine to create a positive atmosphere for residents.”
One replica stop was installed in Peter D. Clark’s Bungalows unit and plans are in place to add more stops in the building. OC Transpo also worked with Long-Term Care staff to install a replica stop at Centre d’accueil Champlain. Like the one at Peter D. Clark, this stop has many elements that are visually interesting and contribute to an authentic neighbourhood feel in the home.
Long-Term Care is always striving to find creative ways to provide person-centred care and engage residents to meet their needs holistically. Other interactive activity stations, made to resemble nurseries or office spaces, have been created in the City-run homes and more spaces are planned for the future.
“Intervention with residents is not always needed,” added Ms. Edwards. “But, when it is, our replica bus stop provides a healthy space for a brief chat, a helping hand, or even an opportunity to reminisce.”
OC Transpo worked with staff at Élisabeth Bruyère Residence to install the first replica stop in the mid-2000s. Since then four more bus stops were created throughout the city—at Peter D. Clark Centre, Ottawa Grace Manor, Centre d’accueil Champlain and The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
“Our team takes great pride in installing these stops for Long-Term Care and making them look as authentic as possible,” said Yves Ladouceur, Supervisor of Building Repair and Minor Construction with OC Transpo Fleet and Facilities Management. “We know it makes a positive difference in the residents’ lives.”
“Our Long-Term Care Homes are lucky to have the resources of OC Transpo available to make these projects happen. The historical touches and attention to detail adds to the atmosphere in the home,” added Ms. Roy.
Collaboration between many Long-Term Care and OC Transpo staff has been the key to the success of these installations and is yet another positive example of the City’s One City, One Team culture.
The Social Housing Registry of Ottawa maintains the centralized waiting list for all social housing in Ottawa. To apply for a social housing unit, contact the Social Housing Registry at 613-526-2088 or visit 2197 Riverside Drive, 5th floor.
If you are 65 or older, own your home and your total household income from all sources is $42,749.00 or less, you can apply for a deferral of your current property taxes. Learn more about the full and partial property tax deferral program or call 613-580-2424, ext. 31490 for more information or to receive an application by mail.
Residential Services homes provide permanent housing with some supports for daily living. The City of Ottawa subsidizes the cost of lodging and some care for adults residing in privately run domiciliary hostels.
If you own a home and wish to make room for a caregiver, a companion, a member of your family or earn extra income to meet financial obligations, you can create a secondary dwelling unit under certain conditions. The secondary dwelling unit must be a single, self-contained, rental apartment with its own entrance, kitchen and bathroom. Learn more about building a home within a home [PDF - 921 KB] or call 613-580-2424, ext. 13116.
If you require emergency shelter, call 613-560-6000 Monday to Friday from 8:45 am to 4 pm or 3-1-1 after hours and on weekends.
In times of crisis and where no other financial resource is available, emergency assistance may be provided through the Employment and Financial Assistance branch. An emergency situation might include a health-related crisis, family violence, theft, fire, flood, pending eviction or other situations. Call 613-560-6000 to apply.
If you are 65 or older with a low income and asset level, you may be eligible for the Essential Health and Social Supports program to help cover the cost of health-related items and services, such as prescription drugs, eyeglasses, dental care, diabetic supplies, incontinent supplies, bathroom aids, respiratory supplies, hearing aids and mobility devices. Call 613-560-6000 to apply.
