Geriatrics + Elder Care (Seniors Care)

Our care philosophy puts an emphasis on maximizing and supporting quality of life for our elders.

Services

Providence Health Care’s Elder Care Program is known for its wide spectrum of services offered to elderly British Columbians across all of our sites, as well as for progressive research, advocacy efforts and student clinical placements.

For each of the services, our teams are comprised of a range of providers with expertise in caring for elders. Depending upon the service, the interdisciplinary teams may include physicians (geriatricians, family physicians, physiatrists, psychiatrists), nurses (staff nurses, geriatric emergency nurses, geriatric transition nurse, geriatric psychiatry outreach nurse, geriatric outreach nurse, clinical nurse specialists and nurse educators), therapists, psychologists, dieticians, pharmacists, social workers, care attendants, pastoral care workers and volunteers.

Our health care teams are passionate about supporting the health of elders. We appreciate that good care requires emphasis on early discussion and effective communication of goals. We also recognize the need to involve elders and significant others in evaluating all options to determine a plan. To effectively support elders, community collaboration and engagement are essential.

Long-term Care

Providence provides residential care and assisted living in six locations to approximately 696 elders who require a broad range of medical and personal assistance to cope with the activities of daily living. For more information, visit our residential services page.

Acute Care

About 25 per cent of all patients admitted to St. Paul’s Hospital and about 50 per cent of patients admitted to Mount Saint Joseph Hospital are over the age of 70. The Elder Care Program’s multidisciplinary teams assist these elders with their acute health care needs, including providing care to those who have experienced significant functional decline within the last two to four weeks, or who are experiencing multiple complex medical and/or psychiatric problems that need to be addressed. In some situations, these elders may require rehabilitation/reactivation to return home. Early access to geriatric expertise is fundamental to avoiding or minimizing the loss of functional abilities in frail elders. It provides better care, a shorter recovery and shorter lengths of hospital stay.

Health care providers can refer patients to the clinic, by filling out one of the following forms: Word version, PDF version

Older Adult Tertiary Mental Health

Older adult tertiary mental health services at Parkview located within Youville Residence, serves adults 65 years or older who have moderate to more challenging behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia that currently prevent them from living successfully in community settings. For more information about Parkview visit our Youville site.

Rehabilitation 

Providence Health Care’s Holy Family Hospital is one of the largest provincial referral centres, providing both inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation care for older adults. Located in South Vancouver, the facility has a 65-bed inpatient rehabilitation unit, and extensive treatment areas that facilitate outpatient rehabilitation.

Lifeline

Providence’s Lifeline offers a range of personal monitoring and response programs that significantly reduce the risk of living alone, allowing users to continue living safely and independently in their own homes. Using the latest technology, Lifeline provides seniors, the medically at-risk, or those who simply want a sense of security, the comfort of knowing that professional help is always available at the press of a button 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year. 

Outpatient Programs + Clinics

Looking for an outpatient service? Click here. 

Careers

For more information about working at Providence and for current employment opportunities, please visit our Careers site.