St. Paul's Seniors? Home But Not Alone
Range of services lets elderly live independent life

Scarborough centre wins award for excellence

JOHN DEVERELL
STAFF REPORTER

Jan. 2, 2004. 01:00 AM

"Would I want my own mother to live here?"

That, said Sharon Snitman, is the standard every seniors' home should strive for every hour of every day. The St.
Paul's L'Amoreaux Centre in Scarborough, after eight years under Snitman's direction, has achieved that lofty goal.

"They have built a community which lets people age in place with support as they need it," said Angie Hains, president
of the Ontario Non-profit Housing Association.

"It's a very good model and an alternative to nursing homes. It gives older people and their families more control."

The association last month honoured the centre, which is home to 500 elders and serves as a community centre to 6,000
others, with its annual award of excellence.

One of the keys to St. Paul's success surfaces quickly in a conversation with chief executive Snitman and operations
manager Zoe Yu, both former managers at Sunnybrook Hospital. Their overall mission is to help older people stay as
independent as possible.

"There are too many nursing home beds in Ontario. Government policy forces too many people into nursing homes too
soon," Snitman said.

A Star series last month detailed stories of neglect and poor care in many of Ontario's nursing homes. Smarter public
policy, Snitman and Yu believe, would direct more money to support services that allow seniors to look after themselves
and keep fit, thus reducing nursing home, medicare and hospital emergency costs.

But if elder care in Ontario is sometimes a desert, St. Paul's Centre is a heartening oasis.

It provides an astonishing array of professionally programmed activities and services ? from medical, chiropractic and
dental clinics to restaurant-quality dining, room service, meals on wheels and 60 recreational activities, from singing
and ballroom dancing to aerobics and tai chi instruction ? all made feasible by widespread community involvement.

The core of operations is the residential complex, a mix of apartments and condos at Warden and Finch Aves. built on
the lands of St. Paul's Anglican Church (although St. Paul's is a secular agency). There is a long waiting list for the
centre's apartments and condos.

But the real secret is the participation of 6,000 non-residents in the activities of the centre.

They use the daytime services, pay modest fees and become so involved with the centre that area elders are the mainstay
of a volunteer force that supplies more than 50,000 hours of help to St Paul's Centre each year ? the equivalent of one-
third its paid staff hours, and a large element in sustaining the positive and relaxed attitudes of both staff and
residents.

"I love coming here, they do such a great job," said receptionist and trouble-shooter Ena Rodriguez, a retired Laura
Secord buyer. Ten years ago she started volunteering at St. Paul's five days a week and now, at age 70, she still runs
the front desk on Mondays. "It has vastly changed over the years," she said, "and it keeps getting better."

Rodriguez' father, Jerry Michado, died shortly after moving into St. Paul's five years ago. Her mother Mary Michado,
92, still lives in the couple's one-bedroom apartment, where she keeps up with the vacuuming and makes her own bed.

"Lately I can't walk much, but I can't complain. They're very nice to me," Mary Michado said.

Another couple, Marjory and Peter Parker, were hit by medical misery shortly after buying one of St. Paul's life-lease
condominiums three years ago. Peter's now-advanced Parkinson's disease prevents him from talking, except through a
computer keyboard, and keeps him in an electric wheelchair.

Marjory Parker appreciates the medical, housekeeping and recreational support. People sit with her husband when she
goes on an outing, for instance. But she also paid $3,000 for a mechanical lift "because I can't lift him and the girls
can't lift him, but with the (mechanical) lift he can still stay here."

Peter Parker, like all St. Paul's residents, has a radio-based security device so he can signal for help when he needs
to move in and out of his bed or a chair.

"Even when I don't wake up at night, he can still call for help," his wife said.

"I can call for one staff, or two and they come and they're excellent with him. I'll never put him in a nursing home.
We came here to be together. We couldn't have made a better choice."

Volunteers are also essential in the operation of the day programs for Chinese, Greek, Somali and English speakers with
Alzheimer's disease. Two volunteers work with each regular staff worker in the programs, which help keep the seniors
mentally active and delay as long as possible the transfer to a nursing home. The personal care workers log noticeable
changes in a senior's capacity and mood and report them by telephone to family contacts.

The 50 condo units in St. Paul's Terrace range in size from 700 to 1,200 square feet; the smallest ones sell in the
$145,000 range. The condo owners are among the full-fee payers, as are some apartment renters. Other tenants pay
reduced rents and fees geared to lower incomes.

The whole show runs on revenue of $7 million a year, of which 31 per cent comes from the Ministry of Health, 8 per cent
from provincial rent subsidies, 3 per cent from volunteer fundraising, 30 per cent from rental and property management
fees, and 22 per cent from program fees.

SOURCE: The Toronto Star, Canada
http://tinyurl.com/36ypd

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