Benefits to couples moving into long-term care: administrator
Tuesday January 22, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
There are many advantages in terms of support and comfort when couples move into a long-term care home together, says Rick Gourlie, administrator at Almonte Country Haven.

Although there are presently no couples residing together at the Ottawa-area long-term care home, Gourlie says many husbands and wives have roomed together in the past. When couples do decide to move into long-term care together, there are “great benefits,” he adds.

“If you’re moving into (a long-term care home), there’s nothing better than bringing your best friend — the one who loves you and has known you for many, many years,” he says

“From a couples’ perspective, I think the thing that they get to share the experience. If you’re moving in and your other half lives outside of the care home, then there’s a time of being alone. When you’re a couple, I think moving into a care home allows you to have much more time together.”

One member of a couple can often help their spouse in day-to-day life in a long-term care home. For example, men are, generally speaking, less likely to be interested in attending activity programming in a home.

However, if a man has his wife living with him in the long-term care setting, he’s more likely to attend activities if his partner is participating, Gourlie notes.

“When you have couples in long-term care . . . it allows them to have shared experiences,” he says.

In fact, the home has seen family members who are not husband and wife share a room together. Gourlie recalls that a man once shared a room with his son at the home, and they were granted a room rate reduction under the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s provisions.

When couples live together in long-term care it also helps prepare spouses in the event that their partner becomes palliative. Gourlie says when one half of a couple enters the end-of-life stage, staff members are able to help ease the surviving spouse during the transition.

Long-term care, he adds, not only allows time for preparation, but also provides comfort to the surviving spouse if their partner passes away.