When Alfred Aquilina brought his wife to the long-term care facility that would be her new home, he was carrying her suitcase and a heavy load of emotions.
"I'm thinking about how is she feeling, how she's leaving her home, something that she's ... built with me and raised our kids and all that kind of stuff. And all her stuff is there, the things that might have grounded her." Their contact took Mercedes Aquilina by the hand and settled her into her new room when they arrived in January, while Alfred Aquilina spent time filling out paperwork and taking care of other administrative tasks.
" the most important person in this equation, which is the person with dementia, being in the hospital is not good for them. It's very disruptive, disorienting," said Cathy Barrick, the CEO of the Alzheimer's Society of Ontario. "But currently, that is the answer, because there can sometimes be no other option to get the help that you need. But when they get admitted, they're in those beds, and you can't get them out."
A spokesperson for Health Minister Sylvia Jones said last year's budget added $5 million per year for three years to Ontario's dementia strategy.