British Columbia

“I was too preoccupied to notice that my elderly parents needed help, and now I need help with assisting them, where do I get advice?”

“Our elderly loved one needs a hand with the tasks of daily life but is too stubborn to accept it, how do we help without being intrusive?”

“I’ve never been this lonely and I’d love to live in a retirement community but I don’t know where to start looking, the options are endless!” 

The university experience isn’t just for kids any more! Retirement sometimes means picking up where we left off to raise our families while punching the time card at the nine-to-five. During those hectic years, there simply wasn’t time left to take a class. 

City Lights takes a look at how the BC Health Care System works when assisting the elderly through the different phases of living and retirement, and what your options are once you are at a point in your life when you feel that you need to living in a care facility.

New legislation that came into effect in British Columbia at the start of September 2011 could affect not only people who are planning their estate, but also those who have created and executed a will in the past.

The Okanagan Valley is bordered by the Columbia and Cascade mountain ranges in south central BC. The landscape was formed by glaciers that carved out the deep long lakes of the valley, the largest being Okanagan Lake. Kelowna, the largest city in the Okanagan Valley is on the eastern shores of the Okanagan Lake. It is a beautiful and vibrant city of just over 100,000 residents and one of Canada’s most popular vacation destinations. The beautiful golf courses, long dry summers with an average of 2000 hours of sunshine per year, and the many cultural attractions make Kelowna a desirable location for retirement as well. 

Has it come to your attention just how much grey hair there is in this town? The reason for this phenomenon is that the "baby boomers" born during the years following the second World War are now reaching retirement age. There are currently 10 million baby boomers in Canada so it is no wonder those grey hairs are so noticeable.

Retirement is one of life’s most anticipated milestones but it may also come with a daunting to-do list of decisions that need to be made. You’ve probably already given much thought to location and whether you want to remain where you are or relocate, and then there’s the question of where to relocate to! 

For members of the so-called sandwich generation, fitting the needs of aging parents into an already busy life can be a recipe for severe indigestion.

Determining whether an elderly person can stay in their residence or needs more intensive care, finding an appropriate care home, dealing with health and financial issues - it's time-consuming and draining.

WINDSOR-ESSEX, ON, Aug. 18, 2011 /CNW/ - They searched the web for two years before finally settling in to a retirement lifestyle of comfort and security 2,500 miles away from Surrey. Visiting only once for a tour of real estate in 2008, Dennis and Louise Keller chose the lakeside town of Leamington in southwestern Ontario with its rich farmland, vineyards and friendly community - a 1,600 square foot townhome overlooking a semi-private golf and country club.  "It cost about the same as a building lot back home," smiled Mrs. Keller.

B.C. seniors looking for independent living suites are enjoying a much higher vacancy rate than other renters because operators of residences for seniors have successfully anticipated rising demand, according to a senior analyst at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.