Elder orphans

Are you an elder orphan? This is what it means:

An elder orphan is a senior who lives alone and has no children or family member or friend who can or is willing to act on his or her behalf in handling health, legal and financial issues.

More and more people are living alone these days. For many of us, it’s a lifestyle choice that we’re comfortable with. But as we age, we come up against healthcare, financial and legal systems that were not designed for us. You’re scheduled for day surgery, and the surgeon tells you someone has to pick you up and stay with you overnight. You break your arm and can’t go home right after surgery because you won’t be able to wash yourself or cook your meals. What if you have a stroke or develop dementia? Who can you appoint to have power of attorney over your care and your financial affairs?

There are no easy answers, but you can at least track down all the services available to you, and use them. Find out which agencies offer senior services in your area. You want one, or maybe more than one, that can provide some social and healthcare support: services like telephone reassurance, escort to medical appointments, case management. This is a messy search. To start with, find your LHIN. Click Seniors and then Seniors’ intervention and assistance services. If you don’t find enough there, try Community support services or Seniors’ centres or Advocacy and social action for seniors. Become a client; get to know the intake people. If you find yourself in hospital unexpectedly and can’t look after yourself while you recuperate, remember that Ontario offers a convalescent care program for those who qualify. You get a short-term stay bed in a long-term care facility. If you think you need this, ask to speak to a social worker at the hospital. Details about this program are remarkably hard to find online. Here’s a brochure from a jurisdiction outside Toronto.

As for powers of attorney, things get even murkier. You used to be able to arrange with a trust company for them to assume power of attorney for your finances, but now the trust companies will do this only for clients whose assets are worth a million dollars or more. There’s no regulated agency you can just call up and hire a professional to be your power of attorney for care or finance. You have to flounder around looking for someone on your own. You’re probably thinking that this field is ripe for exploitation, and you’d be right.

Obviously I have more questions than answers about the issues faced by elder orphans. If anyone reading this has some useful suggestions, please share them with everyone in the comments section. This can’t be the end of the story.