The Yukon government is committing to 56 action items to support the territory’s growing seniors population.

“The plan provides a framework that supports Yukoners aging in place to feel independent in place, feel comfortable and supported by strong community programming,” Health Minister Pauline Frost told the Star this morning.

The Aging in Place Action Plan, released Tuesday, is the product of a two-year public engagement project. More than 1,200 Yukoners participated in the survey.

“The vision of the Aging in Place Action Plan is to ensure that Yukoners can access the supports needed to live safe, independent, and comfortable lives in their own home or community for as long as possible,” the plan states.

The plan is categorized into four pillars – living a full and meaningful life; housing; transportation; and programs, services and infrastructure.

Within those pillars are 56 action items divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term timelines.

Living a full and meaningful life requires autonomy, access to technology, social activities and age-friendly workplaces and communities, the plan says.

A seniors’ advisory committee will be established as part of ensuring autonomy for the senior population. Frost told the Star that seniors’ involvement in the implementation of the plan is critical to its success.

“We met with members of the community and they were very active in saying, ‘You need to hear us, you need to listen, because we know best what our core needs are,’” Frost said.

The advisory committee will help prioritize the action items and place them on an achievable timeline, Frost explained.

The second pillar is ensuring seniors have access to adequate, suitable and affordable housing options.

Short-term housing goals include funding for accessibility modifications and repairs for low-income seniors. The plan also calls on the Yukon Housing Corp. to provide seniors with access to rent subsidies and implement an engagement program in seniors’ housing buildings.

The third pillar, transportation, calls for an improvement to Handy Bus services and volunteer-driver programs. It also calls on Yukon municipalities to build ramps and improve sidewalks.

This pillar also includes enhanced telehealth and virtual care to minimize the need for transportation. Frost said virtual care is already being ramped up, spurred in part by the pandemic.

The fourth pillar calls for better access to programs, services and infrastructure.

These include virtual, palliative, end-of-life and hospice care. Open Wind River Hospice has been opened in Whistle Bend Place, and the plan additionally calls for expanded palliative care in long-term care homes and the implementation of a rural end-of-life funding program.

Virtual care may also be implemented as part of palliative care through remote monitoring services and exercise programs.

The plan also calls for support for caregivers, including a benefit program for low-income caregivers and enhancement of the adult community day program. Education programming about dementia will also be provided to caregivers.

Frost said her department is committed to implementing all of the recommendations.

“Our demographics are indicating to us that our senior population is going to double, and we need to be responsive and adaptive,” Frost said.

Some of the action items are already being implemented, while others involve the revamping of already-existing programs.

“We have to take the opportunities as they present themselves but we also have to look at relaunching and redesigning some programs we have currently,” Frost said.

Additional workers are being hired to enhance the home care program, and there will be enhanced programming for seniors who are retrofitting their homes.

“Those are programs we can quickly tweak and adjust to more imminently meet the needs of seniors,” Frost said.

The plan is focused on a “home first” philosophy, due to survey respondents overwhelmingly expressing the desire to age in their own homes and communities.

This led to the establishment of a reablement program at the Thomson Centre, which has seen 75 per cent of individuals return home.

An important part of the plan will also be supporting seniors in communities, Frost explained.

“I think we have to not always look at an urban centric model of care,” Frost said.

“We have many communities who have historically not been supported – I had a very clear mandate from the premier and that was to look at rural Yukon communities.”