New Rehab Framework For Older Adults

Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario and the Rehabilitative Care Alliance have released a new best practice framework to guide rehabilitative care for older adults living with/at risk of frailty.

Rehabilitative Care for Older Adults Living With/At Risk of Frailty: From Frailty to Resilience outlines best practices and the required components of rehabilitative care for older adults living with/at risk of frailty. The framework addresses a significant gap: while a variety of documents describe best practice care for this population, until now, no single framework has provided a standardized approach to rehabilitative care across the continuum.

The framework sets out the essential core elements and processes of care required when providing rehabilitative care to older adults living with/at risk of frailty, along with recommended best practices. It also provides guidance on how to implement these best practices within specific domains of care. Health care providers across the continuum will find the document valuable, particularly rehab care professionals, other clinicians who deliver care as part of the rehabilitative care team and operational leaders.

Please note: This new document replaces the earlier Frail Seniors Rehabilitative Care Best Practice Framework: Bedded Levels of Care (June 2020) and the Frail Senior/Medically Complex Compendium (2015).

More than 600,000 Ontarians currently live with frailty, and that number is projected to increase to more than 1.1 million by 2040. Evidence shows that rehabilitative care strategies can mitigate the impact of frailty and foster resilience among older adults living with complex health and social conditions. By adopting these strategies, providers can improve outcomes for older adults living with frailty and support their journey from frailty to resilience.

A webinar on the new framework is planned for the new year. Watch for more information.

For more information on the framework, please contact Gabrielle Sadler, Project Manager