Most families we meet have been paying privately for months before anyone tells them that Alberta funds home care. There is no income test. Once a case manager decides there is an unmet need, the funded hours cost nothing.
Step one: call 811
Health Link is open 24 hours. Say you want a home care assessment for your parent. You can also reach Assisted Living Alberta’s continuing care access line directly at 1-855-371-4122. You can self-refer; you do not need a doctor’s note, and you do not need your parent’s permission to ask, although the case manager will want their agreement before care starts.
Step two: the visit
A case manager from Assisted Living Alberta’s Edmonton Zone continuing care access team comes to the house, usually within a couple of weeks, sooner if the situation is urgent. They look at the same things we look at: the bathroom, the stairs, the medication, whether your parent is eating, whether they can get up if they fall.
Step three: the plan
If they find an unmet need, they write a care plan with a number of funded hours a week. Those hours can be delivered by the contracted provider for your area, or, if your parent’s needs are predictable, through Client Directed Home Care Invoicing, which lets you choose the provider.
What we do
We will walk you through the 811 call and sit in on the assessment if you want us to, whether or not you ever become a client. We would rather you knew the funded hours existed than paid us for hours Alberta would have covered.
