The Application Process
      
         
  Applications for long-term care in the Hamilton area are handled through the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) – Hamilton Branch, which is the central area agency that handles and assesses all requests for home care or home placement services. If an applicant is currently in a hospital, then his or her application will be handled by the hospital's social worker and a CCAC Case Manager. If the applicant is not in a hospital, then his or her application will be handled by a CCAC case manager.    
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
   
Applications for long-term care in
the Hamilton area are handled
through the Hamilton Niagara
Haldimand Brant (HNHB) Community
Care Access Centre (CCAC)
– Hamilton Branch
 
     
     
     
         
   

In either case, the first step in the application process is a thorough assessment of the applicant's situation and needs. Eligibility for placement in a long-term care home is based on criteria set by the provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Once the assessment has been completed, the CCAC Case Manager uses the criteria to determine eligibility. A CCAC Placement Coordinator may assist the applicant in selecting a home, and answer any questions the applicant might have.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
The first step in the application
process is a thorough assessment of
the applicant's situation and needs
    
     
     
       
       
       
 

Selecting a Home

Whenever possible, seniors and their families applying for Home placement are urged to visit the Homes they are considering. All Homes welcome visitors but recommend that this be done by appointment to ensure that staff will be available to conduct tours and answer questions. Touring an LTC Home provides the applicant and his or her family with a first-hand feeling about the Home's atmosphere, its rooms, its special features and optional services,
and, most importantly of all, the friendliness and quality of its staff. 		 
Whenever possible, seniors and
their families are urged to visit the Homes they are considering
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
       
  The Case Manager or social worker can provide applicants with checklists for assessing homes, and lists of questions that applicants might want to ask.  
   
   
   
         
   

Based on their visits and the information provided by the Case Manager or social worker, applicants may then put their name on the waiting lists of up to three Homes. Applicants must also designate the type of room they are requesting - a ward room that would be shared with up to three other residents (for which they would be charged the basic fee, and for which total or partial subsidies are available, based on eligibility), or a semi-private room that would be shared with one other resident (for a slightly higher fee), or a private room (for a further additional fee).

  
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 
Touring a Home provides the
applicant and their family with a
first-hand look at the home's atmosphere, its rooms, and the friendliness and quality of its staff
   
     
     
     
     
 


Applicants then go on the waiting lists for the Homes and type of accomodation they have selected. Depending on the Home and the type of room requested, waiting periods can range from a few weeks to several months, or possibly longer. If the applicant is in hospital, then it is hospital policy that he or she must go to the first vacancy that occurs in one of the three Homes selected. If the applicant wishes to remain on the waiting list for a preferred Home, he or she may do so and move at a later date when a vacancy arises. If the applicant is not in hospital, then he or she will be notified when a vacancy occurs in any of the homes selected. The applicant must decide within 24 hours whether or not to accept the room. If the applicant refuses the offer, his or her name will be removed from all three waiting lists, and the applicant will not be able to reapply for six months unless there is a significant change in condition or circumstances.

 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
 
 
 
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