The Application Process
      
         
  Applications for long-term care in the Hamilton area are handled through the Hamilton Community Care Access Centre, which is the central area agency that handles and assesses all requests for home care or facility 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 Community
Care Access Centre
 
     
     
     
         
   

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 facility 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 facility, 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 Facility

Whenever possible, seniors and their families applying for facility placement are urged to visit the facilities they are considering. All facilities 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 facility provides the applicant and his or her family with a first-hand feeling about the facility's atmosphere, its rooms, its special features and optional services,		  
Whenever possible, seniors and
their families are urged to visit the facilities they are considering
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
       
  and, most importantly of all, the friendliness and quality of its staff. The Case Manager or social worker can provide applicants with checklists for assessing facilities, 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 facilities. 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 facility provides the
applicant and their family with a
first-hand look at the facility's atmosphere, its rooms, and the friendliness and quality of its staff
   
     
     
     
     
 


Applicants then go on the waiting lists for the facilities and type of accomodation they have selected. Depending on the facility 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 facilities selected. If the applicant wishes to remain on the waiting list for a preferred facility, 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 facilities 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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