Older adults with long-term care (LTC) needs are cared for across a range of settings in Ontario. Many older adults live in residential care settings, including retirement homes, supportive housing, assisted-living, and long-term care homes. However, long-term support is not only provided in residential care homes. Ontarians living in private community dwellings also have long-term care needs and rely on the support from both unpaid (informal) and paid formal care providers. Across settings, care needs constantly evolve.
The Ontario QUILT (QUality for Individuals who require Long-Term support) Network brings together complementary research programs from across Ontario focused on three broad populations requiring long-term support: (1) community; (2) retirement and assisted living, and; (3) LTC homes. The QUILT Network was established to maximize research capacity to achieve a common objective – we want to improve system integration and care quality for Ontario’s older adults living with LTC needs, across the continuum of settings and levels of care.
The QUILT Network explores the cross-cutting concept of LTC “spaces” and evaluates how older adults with LTC needs move from one setting or “space” to the next. This concept breaks downs the “silos” of services provided in traditional institutions to create a true continuum of services that are provided in the most appropriate settings, cost-effective, and aligned with older adult’s needs and wishes.