PEI’s Provincial Action Plan for Seniors, Near Seniors, and Caregivers

This provincial action plan recognizes that the current health care system is not equipped to serve an aging population. Read more about their proposal.

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To view the full Provincial Action Plan, please click here.

Seniors Health & Wellness Strategy

In the summer of 2017, the Province committed to developing a Seniors Health and Wellness Strategy under the direction of Dr. Michael Corman, Principal Advisor of Senior’s Health. Consultations were held throughout the fall and early winter of 2017 with Government Health officials, health care teams, seniors, near seniors, caregivers, and other stakeholder groups, such as the Alzheimer Society of PEI. All care groups completed a Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Results (SOAR) analysis, as well as stakeholder analysis.

On May 24, 2018, the Government of PEI officially released their report titled “Promoting Wellness, Preserving Health: A Provincial Action Plan for Seniors, Near Seniors, and Caregivers Living on Prince Edward Island.”

This provincial action plan recognizes that the current health care system is not equipped to serve an aging population. Four priority areas were identified as areas for improvement:

  1. Develop and implement home first age-in-place initiatives,
  2. Incorporate an age-friendly approach to communities, housing, workplaces, and health care facilities,
  3. Address ageism and support active aging and
  4. Support upstream endeavours that address the social determinants of health.

Within each of these priority areas, there are several recommended action items to be rolled out over the next three years. Transforming health and social systems by implementing this action plan will better address the needs of an aging society. To achieve this, an Implementation Council will be created to work alongside the Department of Health and Wellness, the Department of Family and Human Services and the public.

One of the key components found under the fourth pillar, Support Upstream Endeavors That Address the Social Determinants of Health (page 21), includes initiating a public campaign to increase awareness of the risk factors and early signs of dementia. On September 21, 2018, Health PEI took action by launching the “Let’s Talk Memory” awareness campaign, in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of PEI. For more information about this campaign, please click here.

To view the full Provincial Action Plan, please click here.