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Elder care program launches environment for older adults, respite for family caregivers Burn-out, illness and absenteeism from work are the risks for adult children who are providing care for aging parents, looking after their own families and managing a career. That was the message from Maureen Osis, guest speaker at the launch of a breakthrough new elder care program at Millrise Place in Calgary. Osis, registered nurse, family therapist and co-founder of ElderWise Inc., spoke about the value of relief and respite for mid-life working adults who are often stretched to the limit. “Many adult children provide the major source of support for older adults in the community and often accept both the responsibility and the opportunity to support their aging parents and family members,” says Osis. “Frequently called the ‘sandwich generation’ they find themselves caught between raising their own kids, caring for their parents and trying to thrive at work.” The backup elder care program is the latest venture of Kids & Company, Canada’s foremost provider of corporate childcare. The program is being launched at Millrise Place, which provides a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment for older adults. Employees of the participating pilot companies will be able to bring their aging parents to the centre when existing living/care arrangements fail, as a temporary backup solution. Arrangements can also be made with Millrise Place for adult children to bring their parents on a regular basis, a couple of days a week or just when they need some respite. Victoria Sopik, Kids & Company founder and CEO works closely with family-oriented corporations to develop progressive childcare options for their employees. Five companies are participating in a pilot elder care program, to offer their employees temporary backup elder care. The five companies – RBC, Deloitte, Nexen, Enbridge and BP – are existing Kids & Company child care clients. “Clients like these, who blazed a trail by helping employees with childcare, realize that family responsibilities don’t stop with young children and elder care is emerging as a major source of stress and extra work for employees,” says Sopik. “In some cases, it’s resulting in reduced hours or missed work to take care of aging parents or inlaws,” says Sopik. “We also have a childcare facility at Millrise Place so there are wonderful opportunities to bring together the kids and the seniors for intergenerational programming,” says Herve Faucher, owner representative, Triple A Living Communities Inc. “Research shows that older adults enjoy spending time with toddlers and many of the kids don’t have grandparents nearby so it’s a perfect partnership.” With changing population demographics, the need for these kinds of programs is likely to grow. In fact, a recent Statistics Canada report revealed that 1.7 million adults aged 45 to 64 are providing informal elder care to 2.3 million seniors, 75 per cent of whom are aging parents or in-laws. Many of them belong to the so-called sandwich generation, people who are raising young children, working full-time and looking after parents. According to Sopik, over the past decade, “progressive organizations have started to offer employees everything from corporate childcare to flexible hours. While family-friendly policies are a welcome relief to parents of young kids, most don’t take into account the other members of an employee’s family that might need their attention and assistance.” This sentiment is echoed by Alexis Wise, vice president, LifeSpeak Inc. which works with corporations across Canada to offer workshops in the workplace that help employees maintain a work/life quality. Guest speaker Maureen Osis, is part of LifeSpeak’s Generations At Work expert speaker roster. “At LifeSpeak, we applaud employers who have recognized the demands placed on their employees by either their parenting responsibilities or their eldercare responsibilities, or both in the case of the sandwich generation,” says Wise. “Through expert speakers like Maureen, we’re able to help corporations give their employees valuable information, tips and coping strategies.” About Kids & Company With 12 childcare centres in the Greater Toronto Area and additional facilities in London, Waterloo, Ottawa and Calgary, Kids & Company works directly with family-oriented corporations to develop progressive childcare options for their employees. In addition to the Millrise Place location, Kids & Company has two other Calgary childcare locations – 4033 Bow Trail SW and 505 4th Ave SW. Please visit us at www.kidsandcompany.ca. LifeSpeak Inc. Balancing a demanding career and a vibrant personal life can be a challenging endeavour. LifeSpeak is dedicated to addressing this challenge by bringing information and support to busy employees to help them thrive in all that they do. LifeSpeak offers customized workshop series that are held in the workplace. Workshops may be selected from the Parents At Work, Generations At Work and Vitality At Work programs.   By K.S. Date 15-01-2007   Print this article | React to this article