You have never done this before. That is normal.
Most people call us for the first time after something has changed — a fall, a diagnosis, a hospital stay, or the slow realization that a parent is not managing. You do not need to know what you want before you ring. Working that out is the point of the call.
If this is a medical emergency
Call 911 immediately. Do not wait for a call back from us.
For urgent care needs that are not an emergency, call us on 1-888-507-6236 — a person will pick up, and we can usually move faster than a form allows.
Four steps, and the first one is free
Tell us what has changedFree
Fifteen minutes on the phone. What is happening, what is hardest right now, and whether this is urgent. No forms, nothing to prepare, and you do not have to have made any decisions.
We come and assess
A regulated health professional visits — at home, or in hospital before a discharge. They look at what the person can still do, what is genuinely risky, and what the household can realistically cover.
We go through the plan and the cost
Tasks, hours, schedule, who does what, and what it costs — talked through with you, so you know exactly what is being proposed before anything starts.
We match a caregiver and start
Clinical need first, then language, gender preference, pets and the hours you need covered. You meet them. If the match is wrong, say so and we change it.
What to have roughly in mind
Not required — we will ask — but these are the things that shape a plan.
- What the person struggles with now: washing, dressing, stairs, meals, medication, getting out
- Any diagnoses, and whether anything has changed recently
- Whether there has been a fall, or a near miss
- Who else is helping, and how much longer they can keep it up
- Which hours worry you most — mornings, evenings, overnight, weekends
- Roughly what you can spend, so we do not waste your time
Signs it might be time
Around the house
Post piling up, food going off in the fridge, laundry not done, the home colder or dirtier than it used to be.
Health and safety
Falls or near-falls, bruises nobody can explain, medication missed or doubled, weight dropping.
Mood and memory
Withdrawing from people, repeating questions, confusion about time or place, getting lost on familiar routes.
After hospital
Discharge is being planned and nobody has worked out who is actually there in the first fortnight.
The family caregiver
Someone in the family has stopped sleeping, stopped working, or stopped going out. That is a reason to call in itself.
Just uncertainty
You are not sure it is time yet. Calling early costs nothing and usually means fewer hours, not more.
More on this in our blog — including how many hours people actually need, and what home care costs in Ontario.
What happens after that
- How a custom care plan is built
- Who comes to your home, and how they are screened
- Care scenarios — examples across different situations
- Community resources — including publicly funded options
- Frequently asked questions
- Check we cover your area
Your confidentiality, health and safety come first. Anything you tell us on that first call, including health information, is used only to arrange your care and is handled under Canadian privacy law. See our privacy policy.
Further reading
Longer pieces on the questions families and managers ask us most.