Donation to support Baycrest’s community-based services to seniors, increasing the safety and independence of older adults aging at home

The Slaight Family Foundation announced yesterday that it will be donating $15 million to 13 Toronto hospitals and 4 national organizations through The Slaight Family Foundation Seniors Initiative, following an announcement this past June of the creation of the Allan Slaight Seniors Fund. Baycrest will receive $1 million as part of this donation, to support community-based services for older adults via the Baycrest@Home program.

The donation from The Slaight Family Foundation aims to help keep seniors aging in their homes and communities longer, a goal shared by Baycrest’s Baycrest@Home initiative.

“Baycrest is honoured to be included in The Slaight Family Foundation’s generous $15 million gift towards seniors programs, transforming where and how older adults and their caregivers receive care and support,” said Josh Cooper, President and CEO of the Baycrest Foundation.

“The $1 million gift to Baycrest will be instrumental in supporting our efforts to ensure our parents, grandparents, children and future generations can age in the setting of their choice, revolutionizing how our community cares for older adults and supports their families. We are grateful to The Slaight Family Foundation for supporting this visionary project, making a vital difference to older adults, their family and friends, as well as the social fabric of Ontario and Canada,” added Cooper.

Baycrest@Home is a new suite of programs and services poised to meet the healthcare challenges of our rapidly aging population. By combining over 100 years of expertise in care, education, research and innovation in the field of brain health and aging and integrating this knowledge into virtual technologies and services, Baycrest@Home will provide high-quality care at home for physically and cognitively frail older adults and their families and caregivers.

The service will strive to provide a concierge experience organized along four main themes:

• Safe@Home: smart-home enhancements that increase the safety and independence of older adults, and their connection with caregivers;
• Help@Home: practical services and information for caregivers to help them deliver and coordinate care, and deal with emotional stress of providing care;
• Connect@Home: on-demand content and access to live events and interactive sessions that stimulate and entertain older adults with mild to moderate dementia. Designed to provide many of the benefits of Baycrest’s day programs, it also provides caregivers with much-needed respite;
• Health@Home: virtual and face-to-face clinical services offered in partnership with health providers that improve the health and quality of life both for older adults and their caregivers.

Baycrest will partner with Unison Health and Community Services for service delivery as well as CAMH for LOFT residents. In return, CAMH will provide Baycrest@Home participants with cognitive training. Baycrest will also partner with Red Cross’s Care Connections to train local senior volunteers as part of Baycrest@ Home.

“Seniors are Canada’s fastest growing demographic, yet a very under-supported and vulnerable population. Finding new ways of assisting seniors, particularly those who have trouble accessing our health and social services due to poverty or other barriers, is essential to helping keep people healthier longer and in their own communities,” said Gary Slaight of The Slaight Family Foundation. “This gift is only possible due to our father Allan Slaight’s foresight, business acumen and philanthropic leadership. We hope these new models and programs will serve as change agents in moving support and care for our seniors forward for years to come.”

The Foundation’s donation builds on Allain Slaight’s legacy of giving and community service, and supports Baycrest’s mission to create a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfilment.

About the Baycrest Foundation
The Baycrest Foundation supports programs and services that promote excellence in care, research, innovation and education in aging and brain health. As the charitable arm of Baycrest, the Foundation provides crucial funding for areas such as: ongoing programs and a continuum of care services for the community; innovative research into cognition, dementia and brain health; and local, national and international education that supports the vision of creating a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfilment. For more information, visit www.baycrestfoundation.org. 

About Baycrest
Baycrest is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals and one of the world’s top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is home to the federally and provincially-funded Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector, and is the developer of Cogniciti – a free online memory assessment for Canadians 40+ who are concerned about their memory. Founded in 1918 as the Toronto Jewish Old Folks Home, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. Baycrest is helping create a world where every older adult enjoys a life of purpose, inspiration and fulfilment. For more information please visit: www.baycrest.org.

About The Slaight Family Foundation
The Slaight Family Foundation takes a strategic approach to philanthropy, addressing specific issues facing society in partnership with multiple organizations at the same time. The Slaight Family Seniors Initiative is the 5th major funded initiative supporting a number of organizations on the same theme in hopes of gaining quicker and improved results in a variety of sectors. Previous initiatives included $50 million in 2013 to five hospitals in Toronto to support the delivery of advanced healthcare; $7 million in 2015 to seven Canadian NGOs to support Canada’s lifesaving efforts in global humanitarianism; $11 million to support the healthy development of children and youth across Canada via 11 national organizations; and $12 million in 2017 to 15 charities and national organizations working to improve the physical, mental and social well-being of Canada’s Indigenous populations. 

For media inquiries:
Michelle Petch Gotuzzo
Baycrest
416-785-2500 ext. 6932
mpetchgotuzzo@baycrest.org