Every dose time on record
At the assessment, the RN lists each prescribed dose time and asks which hours of the day are easiest and hardest for getting around.
Private home care · Ottawa
In-Home Parkinson's Care in Ottawa
A personal support worker (PSW) gives a reminder at each dose time, a steady arm on the move, and help at meals and bedtime.
A Registered Nurse (RN) writes the care plan, and your family can phone us for clinical advice day or night.
Free in-home assessment. No obligation.
Parkinson's support at home
Day-to-Day Help in Ottawa Homes
Parkinson's can change movement, thinking, mood, sleep, blood pressure, and bladder and bowel control. More than 120,000 people in Canada live with the disease, according to Parkinson Canada. The effects show up in ordinary moments: a slow start to the morning, a pause at the bedroom door, a dinner that runs long.
Integracare Ottawa chooses a PSW to suit the person and books visits on a set schedule. Before care starts, an RN assesses the person at home, writes the care plan and checks it again whenever health changes. Families can choose English or French for nursing supervision and care management.
Talk through your optionsMedication timing
PSW Shifts Booked Around Each Dose
The RN plans the visit schedule from the times on the prescription.
A prompt when it is due
The PSW reminds the person at each dose time, pours a glass of water and stays until the pills are taken.
Early word to the nurse
A skipped dose, or stiffness and shaking that return well before the next one, is reported to the nurse. Any question about the medicine goes to the doctor who prescribed it or to a pharmacist.
When the prescription changes
After a neurologist or family doctor adjusts the treatment, the RN rewrites the dose times in the plan and moves PSW shifts to match.
Mobility and falls
Safer Moves From Room to Room
The PSW stays within reach for the movements that test balance most: rising from a chair, turning in a narrow kitchen, and stepping in and out of the shower.
Some people with Parkinson's feel their feet stick to the floor at a doorway or in a tight corner. The RN records the cue that gets this person going again, such as a spoken count or a strip of tape to step over. Every PSW on the schedule then uses it.
The RN also walks through the home and suggests changes that lower the risk of a fall: clear paths, a night light on the way to the bathroom, and grab bars by the tub and toilet.
Swallowing
Unhurried Mealtimes
Parkinson's can make eating and drinking harder. The PSW cooks to the textures listed in the care plan, keeps the person well propped up and lets each mouthful take as long as it needs. Coughing, throat-clearing or a wet-sounding voice at meals goes to the nurse, along with any drop in weight, and the nurse reviews food textures, how the person sits to eat, and whether a swallowing assessment is needed.
Sleep and mood
Bedtime and Low Days
Parkinson's can also disturb rest. An evening visit covers washing up, getting changed and a last trip to the bathroom. When nights are broken, 24/7 home care rotates staff in shifts, with someone awake until morning. A live-in caregiver is a separate arrangement with a set sleep period.
Worry, sadness and a loss of interest can come with the disease. The PSW keeps up conversation and favourite pastimes, and tells the nurse when spirits drop. If memory or attention starts to slip, the plan can draw on our dementia care in Ottawa.
Nurse-led care
An RN Plan That Changes With the Person
Integracare in Ottawa is led by Kristine McGinn, who has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) and more than 25 years of health care experience.
Meeting the family first
Before any shift starts, an RN visits to meet the person and the family, then writes a plan covering medicine times, moving about, meals, sleep and mood.
PSWs and RPNs
PSWs make the regular visits, and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) come when the plan calls for nursing. Integracare matches each of them to the person.
Clinical help 24/7
Day or night, holidays included, a family member or PSW can phone our nurses about a missed pill, a rough night or a fall. Any fall goes to the nurse the same day, and the RN reviews the plan so it is less likely to happen again.
Reviews and follow-up
The RN goes over the plan again after a hospital discharge, a new prescription or a worry raised by relatives. Our care coordinator checks on test results and keeps in touch with the person's doctors, so the family stays informed.
The Family Room
Invited relatives can open the Family Room, Integracare's online portal, to see visit times and read the PSW's notes as they are recorded.
For the household
Rest and Support for Family Caregivers
Often one relative keeps track of every dose, drives to each appointment and gets up through the night. Scheduled PSW shifts give that person time to sleep, see their own doctor or meet a friend for lunch. For a longer break, Integracare Ottawa also offers respite care.
Plan Parkinson's Care With Our Ottawa Team
Call or send the form, and an RN will come to the home to build a plan around the dose schedule.
Local Resources
Other Parkinson's Help in Ottawa
Other organizations run these programs. Each sets its own rules, and Integracare is separate from all of them.
Scroll the table sideways to compare care options.
| Organization | What it offers | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
| The Ottawa Hospital Parkinson's Disease Clinic | Medical management and education for people with Parkinson's and related conditions known as parkinsonisms. The clinic also gives emotional support and counselling, and refers families to health and social service agencies in the community. | A physician must make the referral. Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue. |
| Parkinson Canada | Canada's national Parkinson's charity, with a toll-free line staffed on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time. It runs 120 community groups across the country, including the free Ottawa Care Partners Support Group, which meets in person for spouses, adult children and friends. | 1-888-664-1974 or support@parkinson.ca |
| Ontario Health atHome, Champlain area | Public home care for Ottawa residents who qualify. After an assessment, a care coordinator decides the services, and our PSW visits can fit around them. | 1-800-538-0520 (toll-free) or 613-745-5525 |
| Ontario Caregiver Helpline | Free phone support for family caregivers, answered 24/7. Staff point callers to local support groups and programs for the person with Parkinson's. It is not a crisis line. | 1-833-416-2273 |
Common questions
Questions About Parkinson's Care in Ottawa
Can a family arrange care without a doctor's referral?
Yes. Families book private care with Integracare directly by calling (613) 212-7567, and an RN then visits for a free assessment.
Can Ontario Health atHome services and Integracare visits be combined?
Yes. An Ontario Health atHome care coordinator decides eligibility for funded services, weighing the person's assessed needs against what the community offers. Our RN can schedule private PSW shifts around the public visits.
Can a PSW help with exercises from a physiotherapist?
Yes. On days between therapy sessions, the PSW can take the person through the routine the physiotherapist set and follow it as written.
What changes as Parkinson's progresses?
The RN adds hours or extra shifts as needed, and care can move to round-the-clock coverage or a live-in caregiver. The PSW takes on more of the bathing, dressing and moving about. In the final stage, palliative care at home puts comfort first.
Who should we call if the person falls?
Call our nurses at any hour. The nurse helps you decide the next step, and the RN then checks whether the plan needs to change, from walking aids to how the home is set up.
Ottawa services
More Care in Ottawa
Home Care in Ottawa
Personal Support Workers in Ottawa
Nursing Care in Ottawa
Dementia Care in Ottawa
24-Hour Home Care in Ottawa
Live-in Care in Ottawa
Palliative Care in Ottawa
We also provide Parkinson's care in Greater Toronto and Parkinson's care in Winnipeg.
Free In-Home Assessment
Contact Integracare Ottawa About Parkinson's Care
Tell us what you need. A nurse will contact you within one business day.
343 Preston Street, Suite 1104, Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4
Prefer to talk?
Ottawa(613) 212-7567 ↗We serve families across the Ottawa region. See the areas we cover
Clinically reviewed by Bethel McMaster, BScN, RN ·