By: Amanda Persico, Staff Writer

“I know there is strong passion and commitment here,” she said. “I only hope to continue that passion where I go.”

Occupying the first full-time position with the seniors organization, Mrs. Egan helped develop CHATS from a part-time organization with limited services to a model organization for Ontario.

CHATS started with programs for seniors. Now, it provides a full range of programs for both seniors living at home and caregivers, serving more than 4,500 people each year.  

“CHATS has become a one-stop shop for senior care,” Mrs. Egan said.

When Mrs. Egan started, the CHATS vision was simple: Taking care of the practical everyday needs of seniors.

The majority of its clients were between 65 and 75.

Now, CHATS looks after the complex needs of seniors and caregivers, with the majority of clients 75 and older, with about 45 per cent living alone.

“It’s not just demographics or high population density,” Mrs. Egan said. “All the province is dealing with an aging population. And the everyday needs have not changed.”  

Mrs. Egan traded in her CHATS shoes for a position as the capacity building initiative director of Central Community Support Services (CSS), an umbrella agency of more than 40 organizations.

“I feel like I’m not leaving the organization,” she said. “I’m staying in the same sector, senior care.”

CSS is a resource hub for fragmented organizations. It is part of the provincial health system plan, a three-year strategy announced last year to standardize senior care and improve the quality of life for seniors aging at home.

Over the next three years, CSS is expected to bring about new services and expand current services, Mrs. Egan said.

“It’s not rocket science. The everyday activities are critical to staying at home,” she said.

“People deserve to be supported with those basics. I want to see the system work better for people.”