Caregiving Crisis Response Plan
Caredara™ Ontario Caregiving Crisis Response Plan
Across Canada, more than 8 million people provide unpaid care to aging parents, partners, and loved ones. This is the largest invisible workforce in the country. And it’s breaking.
- 65% of unpaid caregivers report they are burning out.
- 45% say they are willing to pay for respite support.
- On average, caregivers spend 19 hours every week providing care.
Almost half a workweek on top of everything else in their lives.
These are not abstract numbers. They are daughters leaving work early. Sons doing late-night medications. Spouses carrying the emotional and physical load alone. Families struggling to navigate a system that is overburdened and unable to respond quickly.
The reality is simple
Ontario’s caregiving crisis isn’t coming — it’s already here.
And the people holding the system together are exhausted.
This is why we put together the Caredara™ Caregiving Crisis Response Plan.
Caredara™ was not built as a technology experiment or an academic project. It was built to respond to a very real, very human problem:
Families cannot wait months for help, and caregivers cannot continue burning out.
Our goal is not to “fix” the entire system or replace public care.
We are not trying to change the world — we’re trying to support what the world looks like today.
Right now, families need relief. Practitioners need fair, flexible work. And Ontario needs a way to close the gap between what the system can provide and what people actually need.
The Caregiving Crisis Response Plan outlines
The pillars we are built on
Expanding the care workforce
Through flexible scheduling, fair compensation, and rapid onboarding.
Providing rapid-response home care
Matching families with PSWs, RPNs, and RNs in hours, not weeks.
Supporting hospitals and care coordinators
With faster discharge pathways.
Partnering with municipalities
To strengthen aging-in-place strategies.
Educating families and the public
About caregiving realities and available support.
Using technology
To ensure safety, continuity, and transparency.
The KPIs that will guide our work
- Time-to-match for families
- Practitioner retention
- Continuity of care
- Municipal workforce density
- Hospital discharge turnaround
- Family and practitioner satisfaction
The logistical plan behind it
Real processes, real technology, real recruitment, real assessment protocols, and real partnerships already underway — not theory, not messaging.
Caredara™ exists because the current system, despite its importance, cannot meet the immediate needs of families.
Caregivers need help today — and Caredara™ was designed to step into that gap.
This plan is our commitment to delivering practical, measurable support where Ontario needs it most:
- In homes,
- In families,
- At hospital discharge,
- And in communities working to help seniors age safely.
We cannot solve everything, but we can make today easier for the people carrying the weight of caregiving alone.
And that is what Caredara™ is here to do.
Caregiving Crisis Response Plan (2026)
An Ontario initiative to strengthen Canada’s home-care capacity, support families, and improve working conditions for PSWs, RPNs, and RNs.
1. Purpose of the Response Plan
Caredara™’s mission is to ensure every family can access fast, flexible, high-quality home care — while practitioners are paid fairly and treated with dignity.
This response plan outlines the concrete actions Caredara™ will take to help stabilize and strengthen Canada’s caregiving ecosystem.
Canada is entering a prolonged and worsening caregiving crisis:
- Aging population with accelerating demand for home care
- Chronic caregiver shortages
- Burnout among existing practitioners
- Long waitlists and lack of flexible options for families
Strategic Pillars of the Response
Pillar 1
Expanding the Care Workforce
Recruitment and Retention
Caredara™ will help address the shortage of caregivers by making caregiving work more flexible, better paid, and easier to access.
Actions
- Launch a provincewide recruitment campaign targeting PSWs, RPNs, and RNs seeking flexible income options.
- Offer surge-zone incentives in high-need areas.
- Provide fair compensation (practitioners set availability and remain in control of their schedule).
- Zero-barrier onboarding using in-app document upload, geolocation onboarding, and fast approval processes.
- Continuous development through integrated Chalenj micro-training modules.
Impact
- Increased number of available practitioners
- Reduced burnout by giving workers control over their schedules
- Improved continuity of care for families
Pillar 2
Expanding Access to Care for Families
The crisis reduces families’ ability to find timely, affordable care. Caredara™ will strengthen access by making home care instant, transparent, and customizable.
Actions
- Expand the on-demand model to additional municipalities beyond Halton.
- RN-led care assessments to ensure safe, appropriate care planning. One-hour minimum, no contracts — removing barriers for urgent or light-touch support.
- Transparent pricing (PSW/RPN/RN rates + admin + processing).
- Continuity-first assignment logic so the same practitioners can return when requested.
- Family app enhancements:
- Real-time practitioner tracking
- Clear explanation of RN/PSW/RPN task boundaries
- Easy re-booking flow
Impact
- Faster access to care
- Reduced strain on hospitals, emergency rooms, and long-term care
- Empowered families with choice and transparency
Pillar 3
Supporting Hospitals and Care Coordinators
Hospital discharge planners and care coordinators struggle to safely transition patients home due to shortages.
Actions
- Caredara™ Rapid Discharge Support Pathway: Guaranteed practitioner matching within hours.
- Dedicated referral line + manual tracking for early-stage partners.
- Corporate Care Credit Bundles for hospitals to offer post-discharge support.
- Creation of preferred partnerships with hospitals and community organizations.
Impact
- Reduced bed-blocking
- Safer transitions home
- Increased patient and family satisfaction
Pillar 4
Strengthening Community Workforce Resilience
Municipalities face care shortages that limit aging-at-home strategies.
Actions
- Launch the Caredara™ Municipal Partnership Program, co-designed with economic development and social service departments.
- Provide workforce analytics:
- Practitioner density
- Care-type demand
- Peak request times
- Gaps in service
- Offer community care credit programs for vulnerable seniors (pilot subsidies).
- Work with municipalities to brand themselves as Care-Forward Cities.
Impact
- Localized improvements to care access
- Strategic workforce planning tools
- Stronger, more resilient community health systems
Pillar 5
Advocacy, Education and Public Awareness
Caredara™ will use its platform to advance provincial understanding of the caregiving crisis.
Actions
- Publish The Caredara™ Caregiving Index twice per year:
- Practitioner shortages
- Wait times
- Regional trends
- Workforce turnover indicators
- Run quarterly educational webinars for:
- Families supporting aging parents
- Care workers
- Municipal leaders
- Launch “The Care Conversation” social campaign (already in development).
- Collaborate with academic institutions (McMaster, Lakehead, Mohawk, etc.) on applied research.
Impact
- Stronger public awareness
- Evidence-based policy conversations
- Caredara™ as a thought-leader in home-care innovation
Pillar 6
Technology and Safety Innovation
Use technology to improve reliability, continuity, and safety in the care experience.
Actions
- AI-driven care-matching based on availability, proximity, practitioner skills, and continuity.
- Practitioner verification workflow with document checks + RN oversight.
- In-app safety mechanisms:
- Emergency escalation to Caredara™ Safety Line
- Visit validation (geo-located check-ins)
- Real-time updates to families
- RN assessment logic (triggered by care history + service type + risk factors).
- Enable instant practitioner payouts after each visit.
Impact
- Higher quality of care
- Reduced fraud and miscommunication
- More confidence for families
- Higher practitioner satisfaction
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Caredara™ will track success using
Workforce KPIs
- Number of verified practitioners onboarded
- Practitioner retention rates
- Fulfillment rate (percentage of requests matched)
Family and Client KPIs
- Average time-to-match
- Continuity score (same practitioner returns)
- Client satisfaction / NPS
System-Level KPIs
- Hospital discharge support turnaround
- Municipal workforce density improvements
- Care utilization trends
Rollout Timeline
Q1–Q2 2026
- Ontario expansion (Halton → Hamilton, Peel, Niagara)
- Launch of Caredara™ Caregiving Index
- Municipal partnerships outreach
- Hospital discharge pathway pilots
Q3–Q4 2026
- Expanded practitioner surge recruitment
- Provincial press + policy advocacy
- Advanced AI matching enhancements
- Care credit bundles for employers and hospitals
Caredara™’s Guiding Promise
We will not solve the caregiving crisis alone — but we will play our part, boldly and transparently, to create accessible care for families and dignified work for care practitioners.
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