--- title: Healthcare System Changes - Volunteer program adopted amidst COVID-19 in Dufferin County description: The Dufferin County Equity Collaborative and its partners are better aligning the local health system. image: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/Senior%20looking%20outside%20a%20window.jpeg --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # Healthcare System Changes - Volunteer program adopted amidst COVID-19 in Dufferin County Posted on September 10, 2020 [By Natasha Pei](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/natasha-pei) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![Senior looking outside a window](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Photos/Image%20Library/Senior%20looking%20outside%20a%20window.jpeg?width=312&name=Senior%20looking%20outside%20a%20window.jpeg) The Dufferin County Equity Collaborative and its partners are better aligning the local health system. During COVID-19, TeleCheck, a unique volunteer-based community service offering regular check-in calls to support seniors (55+ years), was recognized as an essential community health service and has officially been integrated into the Headwaters Health Care Centre operations. Daily check-in calls provide safety to seniors living independently. They take place between 8:30 am – 12:00 pm and 3:30 pm – 7:00 pm. Benefits include: - Ensuing the safety, health, and well-being of registrants - Providing healthy routine reminders (e.g. medication, meals, exercise, appointments) - Increasing social connections - Acting as a quick link to emergency response when required, and community resources - Offering support to caregivers and those living with dementia There are no referrals or assessments required and there is no fee for seniors to receive the check-in phone calls. TeleCheck has saved the lives of at least two people this year. - During a routine check-in call, the participant didn’t answer. As per protocol, with no one answering the phone, TeleCheck called 9-1-1. It turned out the participant was having a stroke and was saved in-time by emergency responders. - A TeleCheck participant took a bad fall and couldn’t move, but felt confident that when they didn’t answer their scheduled TeleCheck call, help would arrive shortly after. When this participant didn’t answer the phone, the paramedics were sent and saved the individual who otherwise may have remained incapacitated and alone for several days. By integrating TeleCheck services with the local hospital, health care providers have introduced a major referral point to get seniors connected with existing community supports that can help them live safely and with dignity as they age in-place; and is creating a more networked, resilient community with which to face future crises, such as COVID-19.   **Learn More** - [Read about TeleCheck](https://www.headwatershealth.ca/Areas-of-Care/TeleCheck-Dufferin) - [Find Dufferin County Equity Collaborative’s pillars of work and activities](http://dcmoves.org/priority-pillars/dufferin-county-equity-collaborative/#:~:text=The%20Dufferin%20County%20Equity%20Collaborative,population%20affected%20by%20economic%20hardship.) - [Explore how Cities Reducing Poverty members have been responding to COVID-19](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/cities-reducing-poverty-responding-to-covid-19?hsLang=en-us) Topics: [Natasha Pei](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/natasha-pei), [Cities Reducing Poverty](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/cities-reducing-poverty), [Healthcare](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/healthcare) ![Natasha Pei](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Photos/Headshots/Natasha%20Pei.png) ### By [Natasha Pei](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/natasha-pei) Natasha Pei serves as the Director of Communities Ending Poverty, leveraging her 13 years of experience in community development to promote justice and equity through place-based, community-led systems change. Natasha's involvement with Tamarack began with the Communities First: Impacts of Community Engagement (CFICE) project, where she worked as a Research Assistant in the Poverty Reduction Hub, studying effective ways community-campus engagement can be undertaken to have real benefits for the community. ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/illiyeen-nelson-boat_cropped_edited.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/nelson-at-its-best-drives-successful-poverty-reduction-strategy-implementation?hsLang=en-us) #### [Nelson at its Best drives successful poverty reduction strategy implementation](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/nelson-at-its-best-drives-successful-poverty-reduction-strategy-implementation?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/kelly-sikkema-kids-in-masks.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-knowledge-into-action-in-a-post-covid-world?hsLang=en-us) #### [Putting Knowledge into Action in a (Post)-COVID World](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/putting-knowledge-into-action-in-a-post-covid-world?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/nathan-dumlao-family.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/rethinking-capacity-as-a-way-to-empower-those-living-with-poverty?hsLang=en-us) #### [Rethinking capacity as a way to empower those living with poverty](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/rethinking-capacity-as-a-way-to-empower-those-living-with-poverty?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. 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