How do I move a parent with dementia to another province?

Nov 1

by Magni Magnason

You can move a parent with dementia to another province, and families do it every year, usually to bring mom or dad closer to the people who look after them. The move has two parts: what has to be in place in the new province before the travel day, and the travel day itself. This guide covers both, and Portage can help with the second.

Parents sitting looking at a family photo, in front of moving boxes

Why do families relocate a parent with dementia?

Because the people who care for them live somewhere else. A parent is in Toronto, Winnipeg, or Vancouver, and the adult children who have become their support are in Halifax, Calgary, or Ottawa, with jobs and families of their own. For a while the family manages it by flying back and forth. Then something changes: a hospital stay, a fall, a spouse who can no longer cope, a care home with no family nearby to visit. At that point the question stops being whether to move mom or dad and becomes how.

The same move happens for other reasons, too. A parent moves to be near a sibling rather than a child, or into a care residence that has a place when the home town does not, or back to the province they came from. The order of things is the same in every case.

What has to be in place in the new province before the travel day?

Four things, which we raise so you have the whole picture before you set a date. Portage helps with the journey itself; the steps below are ones your family works through with the offices in the new province, and the travel date is easiest to set once they are under way. The Alzheimer Society of Canada's guide Long-term care: Preparing for a move covers the move itself in more depth than we can here, and your local Alzheimer Society can walk you through the steps in your parent's new province.

A place to live. If your parent is moving into long-term care or a care residence, each province runs its own placement system, with its own assessment, eligibility rules, and waitlists. The question to ask the placement office in the new province is whether your parent can be assessed and placed on a waitlist before they arrive, or only after they are living there. The answer decides the order of everything else, including whether your parent stays with family for a time first.

Health coverage. Provincial health coverage does move with your parent, with a gap to plan for. Under the Canada Health Act, a province may ask a new resident to wait up to three months before its plan covers them, and during that wait the province your parent is leaving continues to cover their insured services as if they had not moved (Canada Health Act, s. 11). What that means in practice for prescriptions, home care, and long-term care fees is set province by province, so ask the health ministry in the new province what is covered during the waiting period and what is not.

Who decides. If your parent has a power of attorney, personal directive, or similar document naming someone to act for them, that person is the one who makes decisions about the move and about the journey. Each province has its own legislation for these documents, so ask a lawyer in the new province whether your parent's existing documents will be recognized there or need to be redone, and do it before the move rather than after.

Care in the new place. The home or the new family doctor will want your parent's medical history, medication list, and recent assessments. Ask the current clinic and any specialists how they transfer records to another province, and ask the receiving home what they need to see before moving day.

None of this is a reason not to move. It is the order of work, and the journey is the part we can help you with. Reach out to us early, while you are still working through the steps above; the longer we have to plan, the better the travel day goes.

Should my parent fly or go by road?

For most interprovincial moves, a direct flight, because it is the shortest day. A person living with dementia manages a journey best when it is predictable and short, and a direct flight from Toronto to Halifax is a few hours in the air with one airport at each end. A connection adds a second airport, a second boarding, and more waiting, so direct flights are usually our first choice when one exists.

In some cases, flying with dementia may require medical clearance from the airline, confirming that your parent is fit to fly. Your Case Coordinator will tell you if that applies to your parent's journey and will support you through the process, including the forms and the lead time the airline needs.

A journey by road is a good option for shorter moves that can be done in a day, for example between Calgary and Edmonton or between Edmonton and Saskatoon. It avoids the airport altogether, which for some travellers is the whole point. We arrange ground transport for the whole journey in those cases, and occasionally for longer ones such as Calgary to Winnipeg, when the family and the traveller prefer it. Flying or driving is a decision we make with you at intake, around your parent rather than around the map.

How does Portage move a parent with dementia between provinces?

We take care of your parent on the travel day, from the door they are leaving to the door they are moving to.

It starts with a conversation. Your Case Coordinator gets to know your parent: their daily routine, how they communicate, what reassures them and what unsettles them, their medications and when they are taken, and how they manage walking, eating, and the washroom. Decision-making and consent are part of our intake, so we confirm early who has the authority to agree to the plan. From that, your Case Coordinator recommends a Travel Companion or a Medical Escort and builds the day: flights chosen for the traveller, airline accessibility assistance requested in advance, time to spare at every step, ground transport arranged at both ends, and agreed points along the way when the family hears from us.

On the day, a Travel Companion arrives at your parent's home, or at the hospital or care home they are leaving, and stays with them through the drive, check-in, security, the gate, the flight, and the arrivals hall. The Companion is an experienced caregiver, so that includes hands-on personal care: help with eating, with the washroom, with getting comfortable, and with medication reminders at the right times. The Companion keeps the day calm and predictable, handles documents, bags, and announcements, and answers the same question as many times as it is asked. The journey ends when your parent is received at the other end, by you, by the staff at a care residence who are expecting them, or at the door of a new home.

A recent journey, details changed. A man in Toronto developed early-onset dementia and, after a stay in hospital, had no one nearby to support him; his adult children had a business and families in Halifax. The family found a long-term care home near them. Because he needed help with his medications on the way, a Portage Medical Escort travelled with him, and his daughter flew with them. We coordinated the flights for both and stayed with him from the hospital in Toronto to the door of his new home in Halifax, where the staff were waiting for him.

Can I travel with my parent?

Yes, and many families do. The Travel Companion or Medical Escort looks after your parent, which means you can simply travel together, sit with them, and be the familiar face at the gate and on arrival, instead of managing bags, documents, a wheelchair, and a parent who is anxious about where they are, all at once. If you want to come, your Case Coordinator makes the arrangements for the whole party.

Families also use us when no one can go. The adult children are the ones organizing the new home, meeting the movers, and setting up the room, and someone has to be at the destination. In that case your parent travels with the Companion or Escort, you hear from us at agreed points during the day, and you are the person waiting at the other end.

What does it cost?

A journey within Canada typically ranges between $4,000–10,000 CAD. Where it lands in that range depends on the exact locations, your parent's care needs, airline preferences, and the fares on the day. Our fee is for the care on the journey and is set by the level of support your parent needs; crew travel expenses, such as flights, ground transport, and a hotel if the journey needs one, are charged at actual cost. Most families pay for this move themselves, so plan for it as part of the cost of the move. Call us with the route and a description of your parent's needs and you will get a complete quote upfront.

Where Portage fits

Portage provides a Travel Companion for people living with dementia who need support on a journey, and a Medical Escort when the journey needs more clinical care. A Case Coordinator plans and books the trip; the Companion or Medical Escort is with your parent door to door.