Home Support:
Members are entitled to apply to the Society's board of directors for reimbursement for short-term home assistance, up to twenty (20) hours to a maximum of $500 per calendar year, when such assistance is requested in writing by a licensed physician.
To be eligible for this service, your membership fee must be paid a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to the need for short-term home assistance. The number of grants available may vary, and approval is at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
The home assistance service covers help with personal care, meal preparation (including grocery shopping) and light, general housekeeping of the kind normally done in a regular week: e.g., laundry, vacuuming, bathroom cleaning, etc. Not to be included is heavy or "spring" cleaning such as window washing, oven cleaning, or cleaning behind appliances.
The Society will only reimburse expenses when no government-funded, short-term care is available. For the list of services provided by the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), or contact VIHA at 250-739-5749.
Long-term disability recipients may be granted this service once only within the first six months of being designated as needing long-term care, with the required documentation from a licensed physician.
To apply for home assistance, please download and fill out THIS APPLICATION and provide the following information to the Administrator in writing by letter or by email.
A description of the circumstances that have/will result in your needing home assistance.
The type of home assistance you need.
Confirmation that VIHA does not provide the service you are requesting.
Confirmation that you have or will get a note from a doctor or nurse practitioner supporting your need for home assistance.
Please allow five working days for the Board of Directors to consider your application. If it is an emergency, please state that in your application; we will get back to you as soon as we can.
The Ambulance Society does not keep a list of people who do home assistance. It is up to individual members to hire their own person.
If your application is approved, you can submit the invoices you have received all at once or individually, as is convenient for you, but they must be mailed to the Administrator within ninety (90) days of requiring the assistance. Please include the note from your doctor with your first submission. Mail requests for reimbursement to:
Box 162, Gabriola, BC, V0R 1X0.
If you have any questions, please contact the Administrator by email to admin@gabriolaambulancesociety.org or by phone (250-247-0226).