Canada now has its first national standard for dementia care at home, and at HosPall we’re proud to say our teams were already doing this work before it arrived.
In August 2026, CSA Group published CSA Z2000:26, Dementia-Inclusive Home and Community Care. More than 700,000 Canadians are living with dementia, and most of them want to stay at home for as long as they can. This new standard sets out what good dementia care at home should look like.
Standards matter. What matters even more is what happens when they reach someone’s front door.
Michelle Frauley, Founder & CEO
What’s new in dementia care standards
Two new national standards are raising the bar for home care in Canada.
CSA Z2000:26, Dementia-Inclusive Home and Community Care. This is the first Canadian standard written specifically for people living with dementia at home and in the community. It applies to public, private and non-profit providers. It gives practical direction on:
- Care planning that involves the person living with dementia in their own care decisions, as much as they’re able
- Training for care workers and support for family care partners
- Consistent care, so clients aren’t facing a steady stream of new faces
- Safety, dignity, privacy and equal access to services
- Organizational accountability and emergency preparedness
CAN/HSO 35001, Home Care and Support Services. This updated standard from Health Standards Organization brings home care and home support together under one national standard. It focuses on personalized and safe care, coordinated services, a healthy and competent workforce, and a culture of quality improvement.
These are national standards, not laws. They’re the benchmark families, funders and partners will increasingly use to judge home care quality.
What this means for your family
If someone you love is living with dementia, these standards give you a clear set of questions to ask any home care provider:
- What dementia-specific training do your caregivers have?
- Will we see the same caregivers regularly?
- How do you include my loved one, and our family, in planning their care?
- Who oversees the care, and how do I reach them?
- What support do you offer us as family care partners?
A good provider should be able to answer every one of these without hesitating.
Why consistency and family support matter
For someone living with dementia, a new face at the door can be unsettling. A familiar caregiver already knows their routines, their favourite stories and the small signs that something is off. That’s why CSA Z2000 puts so much weight on continuity of care.
The standard also recognizes that families carry a heavy load. Research behind it found that nearly half of people caring for someone with dementia feel distressed, compared with about a quarter of other family caregivers (Standards Council of Canada). Caring for the carer is part of good dementia care, not an extra.
At HosPall, that means working to keep the same familiar caregivers with each client whenever we can, and keeping families in the loop. It also means offering respite for family caregivers, so the people who love them most can rest and recharge.
How HosPall is ahead of the curve
We didn’t wait for a national standard to take dementia care seriously. Much of what CSA Z2000 asks for is already part of how we work every day.
Specialized dementia care teams. About two years ago, we created dedicated dementia care teams. This helps families see familiar faces, which matters so much to someone living with dementia.
Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA). Through our partnership with the Alzheimer Society of York Region, caregivers who support clients living with dementia are required to hold GPA certification. GPA teaches respectful, compassionate ways to respond when a person living with dementia is anxious, frightened or upset.
U-First! In 2025, we expanded our dementia education with U-First! training. U-First! gives our team a shared way to understand what a person may be communicating through their behaviour, and to respond with patience and respect.
Our own internal training and care documents. On top of GPA and U-First!, our nurses have built HosPall’s own dementia training, care plans and practice documents. These guide our caregivers in the home, day in and day out.
Nurse-managed care. Every HosPall client’s care is nurse-managed. A nurse oversees the care plan, checks in on how things are going, and is there for families when questions come up.
Lived experience. Every member of our team has first-hand experience with Alzheimer’s, through clients, family, or both. We know this journey because many of us have walked it ourselves.
Accreditation Canada Exemplary Standing. HosPall holds Exemplary Standing with Accreditation Canada, awarded to organizations that go beyond the program’s requirements and show excellence in quality improvement. We were measuring our care against a national bar long before these new standards arrived.
We’re now reviewing our formal policies and procedures against both CSA Z2000 and CAN/HSO 35001, so our written practices reflect the care our clients already receive.
Accredited with Exemplary Standing by Accreditation Canada, and nurse-managed from day one.
Frequently asked questions
What is GPA training? Gentle Persuasive Approaches is a Canadian dementia education program. It teaches caregivers to understand what may be behind responsive behaviours, such as fear or confusion, and to respond in calm, respectful ways that keep everyone safe.
What is U-First!? U-First! is a dementia education program used across Ontario. It gives care teams a common language for understanding behaviour as a form of communication, so everyone responds in the same supportive way.
Do home care agencies have to follow CSA Z2000? Not by law. CSA Z2000 is a voluntary National Standard of Canada. But it gives families and partners a clear benchmark, and we expect it to shape what good dementia care at home looks like for years to come.
Do you only support people with Alzheimer’s disease? No. We support people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, along with their families.
How quickly can care start? In most cases, we can have care in place within 24 to 48 hours.
Where do I start? Reach out to us directly. A Nurse Manager will talk with you about your family’s situation and recommend the right level of care, with no pressure and no obligation.
Where does HosPall provide care? Across York Region, North Toronto and parts of Simcoe County, including King City, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Newmarket, Aurora and Bradford. See our full service area.
Let’s talk
If you’re caring for someone living with dementia in York Region, North Toronto or Simcoe County, we’d love to help. Our nurses can walk you through your options and answer your questions, with no pressure.
Want to learn more first? Visit our Dementia & Alzheimer’s Care page, read our Family Guide, or download one of our Guides & Checklists.
Michelle Frauley, Founder & CEO, HosPall Homecare
