BC's Long-Term Care at Home Program: What Families Should Know (2026)

If your parent is nearing the point of needing long-term care but still wants to stay in their own home, BC now has a program built for exactly that gap. It's called Long-term Care at Home, or LTC@Home, and the province is expanding it.

The idea is simple. Instead of waiting in a hospital bed or moving into a care home before it's truly necessary, eligible seniors get monitoring technology and home-support services delivered where they already live. A care team keeps an eye on their day-to-day health and steps in when something changes.

The program started as a small pilot in July 2024 at KinVillage in South Delta and the Broadmead Care Society in Saanich. It now supports more than 275 seniors, and the province plans to grow it to as many as 2,700 people by 2028.

This matters because the wait for a care home is long. The average wait for a publicly funded long-term care bed in BC is about 287 days (BC Seniors Advocate, 2025) — and a program that helps your parent stay safely at home in the meantime can change how the whole waiting period feels. See our full waitlist guide for what else to expect during that wait.

LTC@Home is not open to everyone. It's aimed at a specific group: adults who are at risk of needing long-term care or assisted living within the next 12 months. Priority goes to people who are already on the long-term care waitlist.

The province describes the people it's designed for as those experiencing frailty, cognitive decline, or chronic health conditions — anyone whose care needs are rising but who could still manage at home with the right support in place.

You don't apply for it the way you'd sign up for a service online. Eligibility runs through your regional health authority's home and community care team. That's the same team that handles the clinical assessment for home support and long-term care. If your parent is already known to home and community care, ask their case manager directly whether LTC@Home is available for them yet.

To start that conversation, call your health authority's home and community care intake. If you're not sure who to call, 8-1-1 (HealthLink BC) can point you to the right office and give nurse-assessed advice any time of day.

A lot of families hear "monitoring technology" and picture cameras watching their parent. That's not what this is.

The program uses a wearable pendant with two-way emergency calling, wall-mounted devices, and discreet sensors placed around the home. Together they track things like falls, how active the person is during the day, whether medication is being taken, the indoor temperature, and signs of wandering. The province has been clear that no cameras or microphones are used, so the setup is designed to respect privacy. Our plain guide to in-home monitoring for BC seniors explains what these devices can and cannot do.

The point isn't surveillance. It's early warning. If the data shows your parent is moving less, missing medication, or has had a fall, the care team can respond quickly and adjust the care plan before a small problem becomes a hospital trip. For families who live far away or work full-time, that steady background check can take a real weight off.

The program is rolling out in stages. As of early 2026, growth is underway in Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health, and Island Health, with discussions to expand into Northern Health and Interior Health.

The early pilot was limited to seniors living near the two participating care communities. The next phase is being delivered through health authority teams instead, which is meant to widen access and coordinate better with the home and community care supports your parent may already receive.

Because the rollout is regional and still growing, availability depends on where you live. If your parent is in a Vancouver Coastal, Fraser Health, or Island Health community, it's worth asking about specifically. If they're in the north or interior, the program may not have reached them yet — but it's a fair question to raise with their case manager.

LTC@Home is one option in the wider picture, not a full care plan on its own. It's monitoring and coordinated support — it does not replace hands-on help with bathing, dressing, meals, or housekeeping.

Most families on the waitlist still arrange home care or home support to cover those daily needs. The province points out that the extra monitoring, home support, and respite tied to the program is also meant to help family caregivers avoid burnout — but respite works best when you've actually lined up someone to step in.

So if your parent is on the long-term care waitlist, it's worth doing two things at once: ask their health authority whether LTC@Home is available, and look at the home care and respite options in your city so you're not relying on the program alone. Our respite care guide covers regular breaks for the family caregiver, and CareCompare's long-term care waitlist hub can help you line up those bridge supports.

Is Long-Term Care at Home free?

The program itself is publicly funded through the Canada–B.C. Aging with Dignity agreement. Funding covers the technology and program staffing. Any home support services arranged alongside it follow the usual BC home support cost rules, which are based on income. Ask your health authority what your parent would pay, if anything.

How is this different from a medical alert button?

A medical alert pendant only reacts when someone presses it. LTC@Home adds passive monitoring — sensors that track patterns like activity, medication, and falls — and a care team that reviews the information and adjusts the plan. It's monitoring plus coordinated care, not just an emergency call button.

Does using LTC@Home affect my parent's spot on the long-term care waitlist?

No. The program is meant to support people while they wait, not move them off the list. If anything, it's prioritized for people already on the waitlist. Confirm this with your case manager so you understand how it fits your parent's situation.

Who do I call to ask about it?

Start with your regional health authority's home and community care intake. If you don't know which office that is, call 8-1-1 (HealthLink BC) for direction and nurse-assessed advice.

How do I get more home support hours?

Ask your case manager for a reassessment — assigned hours are based on assessed need, and needs often change over a long LTC wait. LTC@Home doesn't replace home support hours, but it can strengthen the case for a reassessment if the monitoring shows rising need. Private home care can also supplement subsidized hours in the meantime.

Ready to find care near you? → Start the Navigator