With seniors representing about 12% of the total population, or almost 100, 000 people in Ottawa, concerns are mounting over the capacity of the health care system to meet the needs of this unique and complex group.1 The senior population in Ottawa is expected to increase to just over 190, 000, or 16% of the total population, by 2021, and to triple to 230,922, or 20.3% of the total population, by [...] On October 1, 2010, the Council on Aging of Ottawa, in partnership with the Champlain Community Care Access Centre and the Regional Geriatric Assessment Program of Eastern Ontario, took the first step towards a new paradigm to solve the Alternative Level of Care (ALC) crisis in Ottawa. [...] In the current hospital system, seniors who do not improve rapidly, and who do not qualify for one of the limited number of rehabilitation beds, are designated ALC and dispatched to long-term care.5 Further to the problem, there are only 94 ‘assessment and restorative’ beds in Ottawa and the surrounding area, 54 of which are geriatric rehabilitation beds at Bruyère Continuing Care, the remainder b [...] The 2010 Health Forum presented and confirmed the need to shift the focus of Alternative Level of Care (ALC) to Appropriate Level of Care, which entails providing the right care, at the right time, in the right setting, and at an affordable cost. [...] Purpose of the Forum In 2009, the Council on Aging of Ottawa held a Fall Health Forum to identify gaps in the health care system and community services.