Patients requiring placement in Long-Term Care were able to wait comfortably and safely in their homes with the help of the Waiting at Home Program. Wrapping up in March, the program is just one example of St. Joseph's Health Centre's ongoing efforts to effectively flow patients through the Health Centre.

The Waiting at Home Program facilitated by the Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), pairs with acute care hospitals in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TCLHIN) to enhance the flow of patients through the continuum of care. This special winter program, which began in January 2009, works by identifying patients who are waiting in hospital for a placement in Long-Term Care and places them in their homes with enhanced levels of service, including personal support, nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, for a period of 60 days.

St. Joseph's Health Centre (SJHC) embraced the collaboration with CCAC and every patient that was identified as an eligible candidate for this program was successfully placed in a long-term care bed after comfortably Waiting at Home. To assist with the identification of these patients, a member of the CCAC attended weekly meetings at SJHC, facilitated by our Social Worker and Discharge Planner on 6G. Sandra Dickau, Patient Care Manager, 6G and Transitional Care Unit, explained that due to our performance, SJHC wrapped up the winter program on March 31, 2009 with the highest number of designated placements out of every acute care hospital in the TCLHIN.

"Making sure that Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients are applying to the correct discharge destination in a timely manner improves flow of patients, this creates capacity throughout the rest of the organization," said Dickau.

Our ALC patients and their families are strongly encouraged to play a role in their health care, by involving them in conversations around the alternatives available to them, and providing them with a fact sheet that summarizes the important information and explains discharge processes. "We are giving the patient and their family accurate and timely information to navigate through this difficult journey," said Dickau.

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Page last updated: April 30, 2010