Moving home and community care forward in Ontario

TORONTO, Oct. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - The Ontario Home Care Association (OHCA) believes that home and community care is fundamental to supporting an aging population to remain safe and independent at home and key to Ontario's Health Action Plan.  Significant to the plan is the creation of an integrated health care system focussed on quality and value where the right care is given at the right time and in the right place.

Ontario's publicly funded home and community care system serves over 600,000 people and their family caregivers every year.  The sector employs thousands of health care professionals and support staff province-wide.  Home care service is interconnected with all other sectors of the health system - acute care, primary care, long-term care, the emergency management system and public health.

A recent white paper by the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) recommends home care structural reform and elimination of the supporting infrastructure, the Community Care Access Centres (CCAC).  RNAO's recommendation would divert attention required for the quality agenda and underestimates the complexity of the foundational work required to achieve true partnership and realize excellent care for all.

OHCA advises that the government stay the course and support the current home care stakeholders (OACCAC, OHCA, OCSA, APACTS, CHPN)* who are now actively engaged in the creation of a strong multi-year, client-focussed quality and value initiative.  This collaborative relationship rests on a performance-based home care delivery model rooted in clinical pathway development, evidence based practice and the achievement of individual health and broader system outcomes.  These changes are significant, based on trust and confidence in the system.  They will serve Ontarians well into the future, positioning home care to support health system reform, to continuously improve patient satisfaction, the health of the population, and per capita health care costs.

The Board of the OHCA values all health system partners and commits to continuing to work collaboratively and relentlessly to build on the strengths of our system.

About the OHCA
The OHCA, the voice of home care in Ontario, is a membership association representing providers of quality home care services from across Ontario.  OHCA works with families as integral partners in the delivery of home care services and as such estimates that 1.2 million Ontarians are impacted by members.   OHCA is dedicated to promoting the growth and development of the home and community health care sector by helping to shape health care policy, supporting members to excel, and being a leading source of information on home and community care.  OHCA members are accredited through Accreditation Canada, CARF, and/or registered with the International Standards Association (ISO).

For the latest in news and information about the home care sector in Ontario, subscribe to the Ontario Home Care Association's "House Call" at www.homecareontario.ca.

*Ontario Association of Community Care Access Centres, Ontario Home Care Association, Ontario Community Support Association, Alliance of Professional Associations for Community-Based Therapy Services, Community Health Provider Network

SOURCE: Ontario Home Care Association

Susan D. VanderBent, Executive Director
Phone: [phone] 
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @HomeCareOntario