Changes will create Ontario Health atHome to seamlessly connect people to home care services
TORONTO — The Ontario government is taking the next step to better connect and coordinate people’s care through Ontario Health Teams. The Convenient Care at Home Act, 2023, if passed, will make Ontario Health Teams responsible for connecting people to home care services starting in 2025.
Working together with Ontario Health, the province has already approved 57 out of 58 Ontario Health Teams across the province that over time will help people experience easier transitions from one provider to another, with one patient record and one care plan being shared between providers. To support this work, the government is investing over $128.2 million to provide every Ontario Health Team with $2.2 million over three years to better coordinate people’s care.
As a next step, today’s legislation, if passed, would establish a new, single organization called Ontario Health atHome that would take on responsibility for coordinating all home care services across the province through Ontario Health Teams. These changes will make it easier for people to connect to the home care services they need. Instead of navigating a complex system and waiting for a call at home, through Ontario Health atHome, Ontario Health Teams will be a one-stop shop that provides people with easy-to-understand home care plans that let them know the care they are going to receive and when before going home from hospital.
Ontario Health atHome care coordinators would be assigned to work within Ontario Health Teams and other front-line care settings. They also work alongside care providers like doctors and nurses, and directly with patients while in the hospital or in other care settings to facilitate seamless transitions for people from hospital or primary care to home care services.
“Ontario Health atHome will make it easier for people to find and navigate home care services, giving them the tools they need to know the care options available to them to stay in the comfort of their own home longer,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “With this next step, Ontario Health Teams can continue to ensure people get the right care, in the right place and seamlessly move between care providers during their care journey.”
An initial group of 12 Ontario Health Teams have been chosen to accelerate their work to deliver home care in their local communities starting in 2025. With support from the Ministry of Health and Ontario Health, these teams will start by focusing on seamlessly transitioning people experiencing chronic disease through their primary care, hospital, and home and community care needs.
Work is already underway on new models of care, and this will be accelerated by Ontario Health Teams. An early leader is Southlake Regional Health Centre, a member of the Southlake Community Ontario Health Team, who is already providing more convenient and coordinated transition services through their Geriatric Alternate Level of Care Reduction Program to ensure people who have completed a hospital stay in acute care are safely transitioned home with a home care plan already in place before they leave.
This initial group of 12 Ontario Health Teams will also begin to work on innovative solutions to provide people access to tools to navigate local health care services 24/7 including online information and referral services and telephone referral services. Over time, these local navigation services and Health811 will be connected, providing a seamless navigation experience for users.