Improving Care For Long-Term Care Home Residents
Seeing these programs succeeding in Southern Ontario gives hope that perhaps they will move North to improve health care for Northshore residents as well. Editor.
McGuinty Government Program Helps Reduce ER Wait Times
A nurse-led outreach team is helping reduce ER wait times in Barrie by providing care directly to long-term care home residents, avoiding unnecessary visits to the hospital.
The nurse outreach team travels to long-term care homes, like Victoria Village Manor, to assess the health care needs of residents. The team works to keep residents in good health and treat minor illnesses before they become worse.
The nurses can also provide health care services – such as intravenous therapy, antibiotic management and oxygen administration – at the long-term care home instead of having the resident go to hospital.
The outreach team, which includes two nurses and is operated by the Royal Victoria Hospital, has treated 385 residents in the Barrie-area this year, avoiding potential unnecessary visits to the hospital ER.
Investing in programs and services that reduce ER wait times is part of the province’s Open Ontario Plan to provide more access to health care services while improving quality and accountability for patients.
QUICK FACTS
- Nurse-led Long-Term Care Outreach Teams were launched in 2008 as part of the Ontario government’s plans to reduce ER wait times in Ontario.
- 16 nurse-led outreach teams are operating across Ontario.
- $580,000 has been invested in nurse-led outreach teams in the North Simcoe Muskoka LHIN in 2010/11.
- The redeveloped Health Care Options website is giving Ontarians a brand new way to access and learn about the many health care options — things like Family Health Teams and Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinics — in their communities. This revitalized website can help Ontarians find the shortest ER wait times in their communities.
