By: Pam Wright, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Chatham Voice
When it comes to recovering from illness, there’s no place like home.
To that end, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance has launched an initiative aimed at providing comprehensive care to patients as they are discharged to return home. Dubbed the CKHA@Home Program, it promises a “seamless” transition to assist with recovery, allowing patients to leave hospital sooner whilst freeing up much-needed hospital beds.
Chatham-Kent–Leamington MPP Trevor Jones was on hand to mark the announcement last week as CKHA@Home is being made possible now and in the future thanks to $1.3 million in provincial funding each year. The initiative is part of a $1.1 billion in additional funding from Ontario over three years to boost access to health care.
According to Jones, it’s well-known that people recover faster at home.
“The $1.3 million investment at CKHA will help patients get home sooner with the right support in place, where they can recover with dignity and comfort,” Jones told the gathering. “By expanding the hospital-to-home program, we’re putting patients first, freeing up hospital beds and strengthening our local health-care system so it’s there for seniors and families when they need it most. This investment and this way of thinking matters.”
In his comments, CKHA president and CEO Adam Topp stressed that returning home after a hospital stay can be challenging.
“The CKHA@Home Program is designed to reduce that stress by providing comprehensive, personalized support,” Topp explained. “This program ensures that patients receive the right care, at the right time, at home.”
The program has another major benefit. On an average day, CKHA currently operates 22 medical beds above capacity – which is 40 per cent more medical patient days than the alliance can support. CKHA@Home is one approach being taken to manage the problem.
CKHA patient navigator Mark Roth will lead CKHA@Home, working with patients and families to create a personalized health-care plan that includes the full spectrum of health-care workers through a partnership with ParaMed Home Health Care.
The integrated approach means patients benefit from personalized assistance with medication management, follow-up appointments and connections to other services such as home-care resources with the Canadian Red Cross and Meals on Wheels.
The program is flexible, officials said, addressing a patient’s evolving needs through the program’s duration of eight to 16 weeks.
For patients requiring care beyond 16 weeks, the CKHA@Home team will assist in connecting with home-care services provided by Ontario Health at Home.
Anyone with questions about care is asked to call 519-966-5200.
The program was set to receive its first two patients Jan. 15 – the first of 160 that will be served in the coming year.
