On Oct. 4, the Ford government introduced changes to provincial legislation that will create "Ontario Health atHome", a program to help connect people to home care services.
The Convenient Care atHome Act, 2023, if passed, will make Ontario Health Teams responsible for connecting people to home care services starting in 2025.
"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."
Under Ontario Health Teams, health care providers (including hospitals, doctors, and home and community care providers) work as one coordinated team – no matter where they provide care.
There are 57 Ontario Health Teams across the province that have been approved through a standardized intake and assessment process. The goal is to ensure that everyone in Ontario can benefit from better coordinated, more integrated care.
An initial group of 12 Ontario Health Teams have been chosen to accelerate their work to deliver Health atHome care in their local communities starting in 2025.
The initial 12 Ontario Health Teams are:
- All Nation Health Partners Ontario Health Team
- Kenora and Sioux-Narrows-Nestor Falls
- Burlington Ontario Health Team
- Couchiching Ontario Health Team
- East Toronto Health Partners
- Frontenac, Lennox and Addington
- Greater Hamilton
- Middlesex London
- Mississauga
- Nipissing Wellness
- District of Thunder Bay
- North York Toronto Health Partners
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.
Presently in Ontario there are 14 Home and Community Care Support Services organizations that coordinate in-home and community-based care for thousands of patients across the province every day.
The Convenient Care at Home Act, 2023, if passed, would consolidate the 14 Home and Community Care Services organizations into a single organization - Ontario Health atHome – to provide a strong and centralized foundation to support stability of home care services now, and as care is delivered through Ontario Health Teams in the future.
Ontario is investing an additional $10.3 million in 2023-24 to support Ontario Health Teams to implement better ways to connect primary, hospital and home and community care for patients with diabetes, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, including options for connecting with providers online.
"Across the province, Ontario Health Teams are transforming the way people in Ontario access care and play a critical role in building a more convenient and better-connected health care system," said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.