Tuesday, August 28, 2007
For the Attention of
OHA Board, Hospital Board Chairs, Hospital CEOs, CACN
Hilary Short
President and CEO
Aging at Home Strategy Announcement
Today, the Government of Ontario announced an “Aging at Home Strategy” to help transform community health care services and better meet the needs of a growing and aging population.
The OHA welcomed this announcement as a key element of a longer-term strategy to help address Alternate Level of Care (ALC) issues and ease the current pressures on Ontario’s acute care hospitals.
According to the details of the announcement, the Government of Ontario will invest $702 million in the Aging at Home Strategy, which will include:
• $3,000,000 for First-Year Planning for Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs);
• $40,000,000 for an Assistive Devices Program Funding Increase (mobility aids);
• $66,000,000 for Provincial Priorities; and
• $593,000,000 for Allocations to LHINs
Additional details, including a LHIN-by-LHIN allocation summary, can be found on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) website at www.health.gov.on.ca.
The announced investment is designed to help improve the way services are delivered and provide more equitable access to health care by matching the needs of the local senior population with the appropriate support services. These services could include enhanced home care and community support services like meals, transportation, shopping, snow shoveling, friendly home calling, adult day programs, homemaking services and caregiver supports. Providing comprehensive lifestyle assistance and community-based health care to those individuals who need it could keep them healthier and living independently, and prevent early or unnecessary admission to hospital.
Over the past number of months, Ontario’s hospitals have been facing the growing challenge of being unable to discharge patients in need of alternate levels of care (ALC) in a timely fashion, because of a lack of health care services and supportive services available elsewhere, including in the community. This has caused the current congestion in Ontario’s hospitals, particularly in emergency departments.
In support of its Members, the OHA developed and executed a deliberate strategy designed to raise awareness of this issue among key decision-makers in government and develop system-focused solutions. Elements of this strategy included:
• Surveying hospitals in order to get an accurate provincial picture with respect to the ALC challenge.
o These surveys provided the OHA with the facts and evidence on which we based subsequent advocacy and communications efforts.
• Communicating the importance of this issue through:
o The OHA’s pre-Budget submission to the Ontario Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs (SCFEA);
o Follow-up meetings with key staff at the MOHLTC and in the Office of the Premier to help keep partners informed of the issues and potential impacts;
o A public post-Budget response that clearly outlined the need for the government to develop a comprehensive, system-level solution to this key issue;
o Discussions with the media in order to provide context with respect to the ALC issue.
• Helping to identifying and advance solutions and shape policies by:
o Continuing advocacy for both short- and long-term solutions to the ALC issue;
o Keeping government apprised of the latest provincial picture through monthly ALC surveys;
o Ongoing discussions with the MOHLTC Minister’s Office and civil servants, and with key decision-makers and influencers in the Office of the Premier;
o Hosting an education conference where hospitals and community organizations came together to learn about new strategies to improve patient flow;
o Working together with the Ontario Health Performance Network through the FLO initiative to help educate hospitals about how to improve the quality and timeliness of patients’ transitions from acute to community care settings and reduce ALC days in Ontario.
These efforts helped make – and keep – the ALC issue top of mind for the government, and sustain the momentum behind the creation of the Aging in Place Strategy.
In the time ahead, the OHA will continue working to better understand how the funding announced today will be allocated at a local, service-provider level, and to ensure that developing additional solutions to the ALC challenge remains a priority for the government.
Should you have any questions about today’s announcement or ALC-related issues, please contact Enza Ferro, OHA Policy, Legislative and Legal Affairs, by telephone at 416-205-1319 or by email at eferro@oha.com, or Lou Reidel, OHA Health Finance and Research, at 416-205-1320 or by email at lreidel@oha.com.