Keeping people in their homes and out of the hospital when possible is the thrust of the most recent service plan coming from the Central East Local Health Integration Network.
Titled “Living Healthier at Home” the fourth integrated health service plan has four central goals all of which discuss keeping residents out of institutions.
The plan addresses frail seniors vascular health mental health and palliative patients.
According to a press release issued by the Central East LHIN this will be accomplished when health service providers “work together with patients and families who have complex health and social needs to develop co-ordinated care plans that advance the goals of the patient and family. This will include supporting stronger collaboration between primary care providers and broader system partners to support the ongoing transformation toward a more seamless system for patients and families.”
The plan covers 2016 through to 2019 and sets ambitious targets.
For frail seniors the LHIN intends to have 20000 fewer days in hospital “and reducing alternate level of care days for people age 75-plus by 20 per cent by 2019” the release says.
Readmissions for vascular conditions is also to go down by 11 per cent in the next three years and 6000 fewer days are to be spent in hospital by patients with vascular health problems.
On the mental health front 15000 fewer days will be spent in hospital and 13 per cent fewer visits will be made to the emergency room for those with mental health or addiction issues.
For palliative patients the plan says 17 per cent more people will be discharged home from hospital and 15000 fewer days will be spent in hospital for this demographic by 2019.
“The [plan] provides a clear picture of what the LHIN intends to accomplish to improve the health outcomes of the people and patients within local geographies” Deborah Hammons the CEO of the Central East LHIN is quoted as saying.
The Central East LHIN has a population of 1.6 million and covers 16600 square kilometres stretching from Haliburton County in the north to Scarborough in the south.
