TORONTO, October 19, 2026 — VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) is pleased to announce the launch of VHA Pharmacy, a new bricks and mortar pharmacy that will help provide greater support for Ontarians with complex medical needs to safely and effectively manage their medications at home.

Why VHA is launching a pharmacy

VHA has been supporting clients in their homes for over 100 years. “Homecare specialists form close bonds with their clients and notice first-hand the challenges they face while living independently,” said Dr. Kathryn Nichol, VHA’s President and CEO. “With many clients living with chronic diseases and other conditions that involve complicated medication routines, we recognized the benefit personalized pharmacy support at home could bring.” In a recent survey, 52% of assessed clients had ten or more medications in their home. Increased pharmacy support at home can help more people safely and effectively manage their medications, which in turn can prevent emergency department visits and hospital admissions.

In 2022, VHA began integrating pharmacy services into its offerings, including mobile vaccinations and medication management. As the population ages and the complexity of homecare clients increases, the need for specialized pharmacy support for community members at home continues to grow. VHA is the first not-for-profit home care organization in Ontario to launch an accredited physical pharmacy location, to help address that need. To meet our objective of delivering pharmacy at home services, we are required to have a bricks and mortar pharmacy. The opening of VHA’s first physical pharmacy space is an important step in this vision being realized.

VHA Pharmacy Services

VHA Pharmacy is focused on providing pharmacy-at-home services, to help those who can’t easily access traditional pharmacies to receive the care and support they need at home. “Beyond the dispensing of medications, supporting clients in-person in their home environment can help us see how medications are being stored and managed. In collaboration with their care team, we can help clients safely dispose of any expired medications and help set clients up to effectively and safely manage their medications going forward,” said David Yam, Registered Pharmacist and VHA’s Pharmacy Manager.

VHA Pharmacy Services at a Glance:

Medication Consultation

• Comprehensive medication reviews and reconciliation, creating a custom care plan
• Identify drug interactions, side effects, and medication concerns
• Simplify and organize medication schedules improving adherence
• Initiate, adapt, extend, renew and de-prescribe prescriptions
• Review and interpret health data on lab test or medical devices
• Point-of-care and diagnostic testing

Medication Expertise at Home

• Education on medications, benefits, risks, and proper use
• Training on injections, inhalers, and other medication devices
• Minor ailment assessment and prescribing
• Vaccinations and injectable medications in your home
• Safe disposal and storage guidance of medications in the home

Personalized Care & Coordination

• Recommendations to optimize or adjust therapy
• Chronic disease management support

Collaboration with your physician and care team  

• Ongoing monitoring and follow-up to support your health goals

Medication Access and Dispensing 

• Safe and appropriate prescription checks before dispensing
• Support during medication shortages or recalls
• Insurance and coverage support
• Coordination of medication delivery
• Access to customized (compounded) medications

* Services are tailored to individual needs and may vary depending on the home care program, pharmacist scope of practice, and the patient’s health-care team

VHA Pharmacy is available to all community members who choose to visit the new location at 30 Soudan Avenue near Yonge and Eglinton in Toronto. Community members can contact VHA Pharmacy to arrange for an assessment to determine eligibility for at home pharmacy services. 

For more information on VHA Pharmacy, please contact: Communications@vha.ca. 

About VHA Home HealthCare

For more than a century, VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) has been a cornerstone of care, compassion and transformation in the communities it serves. Today, VHA is one of Ontario’s largest not-for-profit providers of publicly funded home care, with a team of more than 3,400 homecare specialists delivering personal support, nursing, rehabilitation and community support services to over 100,000 clients and families across Ontario each year. Guided by its purpose, Care at home. Delivered with heart. Led by science., VHA combines compassionate, person-centred care with a deep commitment to research, innovation and partnership. As the healthcare system evolves and demand for care at home continues to grow, VHA has an important role to play in shaping what comes next.