Bruce is a senior living in the Taylor-Massey neighbourhood in East Toronto. He is battling stage four cancer, and like many in his situation, eating regular, healthy meals is a challenge. Constant nausea and sickness has meant he no longer even enjoys thinking about his favourite foods and has lost a lot of weight trying to keep anything down. When Bruce first met his homecare nurse, Emma, she was focused on changing the dressing around his IV and making sure it was clean and well cared for between his bouts of chemotherapy. Like many homecare providers, Emma took an active interest in monitoring Bruce’s condition. She could see very clearly that Bruce needed help with his diet, and connected him with a dietitian to help him regain some of the weight he had lost in a healthy way.

“I used to teach art, and health care can be a bit like making a sculpture,” Bruce says. “You need someone calm and skilled to guide you through the process. Knowing that I have a whole team, including people like Emma, helps me feel supported and more at ease.”

This is the power of integrated care in a program where homecare providers have the ability to see a client’s needs and work with a coordinator to connect them with additional home services that meet those needs.

Integrated care at home is made possible in Bruce’s Taylor-Massey neighbourhood thanks to the East Toronto Health Partners (ETHP) Integrated Neighbourhood Home Care Program. This partnership includes home care organizations, like VHA Home HealthCare (VHA), who provide residents of this community in East Toronto with homecare providers like nurses, PSWs, occupational therapists, dietitians and other service providers. Together, they make sure people like Bruce get the care they need at home, so they can stay safe and well in their own homes and avoid having to return to hospital.

Similar stories can be found with other nearby residents, like Margaret. As a 79-year-old woman living independently without family in Canada, she had a very difficult time managing her everyday needs after surgery on both hips only six months apart. A simple task, like getting in and out of the shower, became excruciating. To support her in her journey to recovery, Margaret began to receive visits from a VHA PSW named Senait, to help her with bathing. And much like Bruce, Margaret also needed some help with her diet. After her surgeries, Margaret became anemic and was connected with a dietitian to help her build a nutrition plan as she worked towards regaining her mobility.

“It’s tough being a senior and not having family around to help you,” explains Margaret. “Having people who care about you is really important. You’re inviting them into your home at a time when you’re feeling very vulnerable.”

Senait agrees completely. “Having a trusting relationship makes it easier for me to do my job while making sure Margaret feels comfortable and cared for in her own home.”

For a lot of the program’s clients, knowing that the care they need will come to them provides peace of mind and significantly improves their quality of life. For another Taylor Massey resident, Gail, having regular visits from her nurses for wound care and PSWs to help her in and out of bed in the morning and evening means that she can still do the things that matter most to her.

The Integrated Neighbourhood Home Care Program delivers exactly what so many East Toronto residents want and need – the opportunity to receive care from the comfort of their own homes so they can retain their independence throughout their health care journey.

Learn more about the East Toronto Health Partners Integrated Neighbourhood Home Care Program here:
Visit here to learn more about the Integrated Neighbourhood Home Care Program