A new at-home program is being launched at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
The CKHA @ Home program was announced on Tuesday morning by Chatham-Kent-Leamington Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Trevor Jones.
“This is an important step in strengthening health care services for residents across our communities,” said Jones.
He adds that this new at-home program will allow for better recovery results.
“The sooner that families and the patients can leave the hospital to recover at home, the better their outcomes are going to be. This is proven,” Jones continued.
Jones noted that the government is investing $1.3 million annually to fund the program, which is set to help a minimum of 160 patients a year.
According to the MPP, this investment is part of the $1.1 billion provincial commitment to help ease pressure on hospitals across Ontario.
“It's really important to get this type of investment. We can now be in the home care business, which is a great start to helping us meet the demand for medical beds,” said CKHA CEO Adam Topp.
Topp noted that currently, the hospital is running above capacity and that this is a step to help bridge the gap.
“I'm not saying we don't need more hospital beds, but this will help us manage with the hospital beds that we have,” Topp continued.
The CKHA @ Home program will offer eight to 16-week care plans, check-ins, home visits, phone calls, a 24/7 hotline, and connections to Ontario Health at Home if care is needed beyond 16 weeks.
The program will begin this week, with the first two patients scheduled for Thursday.
