8 Things you Need to Know about Home Care in Ontario.
During the last 12 years serving in Toronto-area Emergency Departments, Critical Care settings and outpatient clinics, I’ve learned this about Home Care:
- Home Care refers to any assistance delivered in the home of your loved one so they can continue living independently, and avoid lengthy hospital stays and admission to long-term care.
- Home Care is available to any Ontario resident at no cost – if approved by a staff person employed by Health Ontario.
- Home Care for your loved one does not require a doctor’s recommendation or referral.
- Home Care can be requested by any Ontario resident for their loved one or themselves.
- “Home Care” may be synonymous with “care provided by a Personal Support Worker” (PSW). While the terms are not interchangeable, home care is often delivered to your loved one by a PSW.
- Home Care tasks are downloaded by the provincial office to approved third-party companies (“agencies”). The agency is reimbursed for the service their staff, often PSWs, provide.
- Home Care needs are typically measured by the number of hours provided to your loved one weekly. You may have heard the phrase “she receives 6 hours weekly,” or simply “6 hours,” which refers to the number of hours that your loved one has been approved for by a staff person employed by Health Ontario.
- Home Care approved by Health Ontario is capped at 21 hours per week.
Do you have questions about home care for your loved one? Rest assured, Workhorse Health can help your family at 1-647-905-5080 or contact@workhorsehealth.com.