Quick facts

- The provincial home care program provides support for thousands of Islanders every month. However, the province says spikes in demand for services can be unpredictable, and program intake does not occur on the evenings and weekends. - Last year, about 4,500 Islanders received home care services with staff supporting about 2,200 clients each month.

- Home care provides a range of health-care and support services to individuals with acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative health care needs.

- Last year, the Pan-Canadian Health Accord announced targeted and conditional funding for home care. Available federal funding must be invested into new and innovative approaches and cannot be used to subsidize existing services

- P.E.I.’s three new initiatives collaborate with a number of health-care partners, including Island EMS, and aim to decrease patients’ length of stays in hospital, decrease re-admission rates, decrease emergency department visits by seniors for non-emergency concerns and provide timely access to critical care for Islanders at home.

- Two of the initiatives are rapid bridging programs, one focusing on hospitals and another emphasizing palliative care. The first will provide treatments until the patient can be admitted into the home care program. The other will support patients by arranging paramedic follow-ups at home in conjunction with home care and palliative care support. - The check-in program aims to serve seniors and those living at home who are at an increased risk. Patients who are not part of the provincial home care program would be referred to local paramedics for scheduled home visits.

- More information about the Provincial Home Care Program is available at www.healthpei.ca/ homecare