Last Thursday, the Western York Region Ontario Health Team – consisting of eleven health care and social support providers who serve the communities of Vaughan, Richmond Hill, King and Thornhill – was approved by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to develop a full submission as a next step to transforming health care.
The Western York Region Ontario Health Team (OHT) – with health partners from acute care, home and community care, primary care, long-term and residential care, palliative and hospice care – includes:
- Community & Home Assistance to Seniors (CHATS)
- Health 1st Medical Centre
- Hill House Hospice
- Hospice Vaughan
- Mackenzie Health
- Reena
- SE Health
- Thornhill Village Family Health Organization
- UniversalCare
- Vaughan Community Health Centre
- Woodbridge Medical Centre Family Health Team
A readiness assessment submitted in May 2019 demonstrated the Western York Region OHT’s ability to successfully execute on the province’s plan focused on patient experience, better coordinated care, and ultimately a more connected and sustainable public health and social care system organized around people’s needs and outcomes.
The Ministry received more than 150 readiness assessments in total; 31 were selected to proceed to the full submission stage.
Western York Region includes a large total population and large seniors’ population – more than 510,000 and 70,000, respectively. The Western York Region OHT proposes to serve all residents of western York Region at maturity and in particular frail and elderly seniors.
In 2018/19, seniors in western York Region had 23,437 emergency visits and 7,368 hospital admissions while 10,972 seniors used the services of home and community care providers. The average hospital length of stay for seniors designated as alternative level of care was 22 days. These are patients who no longer require acute care and are waiting to transition to another, more appropriate health care facility or provider.
Initial implementation will focus on medically and socially complex older adults with cognitive, physical and functional limitations.
The Western York Region OHT is a strong team of collaborators with a long history of partnerships and joint delivery of programs. The team has the unique opportunity to transform health care as the new Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital opens as part of a comprehensive solution to better meet the needs of its communities.
“All of us that submitted as part of the Western York Region Ontario Health Team are eager to demonstrate the impact we can have and champion this Ontario Health Team model for the rest of the province,” says Altaf Stationwala, President and CEO, Mackenzie Health. “As a team, we’re deeply aligned on reducing the need for acute care, enabling our patients to live well in a home environment and providing access to hospice and palliative care at end of life. Our emerging vision is to enhance services along the natural aging trajectory while also delivering a real return on investment for the system.”
Ontario Health Team submissions are due to the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care in early October 2019.
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Media contact
Michelle Makowski
Senior Communications Consultant, Mackenzie Health
905-883-1212 ext. 7484 | Michelle.makowski@mackenziehealth.ca