ROUNDING UP THE #NACIC2021 EXPERIENCE
After hosting three informative and interactive sessions over a span of four days, our team at CBI Health was excited to be able to exchange ideas at #NACIC2021 with integrated care professionals from all around the world.
Our main goal throughout the conference was to show how home care can play a critical role in the transformation of the healthcare sector. We came into the conference with the aim of sharing how we’ve shifted our model from a traditional approach, the impact our new restorative health model is making on clients, care providers and the integrated care system, and how it maximizes client independence, function and well-being.
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Designing Outside the Lines to Achieve the Quadruple Aim
On Monday, our Abstract in the digital stream was presented by Kathleen McQueen, HBHsc, MSc, OT Reg. (Ont.), Director, Clinical Service Design and Allison Loh-Kandylis, RN MN MHSc, National Director, Innovation.
Kathleen and Allison shared how CBI Health took existing technology and resources and creatively developed the Restorative Health at Home program in just six weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program, coupled with the Ministry of Health’s High Intensity Supports at Home funding, allowed CBI Health to seamlessly transition Alternative Level of Care clients out of hospital and safely back into their homes. It also allowed clients to maximize their independence, function and well-being across four Ontario regions.
One of the key lessons learned through building this program was “You don’t always have to buy new or more technology to drive the results you are looking for. Existing technology can be re-positioned to meet needs and can offer a more affordable, timely and efficient option,” said Kathleen.
MS Teams, for example, is a chat and collaboration platform for Microsoft 365 customers designed to simplify group work, but when used as a resource for healthcare, it is capable of even more. It can be used by care providers to share messages and updates about their clients, to have virtual meetings with clients as a team, and the list goes on.
Another tool used by CBI Health with our clients is Cloud DX. This platform allows our clients and care providers to virtually manage chronic disease by monitoring vital signs and other key clinical measurements and also have virtual meetings with clients, all in the comfort of their own four walls. As well, it can send education on a predefined schedule (with notification) to support continuous engagement, self-management and digital health literacy.
Overall, our discussion brought to light the advantages and successes of leveraging this existing technology and gave us an opportunity to showcase how we support clients to age well in the comfort of their own homes.
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Integrated Care Delivered Through a Restorative Health Approach
In our second conference focus area, we delved deep into the discussion of CBI Health’s new approach to the delivery of home healthcare as it pertains to improving population health while also making a significant system level impact.
To share why and how we made the shift, we brought together a panel which included clients, caregivers, care partners and providers, as well as presenter Chris Wilson, Senior Vice President, Eastern Canada, Home Health Services at CBI Health.
The panel gave attendees a behind-the-scenes viewpoint and shared how the model was created and implemented, the impact it’s making now, and what lessons attendees could use to propel integrated healthcare forward in other organizations.
When asked about its performance in the real world, the panel was able to elicit feedback from three major groups:
- Client Perspective – Promotes independence and return to functioning, aligned with what’s important to them
- Provider Perspective – Promotes efficient and effective communication amongst the team, as well as flexibility to support the client and achieve their goals
- System Perspective – Helps bring people home from hospital reducing length of stay and decreases unplanned visits to the emergency department and/or rehospitalization
Ultimately, CBI Health’s restorative health approach has already made significant inroads, including a 70% reduction in ED visits, as well as 80% of those who participated experienced sustainable functional improvement. We are fortunate to have so many collaborative partnerships that have allowed us to come together to shape healthcare for the better.
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Shaping the Future of Restorative Health in Home Care
The conversation in our Discourse session focused on the topic of ‘Shaping the Future of Restorative Health in Home Care’.
During this session, we discussed perspectives on how restorative health can play a key role in the future of integrated care. Participants were asked to engage in discussion about questions like:
- What immediate system change is required to support restorative health today? (e.g. funding models, integrated team-based models, policy enablers, technology enablers, etc.)
- How could a restorative health approach better support client choice and autonomy?
- What key opportunities does a restorative health approach have as part of the future of integrated care?
- What immediate system change would be necessary to support a restorative health approach today?
Our presenters were thrilled with the level of engagement to explore how changes like the ones CBI Health has implemented will expedite and secure the efficiency of client-centric and integrated home health.
Would you like more information? Here are a few resources we think you’ll find helpful:
The Case for Integrated Home Care in Alberta (Executive Summary) by CBI Health & Deloitte
Home Care in Ontario Unlocking the Potential (Executive Summary) by CBI Health & Deloitte
CBI Health – Restorative Health Programs
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For millions of Canadians, CBI Health is where better begins. We are Canada’s leading community healthcare provider, reliably delivering innovative home care programs in more than 800 communities across the country.
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