Communities across Ontario are seeing a shift in demographics. Populations are growing and aging. As a result of this new reality, hospitals are serving an increased number of seniors, patients who often have multiple chronic conditions and visit the hospital regularly.
#Trillium Health Partners (THP) is one of the largest community-based acute care facilities in Canada, last year caring for 1.6 million patients. The hospital cares for approximately 272,000 patients annually in its Emergency Department and Urgent Care Centre, more than any hospital in Ontario. THP has seen a growing number of patients admitted to hospital but waiting in surge spaces and hallways until an appropriate bed becomes available. THP’s mission is to create a new kind of healthcare for a healthier community, which requires working both inside and outside of the hospital to provide a complete system of care. The key to accomplishing this is forging partnerships with other care providers.
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Trillium Health Partners entered into a new partnership with #Runnymede Healthcare Centre to improve access to health care services for patients who need extended rehabilitation therapy. Through this collaboration THP refers patients who require slow-stream rehabilitation after acute treatment or surgery to Runnymede’s Low Tolerance Long Duration Rehabilitation (LTLD Rehab) program. The partnership aims to improve hospital to home transitions for patients and their families, keeping patients at home in the long-term.
“Our priority is to provide patients with greater access to the highest quality of care. Our partnership with Runnymede puts that priority into action,” says Michelle DiEmanuele, President and CEO, Trillium Health Partners. “Through this partnership, our patients are receiving specialized care in a state-of-the-art facility, and we’re also freeing up more beds for patients who require acute care. It’s a true example of the health care system working together in the interest of its patients so that more patients receive the care they need in a timely way.”
Runnymede has been leading the way in caring for medically-complex patients for the past 70 years. LTLD Rehab is offered on an inpatient basis, assisting patients who require a slower paced, less intensive form of rehabilitation as they work towards regaining the skills, mobility and independence they need to return home.
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“The continued growth and success of the LTLD Rehab program at Runnymede speaks to the increased need that exists for this type of specialized care in the community,” said Connie Dejak, President and CEO, Runnymede Healthcare Centre. “Both Runnymede and Trillium Health Partners share a strong commitment to excellence in clinical care, and this partnership provides us with another avenue to ensure that patients continue to receive the right care in the right place at the right time.”
This collaboration provides an opportunity to provide patients faster access to the same excellence of care, close to home.