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$315K for seniors' program to help ease move from hospital to home

During an initial 10-week trial period, 42 clients were discharged home through the program. In about half the cases, the patients were not readmitted to the emergency department.
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Beverley Johnson got a little help from Canadian Red Cross careworker Susan Perreault last January to transition from a hospital room to her apartment in the Christ the King Centre. Photo by Jonathan Migneault.
During an initial 10-week trial period, 42 clients were discharged home through the program. In about half the cases, the patients were not readmitted to the emergency department.

“Having a friendly person with you and somebody who knew what you were about to do – going home after a long stay – and doing it efficiently and carefully with you, is the greatest,” said Johnson, who was admitted to Health Sciences North for a stomach problem. “It gives you great strength.”

Susan Perreault, a Red Cross careworker, helped Johnson make the transition from her hospital bed to her own bed in her apartment at the Christ the King Centre.
“When patients are discharged from the hospital, and have no means of getting home, that's when we step in,” Perreault said.

She picked up Johnson from the hospital after she was discharged and brought her to a Shopper's Drug Mart near her home, where Johnson was able to buy some groceries and pick up her medication.

Perreault then drove Johnson home, where she helped put the groceries away and offered to make her a sandwich.

Through the program, careworkers schedule follow-up meetings to make sure people have settled back into being at home.

Since its launch in Sudbury in February 2013, the PATH program has been used by more than 500 people in Greater Sudbury.

It received $315,000 from the North East Local Health Integration Network to funds its first year of operation.

The program has since expanded to other communities in Northern Ontario, including Parry Sound, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.

There are plans for further expansion to Timmins and Espanola.

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Jonathan Migneault

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