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Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
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Written by editor
NationBuilder r1
Check out our new blog post!

Dear Paov,
We've just released a new blog post that explains a much
underrated public solution with systems-wide benefits for public
health care: home support.
I've included a preview below, and you can
click here to read the full post.
As we prepare for a provincial election in October, our team at the
BC Health Coalition has been working with our leadership to build our
dream platform highlighting six solutions that could
transform our health care system. These public solutions, like the
expansion of publicly funded home care and home support, can be
swiftly implemented and are so much more than a short-term fix.
We'll be launching our Vision for BC Health Care platform
in September and letting you know how you can be part of securing
commitments from candidates to implement our solutions if
elected. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this sneak peak
into one of our solutions.
If you want to make sure you are up-to-date on our provincial
election plans, here are two quick steps you can take:
- Sing our Vote
Public Health Care pledge to be sure to receive our platform and
elections guide
-
Register
for our next General Meeting, to be held... virtually via Zoom on
September 24 from 1-3pm. We'll present our platform, election
commitment rubric, and plan to work together to push candidates to
make public health care commitments.
In solidarity,
Audrey Guay (she/her)
Lead Organizer, BC Health Coalition
https://www.bchealthcoalition.ca/
7 systems-wide benefits of expanding home care & home
support
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Reduce emergency room overcrowding
People who do not have access to care in community are often forced to
turn to their local emergency room for non-urgent care needs. Regular
at home care and monitoring can prevent minor issues from escalating
into emergencies that require more intense
interventions.
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Free up hospital beds by speeding up patient discharge
Up to 18% of inpatient hospital beds are occupied by patients that
could be discharged if they had access to community-based alternatives
with the appropriate intensity of clinical care and non-clinical
support. Because these services are not available, patients stay
longer in hospitals and are often readmitted shortly after being
discharged.
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Help reduce surgical wait times
Fully-funded home support would mean that patients who are waiting for
or recovering from surgery can receive appropriate care at home,
rather than in hospitals. This approach can lead to fewer
cancellations of scheduled surgeries, faster recovery, reduced
hospital stays, and more efficient patient flow. Investing in home
support, especially for seniors, helps reduce overall wait times for
everyone.
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Relieve caregiver burnout
Overall, 34% of family caregivers in B.C. are in distress and this
rises to 57% when looking at clients who are receiving less than an
hour per day of home support. Increasing access to home support and
respite supports caregivers in their desire to keep their loved ones
at home and out of long-term residential care as long as
possible.
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Free up long-term care beds for residents with higher care
needs
In BC, 61% of seniors moving into a long-term care facility had no
home support 90 days prior to admission. B.C.’s rate of newly admitted
long-term care residents with low care needs is 34% higher than the
national average. These statistics tell us that providing basic home
support could easily allow more people to live at home, helping reduce
wait lists for residential care.
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Improve primary health care access
When community health workers are included in primary care teams,
other team members like family doctors and nurse practitioners can
focus on preventative and planned care. Patients can be referred to
other team members like physiotherapists and dietitians who can also
help address issues before they escalate to emergencies. Team-based
care also leads to better workload distribution, helping address
recruitment and retention issues in primary care.
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Invest in climate resilience
Expanding home support at the scale we need could create tens of
thousands of new care economy jobs in Canada. These jobs are good for
local economies and are less carbon intensive than alternatives that
require large-scale infrastructure development. Community health
workers could also be well positioned to take part in emergency
responses by ensuring vulnerable residents have life-saving touch
points during extreme climate events.
READ
MORE...
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British Columbia Health Coalition · 3102 Main St, 302,
Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territories, BC V5T 3G7, Canada
This email was sent to s43. To stop
receiving r46.
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