Home Care Service in Dartmouth Transferring to VON
Dartmouth residents who need acute home care will receive it through the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) at the end of April. Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Capital Health, the district health authority based in the metropolitan area, made the announcement today, March 7. Acute home care is care that is provided in the home for 15 days or less.
Some Dartmouth residents now receive this care through a Department of Health program at the Dartmouth General Hospital (DGH), while others receive it through the VON. Streamlining home care through one community-based resource will maintain quality of care for patients and will allow it to be delivered more efficiently.
"The quality of the care being delivered through the Dartmouth General Hospital will certainly continue under the VON," said Kathy Greenwood, director of Continuing Care for the Department of Health in the area. "The majority of Nova Scotians receive home care through a community service such as VON, not through a hospital. This change is simply a more efficient way of delivering home care, and it brings Capital Health in line with practices in the rest of the province."
"This change benefits everyone," said Chris Power, vice-president, acute care, Capital Health. "Those receiving home care will continue to see the care they're used to, but the service will be delivered more efficiently. It's a better use of our limited health dollars."
No nursing jobs will be lost. Currently the district health authority employs two full-time nurses and five part-time nurses, one full-time secretary and one part-time clerk in its acute home-care service. It will explore options to accommodate the clerical positions within the district.
The acute home-care program at the Dartmouth General Hospital began in 1997 in response to a need to make more efficient use of acute- care beds and to move people through the emergency department more efficiently. The number of people who were referred to the service has not increased significantly since the program opened.
"Many aspects of the service will remain intact," said Ms. Greenwood. "Patients will not see a difference in care: they will gain access to home care through care co-ordinators in the same way they did before the change. The Department of Health continues to work in partnership with the hospital and the VON for many clients, and we will build on this strength for home care in the future."