Hospital at Home, an innovative unit that brings hospital-level acute care to patients in their own homes, was named recipient of the Canadian College of Health Leader’s 2022 Excellence in Patient Experience Award.
“Hospital at Home provides patient-centered care beyond our acute care facilities, because for some patients home is best” said Leah Hollins, Island Health Board Chair.
“This award highlights all the great work done by this innovative new unit to care for patients in the comfort of their own home.”
The Canadian College of Health Leaders awarded Hospital at Home for their success in patient engagement by fostering a culture of inclusion to meet the needs of patients, families and health care providers.
Patient post-discharge experience interviews show that 100% of patients and almost all family caregivers would recommend Hospital at Home to family and friends.
“My involvement with Hospital at Home was a truly rewarding experience” said Beth Bourke, patient partner. “This unit is the right thing to do. It holds so much potential and is undeniably deserving of this award.”
Recognizing the vital contributions of patients and family caregivers, prior to launching this unit in November 2020, the Hospital at Home team partnered with patients and family caregiver volunteers as they created this new unit.
A large-scale public engagement initiative sought feedback to identify unit and evaluation priorities.
Hospital at Home’s evaluation employs a Patient-Oriented Research approach to focus on the priorities and outcomes identified by patients and families during the engagement phase.
“The health-care system needs to continually transform the way we provide care to improve the patient’s experience,” said Dr. Shauna Tierney, who co-led the concept at Island Health. “Most patients would rather be home, and, when this can be done safely, it should.”
Survey results also indicate that health care providers value the program and would recommend it to their own family.
In addition to creating a positive experience for patients, families, and health care providers directly involved, Hospital at Home has eased some of the pressure on other units during the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing acute care capacity at the Victoria General and Royal Jubilee Hospitals.
“My husband (Mohawk/Anishinaabe) has dealt with trauma from Residential School and this trauma was slowly surfacing when he was in hospital” says Jessica Sault, wife and local elder from Nuuchahnulth Nation, “This program embraces his comfort and allows him dignity to help in his struggle to recover. I believe this program increases his ability to heal.”
The 2022 Excellence in Patient Experience Award is part of the Canadian College of Health Leaders’ National Awards Program and will be presented at the virtual Honouring Health Leadership event on June 16, 2022.
For more information on Hospital at Home, please visit about About Hospital at Home webpage and watch this video.