Dear Colleagues, 

Since the release of last month's Drummond Report, there's been no shortage of discussion on ways to streamline how health care is delivered in the province. Indeed, the integration between Toronto Rehab and UHN is the first of a growing number of examples of hospitals coming together themselves to better meet increasing and evolving patient care needs.

When we started on our journey we made commitments to our patients, our partners and the Toronto Central LHIN. Our integration was built on the premise that it will be better for patient care and created a seamless path for patients between their acute episode and rehabilitation. We also knew that that we would save some money which could then be reinvested into direct patient care and we made that a commitment of the integration.

This past week, Sue Jewell and I were very pleased to share with Toronto Rehab program staff the first of several reinvestments in rehabilitation and complex continuing care that will be made in the coming months.

In those meetings we talked about the $2.5 million that has been committed thus far towards new initiatives within the Toronto Rehab program. These reinvestments build on some great collaborative work already underway and support the Toronto Central LHIN's goals of ensuring better, timelier access to care and more efficient patient flow. The priority initiatives identified by the Toronto Rehab program are aimed at reducing length of stay while increasing volumes, maintaining or enhancing quality and outcomes, and reducing overall ALC days.

An example – There will be an addition of three new beds and a focus on fast-track outpatient care for stroke patients. The stroke rehab team will be able to see more patients sooner in the acute phase of a patient's recovery after stroke. With this investment, slow stream rehabilitation beds in the complex continuing care program will stay open at the E.W. Bickle Centre, providing ongoing resources to serve a unique and increasingly complex patient population.

Our teams have done a great job of selecting reinvestment opportunities that benefit patients and help the whole organization. I know everyone is eager to continue to identify potential reinvestment opportunities and as we gather additional efficiencies, all ideas are welcome for the second round. The Toronto Rehab program leadership is now focused on planning and implementing the approved initiatives, a summary of which can be found here.

Bob and Sue

 

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