VHA Home HealthCare

Lethal overdoses can be caused by all types of prescription and illegal opioids, including oxycodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl and heroin. In Canada, opioid use has reached a crisis level. Since 2016, there have been over 44,000 opioid-related deaths and 174,000 emergency room visits. An opioid overdose is always a medical emergency and even as a bystander, learning how to recognize the signs and act quickly can save lives. This awareness is also important if a loved one or a person in your care is taking an opioid for pain management. This International Overdose Awareness Day, take a moment to learn more about opioids, why they can be so dangerous and how to respond to a suspected overdose: https://buff.ly/3MtTHT7 #TogetherweCan

VHA Home HealthCare is now live on Workday for HR, Payroll and Finance! Moving to Workday has allowed VHA to streamline and automate several manual processes, freeing up our people to spend more time caring for our clients and families. Workday has centralized key business functions onto one system resulting in better access to accurate information to support data-informed decisions and enhanced security.   Thank you to our Workday project team for all your efforts and to everyone at VHA for supporting this change. We I would also like to recognize our implementation partner Mercer for their expertise and support, which helped guide us to a successful Go-Live in just under 12 months. We look forward to continuing our journey with Workday and Mercer! #LeadingwithPurpose #EmpoweredEveryday

For children and families living with chronic health conditions, or developmental, intellectual or physical disabilities, frequent emergency room visits, repeated acute care admissions and restricted participation in school and family life are just some of the challenges they often face. To better support this vulnerable population, the Extensive Needs Service (ENS) Program was launched in 2023. Through the innovative ENS Program, families have access to a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, including physicians, social workers, occupational therapists, behavioural support workers and other care providers. “The first-of-its-kind in Canada, this new model places children, youth and their families at the centre of their care, so that medical, developmental and social services can be wrapped around them,” said Samantha Jani, Manager of Operations, Responsive Community Care at VHA.“This partnership is a natural fit for VHA because of our extensive experience delivering specialized care to children and youth with complex needs in their homes. This is an opportunity to expand our services to support even more families in need,” Samantha added. Read more about our ENS work in partnership with Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: https://lnkd.in/grrJ8pAr

Please join us in celebrating VHA's Courtney Bean, Vice President of Strategic Solutions & Partnerships! Courtney recently received the Exceptional Achievement Award from Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Congratulations! #LeadingwithPurpose

The Pride Toronto Festival Weekend is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity, beauty and progress of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. As the biggest pride event in North America, Pride Toronto is also a chance to acknowledge the ongoing challenges faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and to serve as a reminder of the work ahead. At the heart of Pride celebrations is the idea of inclusivity and accessibility, but any celebration of this scale can pose significant barriers for people living with disabilities. VHA is proud to have partnered with Pride Toronto to make the event more accessible. Thank you to the VHA Personal Support Workers and volunteers who contributed their time! Read more about their work at Pride 2024 at https://lnkd.in/gQMkgKQv

Smartphones are critical to keeping our teams connected while they work in the community providing care to clients. Staff use these devices for electronic patient records, emails, scheduling software, and programs tracking expenses. In Canadian Healthcare Technology, read about how our work with Valet has helped VHA get devices out into the field, making the process easier and more cost effective along the way:

If you are caring for an aging or ill loved one, the idea of a camping trip, cottage vacation or journey abroad can feel impossible with so much responsibility at home. While caregiving can be very meaningful and rewarding, many caregivers also experience high levels of stress, depression and burnout. Prioritizing time to rest and recharge, including taking vacations when possible, will make sure your needs are met and improve the quality of care you’re able to provide. Read on for some tips to help you plan this summer: https://buff.ly/3XPrZqU

Workplace violence and harassment are commonplace for healthcare workers and most incidents are unreported. Normalization of these experiences, lack of confidence in reporting systems, and fear of the consequences of reporting contribute to the invisibility of these experiences. Challenges are exacerbated in homecare settings and for precarious workforces including Personal Support Workers. Learn more about how researchers at VHA created, piloted, and evaluated an intervention to enhance safety culture and encourage reporting of workplace violence and harassment in this paper recently published by Sage: https://lnkd.in/g5QXvexM

Check out Courtney Bean's Alumni Spotlight with University of Toronto, Department of Physical Therapy. Courtney is a leader and champion of the profession in so many ways, especially in his roles as VHA's Vice President of Strategic Solutions and Partnerships and President of the Ontario Physiotherapy Association. Read his advice for students and new grads entering the profession at https://lnkd.in/gC4HdTji #LeadingwithPurpose

Allison Costello from Ontario's Ministry of Health reflects on the impetus for Ontario Health Teams as part of a Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC) of Canada event moderated by VHA's Lauren Black. #OHTs #Governance