Business View - June 2015 107
standards of excellence, are accredited through pro-
vincially approved accrediting organizations and com-
plete a self-assessment annually as part of member-
ship renewal in order to provide the community with
evidence of the high practice principles to which they
subscribe.
Home Care
Home care is defined as an “array of services, provided
in the home and community setting, that encompass
health promotion and teaching, curative intervention,
end-of-life care, rehabilitation, support and mainte-
nance, social adaptation, and integration and support
for the family caregiver.”
Services within home care include nursing, personal
support/homemaker, therapy (including physiothera-
py, occupational therapy, speech language pathology,
social work, nutrition/dietetics), medical supplies, and
equipment in the home. Home care services are in-
tensely personal and provided at a time when individu-
als are most vulnerable. As such, Home Care Ontario
members carefully recruit, educate and support their
staff emphasizing a strong customer service orienta-
tion.
Home care programs work closely with community
support services such as day programs, respite care
facilities, volunteer services, meal delivery programs
and transportation services. Clients’ needs are met in
a comprehensive way when a strong linkage exists be-
tween the delivery system, which provides both physi-
cal and social support.
There is a synergistic relationship between home care
and community services which is further supported
and described as “the provision of health care, com-
munity and social support programs that enable indi-
HEALTHCARE
