Home care takes collaboration

The very fabric of home care is embedded with collaboration. It takes an enormous team of professionals to make the system work and to ensure the best quality of care for Islanders. As Crystal Praught, director of Home Care Services for Health PEI said, "I want people to know the work we put into each day to ensure our clients, caregivers, and staff are safe and supported to the best of our ability."

The Home Care Program supports clients and caregivers so they can remain in their homes safely, with independence and a high quality of life for as long as possible. Home care on PEI is a collaborative framework which provides a range of services and specialized professionals to care for those with acute, chronic, palliative, or rehabilitative health care needs.

One of the newest additions to home care was the hiring of two pharmacists. "Prior to 2022, there was not a streamlined process in place for staff to ask questions about medications," said Dawn Mallard, nursing clinical development lead for home care. "The hiring of the two pharmacists means answers are provided in a timely manner from those who are familiar with the home care environment through a more specialized lens."

"I really like the atmosphere at home care. It’s friendly and collegial and people get along and work well together. It is an honour to be invited into someone’s private space, showing them that we are there to help them stay in their homes. It’s about finding their strengths and the right member of the team to help keep them there.”

     –  Rebecca Ellis, home care pharmacist

“In home care, staff are often not in controlled environments as you would be in other health care settings. Staff are often being asked to provide care in these environments to help ease the strain on the acute care setting, so to have specialized professionals to draw on, really helps to put staff at ease”, said Crystal.

When asked what’s next for home care on PEI, she said, “the sky is the limit, really.”