It takes a village to raise a child. This is not a new idea; it’s common knowledge that multiple resources are imperative for a child’s development. Coaches help develop physical agility and team-building character. Parents provide a moral compass and the essentials of care. Teachers cultivate learning, patience and explore a student’s potential passions. Each of these avenues trains and matures the child through their early years into adulthood and provides them with the necessary knowledge, tools and skills to empower them to be strong, capable and contributing members of that village.

So it takes a village to raise a child. But it takes a community to keep them well.

A patient enters the acute-care system, and after being discharged, the aftercare needs are often forgotten or fall through the cracks as phone calls, faxes and referral information goes missing between the discharge administrator and the community health care program. This often leads to unnecessary re-admittance to acute-care, costing hospital dollars and precious bed space.

By streamlining the referral process to ensure that the referrals never fall through the cracks, patients receive better care at home at a lower cost than hospital re-admittance. With at-home care visits being booked before the patient even leaves the hospital, there is no chance of someone falling under the radar of the discharge administrator or the family doctor. By finding the right services through the proper local health care networks, we can help people stay in their homes healthier and longer. Managing improved care, wellness and outcomes for a community population benefits everyone from the hospital administrator to the patients and the families of the patients.

We have the potential and the responsibility to be a better community of care. Let’s be the community that our community deserves.

‍