Thrive At Home
On any given day, there are approximately 334 people in hospital who could be more appropriately cared for elsewhere – and more than 75% of them are 65 years old and older1.
Contrary to popular belief, wait times for acute care aren’t due to a lack of hospital beds – but rather an inefficient outflow of patients2. Saskatchewan has a disproportionate number of patients remaining in hospital for non-emergency reasons – such as waiting for diagnostics, rehabilitation, and delayed discharge or transfer due to a lack of available or accessible services outside of the hospital3.
These patients are ready for care elsewhere – but don’t have anywhere else to go.
This gap in our system presents an opportunity to tap into the power of community-based care to help prevent hospital stays, reduce acute care wait times, and improve patient outcomes.
Quick Facts
As many as
%
of acute care patients could be cared
for elsewhere4.
Unnecessary hospital stays
cost approximately
$ million
each year5.
Focusing on older adults will help alleviate our entire system
With age comes an increased likelihood of developing chronic health issues, many of which require more complex health and social services6.
In the absence of coordinated care, seniors end up seeing multiple specialists, each managing a single condition, potentially resulting in over-prescribed medications and avoidable hospital visits7.
By strengthening community-based programs and services for older adults, we can reduce reliance on acute care and enable seniors to age with choice, opportunity, and dignity.
38%
of seniors in Saskatchewan have three or more chronic conditions8.
33%
of seniors’ emergency department visits are for non-urgent reasons9.
57%
The increase in population of Canadians aged 65 years and older by 204310.
Thrive at Home: Enhancing quality of care for older adults with complex needs
Seniors are the fastest-growing population in Canada, meaning it’s more important than ever to ensure they have access to the supports they need.
That’s why we’re bringing together key partners from community, social, and health sectors to explore opportunities for better alignment, accelerated learning, and improvement in care for older adults.
Together, Thrive at Home aims to strengthen community-based care and supports for older adults so they can thrive wherever they call home.
Acting as a conductor of change by strengthening connections between those supporting older adults across multiple sectors, we’re creating a community of shared practices, innovation, and support.
Potential benefits of enhancing community supports for older adults:
- improved patient care through community supports and services
- more streamlined outflow of patients from acute care
- reduced emergency department wait times
- decreased reliance on acute, primary, and long-term care services
- enhanced opportunities to age with dignity
Our partners
When it comes to transforming our health and social care systems, change at this scale won’t happen overnight – nor can it be done in isolation. Collaborative, strategic partnerships are key to moving the needle and accelerating improvement.
The work of Thrive at Home is guided by a diverse group of partners passionate about re-envisioning care for older adults, including representation from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Services, Saskatchewan Health Authority, and several community-based organizations.
Thrive At Home projects
- Social prescribing – supporting the evaluation of social prescribing in 14 pilot communities by 2027, an initiative led by the Saskatchewan Seniors Mechanism
- Enabling aging in place – enabling Canadians to age where they call home in partnership with Healthcare Excellence Canada
Together, we’re tackling the challenges facing our system to accelerate improvement and create a brighter future for Saskatchewan.
Collaborate with us
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can partner with us to improve the health and well-being of older adults, get in touch with us!
[1] Saskatchewan Ministry of Health internal report, Alternative Level of Care (ALC) Analysis. July 2023.
[2, 3, 4] Saskatchewan Health Quality Council, Connected Care: A Summary of Learnings from the Emergency Department Waits and Patient Flow Initiative. September 2018.
[5, 6, 8, 9] Saskatchewan Health Quality Council analysis, Saskatchewan Ministry of Health databases including person health registration, prescription drug data, hospital services data, physician services data, and emergency services data.
[7] Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Lewis: Seniors have power to change anemic Canadian health-care system. July 2022.
[10] Statistic Canada, Population Projections for Canada, Provinces, and Territories Interactive Dashboard. October 2022.
[11] National Institute on Ageing, Pandemic Perspectives on Long-Term Care: Insights from Canadians in Light of COVID-19. March 2021.
[12] Universities Canada, Making a Difference for Canada’s Aging Population. September 2023.