Priority Assistance to Transition Home (PATH)
By Paige Stewart
Canadian Red Cross, PATH program assists Ontario seniors who do not have a support system close by with the goal of helping them feel cared for and safe when they return home from the hospital. And care does not stop at the front door; PATH continues as clients heal at home.
PATH encompasses support services such as escorted transportation home, assistance obtaining prescriptions, groceries, and health equipment, and follow-up visits to ensure health and recovery are on track. These services aim to reduce client, caregiver, and hospital personnel anxiety related to a client’s safety during the transition and success post-transition.
In 2018, Baxter Canada became a partner through their national giving program and, with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, looked to extend its program support in new and innovative ways.
Subsequently, PATH extended its reach to help hospitals address barriers to discharging and arranging safe client transportation home. The existing program was adapted to a physically distanced model, including adjustments such as virtual grocery shopping, physically distanced transportation, home visits using PPE, friendly phone calls and distanced wellness checks to keep spirits lifted.
Another creative way Baxter helps with PATH is through the curation and distribution of “Welcome Home” kits to seniors who have recently returned home. These Welcome Home care packages included word search puzzles, Sudoku, colouring pencils and books, along with a special note written on a postcard designed by the child of a Baxter employee. More than 1,800 digital and handwritten postcards have been distributed during the onset of the partnership.
The Canadian Red Cross started PATH in February 2013 as a pilot program in Sudbury and expanded to 23 additional hospitals in Northern Ontario. With Baxter Canada’s additional support over the past four years, the program has supported over 6,000 older adults. In 2020 alone, 1,810 PATH clients were assisted with 532 transitions home from the hospital.
Every year the partnership aims to learn more about the barriers and gaps facing senior patients in Ontario and looks for innovative and creative ways to improve the well being of participants.
To learn more, visit baxter.ca.
