Breadcrumb
Help with Living at Home
We provide a variety of at-home and community services to people with acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative health-care needs.
Our home care philosophy
We support a philosophy that home, with appropriate supports, is the best place to recover from illness and injury, manage chronic conditions and live out final days. Seniors who have been admitted to hospital will likely recover more slowly than younger people. Evidence shows that leaving hospital as soon as possible and recuperating at home with home supports and community services is better than waiting in hospital to fully regain your strength before returning home.
Returning home as soon as possible with the supports you need gives you the best chance to regain your strength and independence, even if you’re not yet able to care 100 per cent for yourself.
Adult Day Services
Adult day services are supportive community programs for people at risk of losing their independence. These services are designed to help people to remain at home while supporting caregivers by providing a range of health, personal, social and recreational services in a safe and caring environment.
While there is variation in the services provided in adult day services across Interior Health depending upon location, examples of services that we provide include:
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Health monitoring, such as physical assessments, blood pressure, nutrition, pain and personal care concerns
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Supporting caregivers’ well-being by providing respite care to clients as well as providing education about community resources that are available
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Purposeful therapeutic social and recreational programs
Caregiver support
Caregiver support is for people caring for family or friends, because we understand that care giving, even when given with love, can be stressful. This program gives caregivers support for the emotional and physical demands of caring for a relative or friend.
A caregiver is anyone who provides unpaid care and support to an adult friend or family member who:
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Has an ongoing illness or disability
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Is elderly
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Is approaching the end of their life
Caregiver support is provided in various ways and is available through Home & Community Care services. It can be provided at home with home support or in the community through adult day services. Support is also available through short-term stays, called respite, in a care facility or hospice.
Care Management
Care managers may be any home health professional; it is not exclusive to nursing. By using a relational approach focusing on the persons’ goals, achievements and lived experiences, care managers provide collaborative care planning, consultation with family and other health professionals, coordination of care and services as well as support with transitions through care. People with complex health needs requiring extra, ongoing support to live at home safely and independently will benefit from care management as it prevents unnecessary or premature admissions to a hospital or care facility.
Care managers work with you, your circle of care and family, your doctor or nurse practitioner and/or other health-care professionals to help you determine:
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What services best meet your goals, needs and situation
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How your family and community can best support you to meet your needs
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What services are available
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How long you need these services
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Costs, if applicable
The care manager, also known as the Most Responsible Clinician, will then:
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Work with you to develop a collaborative care plan
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Consult with other health-care professionals to ensure your needs are met
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Arrange and coordinate services
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Assist you with your transitions through care
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Review and make changes as your goals and care needs change
Community Care Clinics
Community care clinics provide a range of nursing care and other professional health services in your community.
Community care clinics are not an emergency service. Appointments are scheduled in advance to provide care for clients who are mobile and do not require in-home visits.
You may be asked to attend a home health clinic for nursing care or other professional services.
Examples of services offered in the clinics include:
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Wound care treatments performed by a nurse
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Intravenous antibiotic treatment
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Client teaching related to treatments or specific diseases or conditions
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Rehabilitation
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Social work consultation
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Group education on managing a chronic health condition
Home Care Nursing
Nurses working in Home & Community Care provide a range of services, both in community clinics and in your home. They provide care to people who may need acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative care. The main goal is to teach you and your caregivers how to manage your own health care so that you can live as independently as possible.
If you require acute, chronic or palliative support, we can help with community care nursing services. A community care nurse (a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse) will provide care on a non-emergency basis to help with services such as administering medications and changing dressings. In some communities, these services may be provided at a community clinic or in your home, if homebound, as appropriate.
Nursing services may include:
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Pain management
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Chronic disease management
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Intravenous care
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Ostomy care
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Post-hospital care
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Wound care
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Palliative care
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Self-care teaching
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House cleaning or laundry
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Grocery shopping
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Rehabilitation equipment/aids
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Driving to appointments
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Companions
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Foot care
Home Support Services
Home support services are intended to promote independence for those with chronic health conditions, disabilities or terminal illness as well as to provide caregiver rest and relief.
For people with certain health issues, age-related limitations or other disabilities, managing everyday tasks can be challenging. Community care health professionals can arrange for home support services to be provided by trained community health workers so you can continue to live at home safely and independently.
Community health workers provide home support services. They are trained, screened and registered, and their services meet established standards. Policies are in place that govern health care and support services provided to people in their homes to protect both clients and care providers.
Home support services provide assistance with:
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Daily living activities at home such as bathing, dressing and grooming
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Special exercises, medication administration and other care needs
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Support and relief for your primary caregiver
There are services that home support services does not provide. However, we would be pleased to connect you to the following services:
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House cleaning or laundry
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Grocery shopping
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Rehabilitation equipment/aids
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Driving to appointments
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Companions
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Foot care
Choice in Supports for Independent Living
Choice in Supports for Independent Living (CSIL) is a provincial program that provides an alternative for eligible home support clients. CSIL was developed to give British Columbians with disabilities and high-intensity care needs more flexibility in managing their home support services.
CSIL is a "self-managed model of care," which means you receive funds from Interior Health to become an employer and directly purchase your own home support services. As a CSIL employer, you assume full responsibility for the management, co-ordination and financial accountability of your personal care services, including recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling and supervising home support workers.
Health Services for Community Living
Health Services for Community Living is a program that provides health services assessment, planning and care supports to youth and adults with developmental disabilities, and their families and caregivers. We work in partnership with Community Living BC staff to provide support and services to adults with developmental disabilities and their families in British Columbia.
While Community Living British Columbia is responsible for planning and delivering services to youth and adults with developmental disabilities, we collaborate in the delivery of specific health services for clients living in home settings.
Services include:
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Access to a range of non-emergency community health services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, nutrition, dental hygiene and swallowing assessments
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Professional assessment of your actual and potential health care and safety needs
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Consultation with you and your family to create and implement a plan of care designed to meet your health-care needs
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Training and support for your family members and caregivers regarding direct care and safety needs
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Monitoring of your health for specific concerns over time
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Referrals to other health-care providers as needed
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Advocacy and referral for you to specialist care as needed
Accessing Home & Community Care Services
You can access these services for yourself or a family member by contacting a Home & Community Care office in your area or contact a health care provider and/or physician to complete and submit the following external home health referral form.
- New or Returning Clients:
- For Home Health referrals by Physicians and Nurse Practitioners – access the Home Health External Referral form here
- For Home Health referrals by families, self referrals, and the public to connect directly to the Home Health services call Home Health Central Intake at 1-800-707-8550
- Existing clients without a Home Health Most Responsible Clinician (MRC) assigned to them:
- Contact your local home health office here
Our home & community care health professionals will work with you, your family, doctor or nurse practitioner, and other health-care professionals to assess:
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Your eligibility for home & community services
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What services best meet your goals, needs and situation
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How long you need these services for
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The costs, if any, for these services
To prepare for a home & community care assessment you will need to have the following:
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Personal Health Number (PHN)
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Medication prescriptions
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War veteran and pension cheque stubs or regiment number
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Most recent income tax return or notice of assessment (some services charge a fee based on your income)
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Name and telephone number of your doctor or nurse practitioner
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Name and address of a close relative or friend
It’s important that our home & community care health professionals fully understand your health-care situation and needs. Please ask questions if you’re not sure what services are available to you. If you’ve documented your wishes about the health care you want to receive, at the moment or in the future, in an advance care plan, representative agreement, advance directive or similar document, bring this to the attention of your family and health-care providers.
If you’re eligible for services, a home & community care professional will work with you and other health-care professionals to develop a collaborative care plan that meets your needs. The care plan will be updated as your care situation changes. If there is a waiting list for the services that best meet your needs, the home & community care health professional will work with you to ensure that the best services are in place to address your health needs while you’re waiting.
To be eligible for these services you must:
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Be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status (be a landed immigrant or are on a Minister’s permit approved by the Ministry of Health Services)
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Require care:
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after you have been released from the hospital,
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at home to prevent you from going to the hospital, or
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for a life limiting illness
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You must meet additional eligibility requirements for some of our services, such as home support, assisted living, adult day services and long-term care, including:
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Be 19 years of age or older
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Have lived in British Columbia for three months
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Be unable to function independently because of chronic, health-related problems or have been diagnosed by a doctor with an end-stage illness
Cost of home & community care services
Fees are based on your income. Some of the community care services are provided free of charge. Others include a fee, which is determined according to your income. There may be a cost for some equipment or supplies.
To access these services, you must agree to a financial assessment, which will help determine your client rate. Private pay services may also be available in your community. Occasionally costs may be covered by the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC), WorkSafeBC, Veterans Affairs Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, First Nations Inuit Health Branch or other alternate payers.
Clients may apply for a temporary reduction in client rate to provide relief from serious financial hardship.
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Community care nursing
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Care management
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Occupational and physical therapy
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Health Services for Community Living
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Personal care for eligible palliative clients
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Acquired brain injury
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Caregiver support
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Home support services – there may be a daily charge, depending on your income
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Adult day services: These programs usually charge a nominal daily charge to supplement the cost of transportation, supplies and meals
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Caregiver support (respite, convalescent, hospice/palliative): The rate is set at the lowest monthly long-term care rate (prorated) so the client is able to maintain his/her primary residence while in respite, convalescent or hospice/palliative care
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