1999-2000 Annual Review, August 2000

Home and Community Care

On-reserve continuing care involves a variety of services, such as Home Nursing, homemakers' services, personal care and aids to daily living. The Community Programs (CP) Directorate is working with the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) and First Nations and Inuit organizations in an effort to improve continuing care program distribution, promote efficiencies and provide a seamless set of services.

In 1998/99, the CP Directorate established, with DIAND, the Assembly of First Nations and the Inuit, a Working Group to develop a Continuing Care Framework, which includes home care and long-term care. The first phase of this work was carried out with the completion of a Home Care Framework in 1998. In February, 1999, the federal budget provided for the establishment of a First Nations and Inuit Home and Community Care Program.

To provide direction and oversee program developments over the initial three year period, a National Steering Committee with First Nations, Inuit, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) and DIAND representatives has been established. By the end of March 2000, more than 200 communities had received funding for their needs assessment plans. The needs assessment and program planning activities will continue in 2000/2001, as the program moves toward the implementation phase.

In July 1998 and February 1999, the Minister of Health announced funding through the Health Transition Fund for two national level pilot projects related to First Nations and Inuit home care. The first project is being carried out in five First Nations sites encompassing eight communities with the goal of developing home care models and test options for better integration and coordination of services provided by the various levels of government.

The second project is being carried out in one Inuit and three First Nation communities to identify the type and level of community and home support needs related to diabetes, and to develop models focusing on care, treatment and education, that will improve the quality of diabetes management.

During 1999/2000 the pilot sites undertook a community needs assessment to identify home and community care needs, develop a service delivery plan and assess the infrastructure needed to provide service delivery.

2000-2001 Main Activities and Anticipated Outcomes:

• Develop generic program standards and policies, and an evaluation framework to enable the National Steering Committee to oversee developments.

• Develop an information module linked with the First Nations and Inuit Health Information System (FNIHIS).

• Develop a strategy to understand housing needs of clients receiving home care services.

• Build linkages with other programs; i.e. Telehealth; Diabetes; Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) programs.

• Support ongoing work of the National Steering Committee.

• Support collaborative developments and capacity building in all Regions.

• Complete the evaluation and submit the final reports on all nine home and community care pilot sites.