Provincial Release of Updated Best Practice Stroke Care Plans for Long Term Care Homes (LTC)
In long-term care (LTC), 21.3% of residents have had a stroke[1] and stroke is the third most common diagnosis in LTC residents.[2]
In fact, stroke is believed to be one of the leading causes of transfer of elderly individuals to LTC facilities.[3]
More than 10% of patients who have experienced a stroke require long term care and twenty percent of stroke survivors who are identified as having moderate or severe impairments following stroke are discharged to a LTC Home or to Complex Continuing Care.[4],[5]
In 2015, the Heart & Stroke Foundation released the best practice resource, Taking Action for Optimal Community & Long Term Stoke Care© (previously Tips and Tools for Everyday Living© ). In response to this release, a working group of Long Term Care (LTC) Home representatives and members of the Ontario Stroke Network reviewed the best practice Stroke Care Plans (initially released in 2012) to ensure continued alignment with this best practice document and current LTC practices and regulations. The Stroke Care Plans are intended to enable all Ontario LTC Homes to incorporate best practice stroke care into resident care planning.
The Stroke Care Plans can be accessed through the Ontario Stroke Network website at LTC Stroke Care Plans.
This will also link you to additional documents (i.e. Implementation Tips, Stroke Best Practice Care Plans for LTC slide deck) to support implementation of the Stroke Care Plans.
As the Stroke Community Engagement Specialist for the NWO region, I am available to support implementation, to answer any questions you may have and to assist with educational needs. Contact Keli Cristofaro at 684-6468 or cristofk@tbh.net
[1] Continuing Care Reporting System, CIHI, 2014-15, [2] PriceWaterhouseCooper, 2001, [3] Statistics Canada, 2010, [4] SEQC, 2012, [5] Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario, 2011