2021

The Rehab Care Alliance and Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario have released a new best practice framework to guide rehabilitative care for older adults living with/at risk of frailty. Rehabilitative Care for Older Adults Living With/At Risk of Frailty: From Frailty to Resilience outlines best practices and the required components of rehabilitative care for older adults […]

The RCA has released a new guidance document for rehab providers to help them evaluate the efficacy and quality of virtual rehabilitation. As a result of the pandemic, many organizations are integrating virtual and hybrid models of rehabilitative care into their service delivery on a more permanent basis. Considerations for the Evaluation of Virtual Rehabilitation […]

Support is available to emergency departments and primary care teams interested in implementing the RCA’s post-fall rehabilitative care pathways for frail seniors. The pathways for emergency departments and primary care are designed to connect older adults with frailty who fall with rehabilitative care to reduce functional decline and prevent additional falls. Prior to the pandemic, […]

A new Ontario Health guide for primary care provides an easy-to-use algorithm on how to assess and manage patients experiencing persistent symptoms following COVID-19, including guidance on referring patients to rehabilitative care. The RCA worked closely with Ontario Health on the brief guide, providing input on when and how primary care should assess a patient […]

The RCA is leading a province-wide initiative to track utilization of outpatient rehab services by patients recovering from COVID-19. The initiative is the first to gather provincial data on a programmatic level and will provide a clearer picture of these individuals, their needs and the impact on the rehabilitative care system. Rehabilitation programs across the […]

Data from the RCA reveals the impact of the second and third wave of the pandemic on rehab capacity in the community. The data—gathered from providers of publicly funded ambulatory and in-home rehabilitation—showed a major reduction in operating capacity and patient volumes in ambulatory rehab and continued challenges in both ambulatory and in-home settings. The […]

Updated ALC leading practices guide available: The RCA has collaborated with Ontario Health, the Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario (PGLO) and other partners to develop Alternate Level of Care (ALC) Leading Practices Guide: Preventing Hospitalization and Extended Stays for Older Adults. The guide updates previous guidance from 2017 to improve the delivery of acute care to older adults […]

The RCA is working with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) to assess the impact of COVID-19 on demand for rehabilitative services and anticipate future demand. At the request of the RCA, ICES is analyzing data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and other sources to get a more thorough understanding of […]

A new white paper from the RCA provides health system decision-makers with recommendations to support the spread of innovative and cost-effective models of ambulatory rehabilitative care. The paper is part of a four-part white paper, Community-Based Rehabilitation: Providing High-Value Rehabilitative Care in the Community, that explores the critical role that community-based rehabilitation plays in the […]

A new RCA survey is gathering fresh data on the impact of the pandemic on rehab capacity in the community. The RCA first surveyed providers of publicly funded ambulatory and in-home rehabilitation in fall 2020 to gather data on rehab capacity during the first wave of the pandemic. The new, streamlined survey will capture data […]