by Mary Wilson Trider
Health Quality Ontario (HQO) was created by the provincial government in 2005. HQO’s functions include monitoring and reporting to the public about the health system and health status of Ontarians; supporting continuous quality improvement; and promoting evidence-based health service delivery.
In 2008 the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care directed HQO to begin public reporting on Long-Term Care (LTC) homes.
Since that time, HQO staff have been working with experts in the field to develop indicators of LTC quality.
Over the past two years, a number of indicators have been reported at the provincial level and an increasing number of LTC homes have been publicly reporting individual home-level results.
As of September, HQO is publicly reporting four indicators at the home level for over 630 LTC homes in Ontario. Fairview Manor is pleased to be one of those homes.
Participation in this common quality agenda helps us fulfill our mission to “provide a continuum of integrated primary health and long-term care services to our communities, focusing on quality care and personal attention, accountability and fiscal responsibility.” The four indicators are:
- Percentage of residents who had a recent fall
- Percentage of residents with worsening bladder function
- Percentage of residents who were physically restrained
- Percentage of residents who had a pressure ulcer that recently got worse
An individual home’s report includes its own performance over the past 12 months and the provincial average for each indicator. There is also a link to information about each indicator under the heading “More about these indicators”.
The data used to calculate the results is collected and analyzed by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
In 2011-12, Fairview Manor’s performance was better than the provincial average in all four of the indicators.
We are proud of the skilled, caring staff and physicians who look after our Fairview Manor residents. We also know there are always opportunities to improve, and we remain committed to continuously searching for ways to provide better care.
Members of the community who are interested in learning more about the LTC quality indicators are encouraged to visit the HQO website, www.hqontario.ca, and to look under the “Public Reporting” tab for Long-Term Care reporting.
Mary Wilson Trider is the President & CEO of the Almonte General Hospital
