ESHC bridges discharge gap with new primary care referral pathway

ESHC is working to get patients without a family doctor connected with a primary care physician before they leave the hospital.

Erie Shores HealthCare (ESHC) in Leamington has a new partnership with health practitioners to connect patients who don’t have a family doctor with a primary care physician before they are discharged.

The program involves the teamwork of ESHC, the Essex County Nurse Practitioner-led clinic, and Windsor Essex Community Health Centre.

Patients are screened at admission and by the time they leave the hospital, they are referred to team-based care, with a follow-up appointment booked.

Kristin Kennedy is the CEO or ESHC. Kennedy is hopeful that over time, the positive outcomes for the community will ramp-up with more patients receiving comprehensive care as in-patient/out-patients.

“This is a really important point where when patients are discharged from the ER or discharged from an inpatient unit or our admission discharge unit, that we’re attaching patients to the nurse practitioner lead clinic in Essex and or through weCHC in real time,” said Kennedy.

“And that’s allowing us to minimize re visits to the ER or re-admissions as well.”

The aim is to provide across-the-board quality and stronger continuity of care. This program is a local solution that supports Ontario’s plan to ensure everyone in the province has access to primary care by 2029.