Home Care: Fact Sheets on Key Health Care Issues

In its submission to the Romanow Commission, the Ecumenical Health Care Network noted that an increasing number of Canadians are now receiving care at home, and called for the creation of a national home care program. In his final report, Mr. Romanow recommended that the needs of people receiving care in the home be recognized by creating the foundation for a national home care system, beginning with:

• support for home mental health case manage- ment and intervention services;
• post-acute home care; and
• palliative care home care – “the option of dying

  at home should be available to all Canadians”.

Mr. Romanow also recommended a new program for unpaid caregivers to relieve pressure on families and on the health care system by allowing informal caregivers to take time off work and to qualify for special benefits under Canada’s Employment Insurance program.