Nine acute care beds were eliminated from Ridge Meadows Hospital last month as part of a restructuring by the Fraser Health.
The health authority has closed 80 hospital beds across the region, but replaced them with 403 residential care beds. It is a plan that has been in development for the past two years, said Tasleem Juma of Fraser Health.
The goal is to have seniors who have long stays in hospital moved into residential care facilities.
Most of the new residential care beds will be opening in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, with others in South Surrey and White Rock. Some will be in new buildings, and others in expansions of existing residential care facilities. Many are opening this month.
Juma explained that Fraser Health has also expanded services that help seniors stay in their own homes longer, such as the BreatheWELL program, which supports 1,400 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“We always try to support you in your home, for as long as possible,” she said.
Ten hospitals have seen reductions ranging from seven to 12 beds, and at the end of March there was a reorganization of beds at Ridge Meadows Hospital as nine beds were eliminated.
“We’ve had no capacity issues at the hospitals,” said Juma.
She added that rooms at Ridge Meadows Hospital that contained four beds now have three, which improves infection control and creates a better patient experience.
None of the new residential care beds are located in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows, but Juma said the residential care facilities are open to anyone within the region. Residents can be eligible for subsidies.
The new plan is expected to create financial efficiencies over the long run, but initially there has been significant investment in the new beds and services, said Juma.
Mental health
• In March, Fraser Health opened an enhanced mental health residence in Maple Ridge to support individuals in optimizing their rehabilitation and recovery.
Beckman House already provided 21 licensed care beds, which was expanded to include an additional 20 units in a separate purpose-built mental health, assisted living residence on the same property.
• In the summer of 2014, Fraser Health opened four new bridging units across the street, adding to the four already there, “to create a virtual mental health residential campus.”
These bridging units support individuals in developing greater independence as they transition from residential care to community living.
• In June 2015, the authority expanded Riverstone Home and Mobile Detox service’s catchment area from Fraser East to include Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
Seniors
Fraser Health expanded the Community Actions and Resources Empowering Seniors (CARES) initiative from its 2014 pilot in White Rock-South Surrey and Langley to include the Ridge Meadows Division of Family Practice in spring 2016.
This initiative partners pre-frail seniors with community GPs and volunteer community-trained wellness coaches to promote health behaviours that improve quality of life, delay frailty, and reduce emergency room visits and hospital admissions.
CARES also provides GPs with an electronic tool to assess frailty before and after behaviour changes.