Ontario Connecting More People to Community Stroke Rehabilitation Care in Central Ontario

Over $6.1 million will help more people connect to critical post-stroke therapy closer to home

Newmarket — The Ontario government is investing an additional $2 million in base funding this year, increasing to nearly $4.1 million in annualized base funding next year to expand Community Stroke Rehabilitation (CSR) services in Central Ontario to connect more people to the care and treatment they need.

“Our government is making record investments in our health care system to expand access to vital health services”, said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This investment in the expansion of post-stroke rehabilitation is one more way we are connecting people to the care they need, to get more people back to doing what matters most to them.”

This funding is part of an additional $15 million the Ontario government is investing to help health service providers across the province expand their CSR services and connect an additional 1,400 people to the care they need.

“Thanks to this increased investment by our government, more stroke survivors will be able to access the services they need closer to home, and in their home,” said Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP for Newmarket-Aurora. “We are creating a heath care system that is patient centred. Stroke patients need to be engaged with a recovery journey that provides the dignity and respect they deserve.”

Community stroke rehabilitative care connects people who have experienced a stroke with occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, and other professional services to aid in their recovery, all provided in a hospital outpatient clinic, community or home setting. Appropriate and timely rehabilitation can significantly improve outcomes for people who experience a stroke, increasing their level of independence and overall quality of life. 

Through Your Health: A Plan For Connected and Convenient Care, the province is taking action to expand Ontario’s hospitals and access to services in home or community to ensure patients and their families receive the right care, in the right place, for years to come.

QUICK FACTS

• A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood stops flowing to any part of a person’s brain and damages brain cells. Common signs of a stroke include sudden drooping in a person’s face, an inability to raise both arms and slurred speech.
• CSR services include a combination of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, and social work in a hospital outpatient clinic, community or home setting. Last year over 6,000 people received CSR services in Ontario.
• These services follow the Community Stroke Rehabilitation Model of Care, developed in close partnership with clinical experts across the province to outline best practices for how health care services are delivered to stroke patients.
• As part of Ontario’s 2024 Budget, the province is investing a record more than $85 billion into the health care system. This includes a record four per cent increase in investments to the hospital sector and investing in the home and community care sector.

Learn more: https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-health-plan-connected-and-convenient-care

Media Contact

Nadia Hansen

Constituency Scheduler, Stakeholder Relations, Event Manager

Dawn Gallagher Murphy, MPP Newmarket—Aurora
nadia.hansen@pc.ola.org

416-553-2471