A three-year study on supporting stroke patient is yielding promising results. The North East LHIN teamed up with HSN and Laurentian University to look at how assisting stroke patients after they leave the hospital helps with community re-integration. Researchers followed over a hundred stroke patients across the northeast.
The study found that stroke patients who used the navigation services had a significant improvement in their Return to Normal Living Index scores. They also reported the service helped their overall sense of well-being.
Regional Coordinator for the Post-Stroke Transitional Care Program, Rebecca Bowes, says they’ve been able to help a large number of people across the north. She says they have had successful collaborations with other hospitals, which proves the program is needed. Bowes says it’s growing, and people from other cities are contacting them to see how they can get this type of program going in their community.
The program is now in Timmins, Temiskaming Shores, the Soo, and Sudbury. It was made possible through a 1.2 million dollar grant from the Local Health Integration Network.