On behalf of: Community Health Services
Earlier this year, the Community Capacity Team led a regional initiative to strengthen connections between Emergency Departments, Acute Units, and Community Health Services (CHS) called the CHS Learning Burst Project. Work focused on improving awareness of services, clarifying referral pathways, and supporting safer transitions from acute care to CHS.
Twenty-four learning sessions. delivered across eight acute sites and regional forums were held, gathering broad feedback from over 150 healthcare professionals and Medical Staff. Their insights helped tailor learning materials and resources to address real-world knowledge gaps and barriers to referral.
Early results of the Learning Burst project are promising. New supporting tools - including updated referral forms, quick-reference unit posters, and a centralized resource hub on the Access and Transitions Platform are now in place.
Teams report increased referrals and calls to Community Access, along with greater confidence among acute care staff in navigating CHS processes and connecting patients to appropriate community supports. Future sessions will be offered, including in other care settings. For more information, please contact CHSCommCapacity@islandhealth.ca.
Community Health Services plays a significant role in the health system, currently supporting 39,000 clients across Island Health, with 3.1 million home support hours delivered annually. Each month, CHS serves approximately 6,300 home support clients and 11,200 clinical services clients, contributing to 520,000 clinical visits per year.