Integrating home and community care into Ontario Health Teams

The Ontario government is building on the work that has already been done to better connect people to home and community through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care by moving forward with the transition of home care to Ontario Health Teams.

To further modernize home care and advance Ontario Health Teams, the ministry is:

  • creating a single, integrated service organization that will work closely with Ontario Health and support Ontario Health Teams as they deliver home care; through the consolidation of the province’s 14 regional Home and Community Care Support Services organizations  
  • gradually transferring responsibility for providing home care to individual Ontario Health Teams to ensure continuity
  • continuing to develop, implement and expand new innovative models of care with home care and health service providers that will support hospital to home transitions and better provide support for patients and their families
  • updating the home care procurement and contracting process to improve quality and support new models of care, with a focus on introducing new performance standards, updating standardized contracts and protecting current service volumes
  • maintaining system stability and continuity of care for patients and families who need home care, long-term care home placement or referral services

Over time, these changes will build a better, more connected model of homecare delivery by improving coordination and access, and strengthening support for those who coordinate and provide frontline care.  

Components of this plan would require further approvals and the government is considering introducing new legislation in the coming weeks.

During the transition of Home and Community Care Support Services, patients and caregivers will continue to have access to the services they need, through the caregivers they have come to know and trust.

The ministry is grateful for the dedication of the home care workforce across hundreds of partners and the value of the work they do every day.

The ministry will continue to work closely with partners across the health sector towards our shared goal of providing high quality, connected, and convenient care for patients.

Learn more: