The Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network (ESC LHIN) is a health region in southern Ontario that includes several community acute care hospitals and one stand alone rehabilitation and continuing care hospital in the communities of Chatham-Kent, Sarnia-Lambton and Windsor-Essex. In 2012 the ESC LHIN developed a Rehabilitation System Strategic Plan. Patients with hip fracture are one of the key priority clinical populations targeted for implementation of best practice approaches to rehabilitation.

In May 2014 the ESC LHIN Rehabilitation Network hosted a LHIN wide Rehabilitative Care Forum to bring together key health system partners and stakeholders to lay the groundwork for the development of a standardized LHIN wide Hip Fracture Care Pathway. Using the National Hip Fracture Toolkit (2011) and the Health Quality Ontario Quality-Based Procedure Clinical Handbook for Hip Fracture (2013) as key reference materials, a draft hip fracture pathway was created for discussion. Featured guest speakers, Dr. Hans Kreder, Chief, Holland Musculoskeletal Program and Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Rhona McGlasson,Executive Director, Bone and Joint Canada, Toronto, ON provided expert background information to set the stage. An overview of current data on system performance and outcomes provided a compelling case for change and illustrated potential areas of improvement. The session concluded with a “Work Out” session: collaborative and concentrated discussions led by a team of Improvement Facilitators to develop consensus on the standardized pathway. Follow up activities continue to build on the momentum generated and facilitate identified changes to organizational policies and care practices.

Helen Johnson, ESC LHIN Rehabilitation Network Lead, c/o Chatham-Kent Health Alliance
hjohnson@ckha.on.ca