Press Releases

Bayshore Home Health opens new office to better meet growing home care needs of Kingston community

Kingston, ON, September 21, 2011 – Bayshore Home Health, Canada’s largest provider of home and community health care services, announced today the opening of a satellite office in Kingston, Ontario. Bayshore has been serving the local community for 13 years through its Brockville location. The new office will give the company a presence in Kingston and surrounding counties, allowing it to build stronger relationships with clients and provide a higher level of care.

“This new Bayshore branch will help Kingston’s growing number of aging residents, as well as people of all ages who require care in their homes,” says Anita Fitches, the area director for the office. “The city is an attractive retirement community since it’s located on Lake Ontario with easy access to the Highway 401 corridor. In addition, local seniors want to stay in their homes as long as possible to maintain their independence. Home care allows them to do just that.”

Bayshore Home Health will focus on providing service directly to the public and to people receiving care through Veteran Affairs Canada and the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. “We believe there’s a need for increased home care services in the community, given the number of people who are taking care of loved ones and the shortage of family doctors,” Fitches says.

“Many people don’t understand the kind of services that home health care provides or that they have options beyond institutional care,” adds Eva Barnett, nurse manager and community liaison for the new office. “It’s our goal to make people more aware of home health care and Bayshore’s ability to bring professional services and individualized care to our clients in the comfort of their homes.”

Ms. Barnett is a registered nurse who joined Bayshore Home Health in 2009 as a pharmaceutical nurse educator, coordinating home-based injection training and educating clients on their illnesses. She also coordinates 60-plus and going strong: Wellness 101, a community program offered by Bayshore for people aged 60-plus to promote long-term health, wellness and fall prevention in the home. Ms. Barnett has lived and worked in Kingston since 1975. She attended Queen’s University and worked as a nurse at the St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital.

Bayshore expects to hire nurses and personal support workers as the branch expands. The new office, located at 993 Princess Street, Suite 208 in Kingston (in the JSM Building) will provide a wide range of personalized home care services including:

• Personal care and hygiene such as grooming, washing and bathing, basic hand and foot care, dressing and assistance with eating.
• Home support including light housekeeping, meal preparation and laundry.
• Companion services including visits to the home, accompaniment to appointments and support with other activities.
• In-home nursing care including administering medication, wound and skin care, advanced foot care and pain and symptom management.
• Caregivers specially trained to assist clients with serious injuries, acquired brain injury, palliative care and dementia.
• Free in-home assessments and consultations, as well as insurance funding investigations.

“These services allow seniors, individuals with disabilities and people with a wide range of acute or chronic care needs to live comfortably in their own homes,” says Fitches. “They will also help alleviate some of the stress families experience as they try to help elderly parents while working full-time and caring for children of their own.”

A free wellness clinic to promote the branch’s opening will be held on Wednesday, September 28th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at the new office. Members of the community are invited to attend. A registered nurse will be on hand to answer questions and provide on the spot results for blood pressure.

About Bayshore Home Health

Bayshore Home Health has been enhancing the quality of life, dignity and independence of Canadians in their homes since 1966. Canadian owned and operated, it is the country's largest provider of home and community health care services, with more than 50 home care offices, 20 community care clinics and 8,000 employees. Its core services are in-home nursing, personal care and home support – which can be purchased directly by individuals and also accessed through government care programs, personal and group insurance plans and workplace safety insurance. The company also provides nurse/caregiver staffing services, health education programs and treatments in its community dialysis centres. Through its subsidiary, Bayshore Specialty Rx, it offers infusion pharmacy, infusion clinic and pharmaceutical support services to a variety of health care and pharmaceutical organizations.

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www.bayshore.ca