This pillar embodies the priority program and emergency continuum, and includes increased spending on research and teaching, adding new drugs and enhancing access to rehabilitation and complex continuing care services. The fourth pillar brings healthcare services closer to home to enable patients to receive care in their community. The cornerstone of this pillar is home care. In the past decade, the demand for home care has steadily increased in every province and territory in Canada, including Ontario. There are several reasons for this.
Home care is an economically sound sol-ution to many current and future healthcare needs.
Moreover, as this solution is developed and delivered, the expertise level increases, thus allowing greater and greater levels of service and new services not previously provided at home. The goal is to ensure that people with continuing care needs can receive services in their homes, thereby avoiding admission to a hospital or to a long-term care facility unless absolutely necessary. CCACs are required to administer programs in a consistent manner to ensure fair and equitable access for all consumers no matter where they live in Ontario. CCACs were developed for three key reasons. First, historically, providers of long-term care community and facility services typically operated independently of each other.