A number of metrics for home-care services have shown improvement, thanks to a new pathway for home-care workers within the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) that has seen success recruiting and retaining health-care aides working in the home-care field, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced in a media release Monday (June 24).
“Home care is about providing dignified, compassionate services to the folks who need it most,” said Asagwara. “To make real progress in the delivery of home care, staffing up has to be part of the plan. The WRHA has put in a huge effort to recruit home-care workers and it’s paying off. It’s all good news: fewer vacancies, more visits and less frustrating cancellations for people. I want to extend my appreciation to the WRHA for their hard work and congratulate our new recruits. Welcome to a career in health care.”
The WRHA home-care program has recruited 256 new health-care aides since October 2023.
The new recruits have helped reduce the vacancy rate for health-care aides providing home care within the WRHA to 10.5 per cent as of the end of May from 24 per cent in January 2023, a more-than fifty per cent improvement, noted the minister. The cancellation rate for Winnipeg-area home-care services has dropped to 1.38 per cent as of April from 5.02 per cent in January 2023. The number of monthly home-care visits have increased from 384,000 to 445,000 since January 2023. This, in turn, has contributed to a higher level of reliable care and reduced the need for home-care clients to rely on family members or close contacts for their health-care needs, said Asagwara.
“Providing a more reliable, consistent and predictable home-care service has been a major priority for the Winnipeg health region,” said Tara-Lee Procter, regional lead, WRHA Community and Continuing Care. “We want clients to be able to safely stay in their homes as long as they can, and having a robust home care service is paramount to ensuring we are able to offer that support.”
For more information about home-care services in Manitoba, visit: Home Care Services in Manitoba | Province of Manitoba (gov.mb.ca)
To find available health-care aide positions in Manitoba, visit: Health Careers Manitoba
