Where research meets client experience: Toronto Central CCAC partners with York University

TORONTO, Nov. 11, 2013 /CNW/ - Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) and York University have entered into a formal partnership to collaborate on joint research and training opportunities in the home and community care sector that will focus on key priorities:

• Culture of health care
• Supporting caregivers
• Managing multiple medications
• Falls prevention
• Palliative care & managing pain during end-of-life care
• Supporting better aging
• Developing health policy
• Self-management programs for people living with chronic disease
• Enabling interprofessional team work across different parts of the health care system

"With the ongoing shift toward home and community care, our partnership with Toronto Central CCAC is timely in that it will advance research in these increasingly important areas, as well as benefit students with practical, experiential education opportunities," says York University Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinner.

For a university to partner with a CCAC is not only innovative - it is unprecedented. We are used to hearing about research and teaching hospitals, where new physicians can conduct scientific investigation and practice their skills. The Toronto Central CCAC-York University partnership involves faculty and students from all five degree programs in the Faculty of Health (Kinesiology & Health Science, Psychology, Nursing, Global Health and Health Policy & Management) and will offer experiential learning placements for undergraduate students, and diverse, collaborative research opportunities for faculty and graduate students.

"This is a unique partnership," says Stacey Daub, CEO, Toronto Central CCAC. "It's driven by our shared passion for learning and innovation, influences our clients' care, and enhances their experience. The greater opportunity is to create an understanding of the importance of care planning in a team: the more CCAC care coordinators work as a team with physicians and other health care partners in the community, the more we'll see better health outcomes for patients in the future."

About Toronto Central CCAC
Toronto Central CCAC connects people across Toronto with quality in-home and community-based health care. We provide information, direct access to qualified care providers and community-based services to help people come home from hospital or live independently at home. In any given month we serve a population of nearly 1.5 million residents of the Toronto area with their care needs in the community. In any given month, we support:

• More than 19,000 people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds
• 1,700 kids getting support at their schools
• 400 adults receiving rehabilitation services
• 23,000 information and referral inquiries
• The transition to a long-term care home for 240 clients
• 600 individuals to die at home with dignity
• Saving 1000s of hospital days by transitioning 7,000 clients home for care

About York University

York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York U's unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York U is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York U's 11 faculties and 28 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York U's community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 250,000 alumni.

SOURCE: Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre

For further information:

Media Contacts: 
Julia Oosterman
Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations
Phone: [phone] Ext: 2656
Cell: (647)-409-3284
[email protected]

Janice Walls
Advisor, Media Relations
York University
Phone: [phone], ext. 22101
[email protected]