Home First: reducing ALC and achieving better outcomes for seniors through inter-organizational collaboration

Like many hospitals, those in the Mississauga Halton Local Health Integration Network (MH LHIN) have used inter-professional collaboration to maximize system processes. Process improvements previously occurring in silos have started crossing hospital programs and systems within and beyond the hospital. The challenge is that few healthcare organizations consider, never mind implement, process improvements that traverse the LHIN. This article discusses an innovation with a unique feature: concentration not only on inter-professional collaboration but on inter-organizational collaboration by professionals and providers throughout the LHIN. The Home First approach exemplifies what is possible when culture is adapted to necessitate and enable intra- and inter-organizational collaboration and partnerships based on trust and respect. This approach has been spread and sustained successfully across the LHIN, with alternative level of care patients being reduced by 50% or greater.