COMMUNITY CARE ACCESS CENTRES (CCACs)

CCACs can provide assessment, referral, case management, information and access to a full range of in home services for children, palliative care patients, psychiatric, physically and mentally challenged individuals and the elderly. Services are provided at no cost to the client. Health care services you may receive include: nursing, personal support (i.e. help with bathing, dressing etc.), physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, social work and nutritional counselling. Anyone can make a referral/request for service by calling their local CCAC. If you are an inpatient in a hospital, your doctor or any member of the multi-disciplinary team working with you can contact the CCAC on-site Case Manager for you. As a first step, individuals are assessed by a Case Manager to determine what services are needed and if the person is eligible for the program. All recipients of service must be an Ontario resident and have a valid Health Card. The individual who meets the criteria is eligible to receive service at no cost to them (services are covered by OHIP). Additionally, certain medical supplies may, in some cases, be partially or fully covered by the program. In some circumstances, the CCAC will also provide and cover the rental cost of medical equipment (i.e. walkers, hospital beds etc.) for a trial period.

CCACs do provide some professional services in retirement homes for referred clients, for a limited amount of time, provided that the residence does not have these services available for their residents. However, services are not guaranteed for every resident. A CCAC Case Manager must first assess each person to determine eligibility and needs; provision of services for qualified clients is prioritized based on client need and availability of resources. In some instances, when CCAC's resources are limited, there may be a wait for service.

Additionally, CCACs coordinate placement for and to long-term care homes. They assess eligibility, have comprehensive listings of available homes for long and short stays, applications and can provide information and assistance with any or all of the above. They process the applications for all long-term care homes and coordinate transfers of people to the homes when beds become available. To obtain additional information you can call the Ministry of Health INFOline at 1 (800) 268-1154, visit the government website at www.health.gov.on.ca or the website for the Ontario Association of CCAC’s www.oaccac.on.ca.

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