Transfers
Rising from bed, lowering onto the toilet and climbing into a car are all transfers, and each is riskier when one leg or arm is weak. The PSW uses the method shown by the hospital therapists and keeps a hand close on stairs.
Private home care · Ottawa
In-Home Stroke Care in Ottawa
Practical support for the first weeks back from hospital and the long stretch of rehab after them.
A Registered Nurse (RN) draws up the plan. Personal support workers (PSWs) assist with getting around the house, bathing and dressing, meals and the exercises the therapists prescribe.
Free in-home assessment. No obligation.
After a stroke
The First Weeks Home in Ottawa
A stroke can take away strength and balance and make talking or swallowing hard. Around the house, those changes show up in everyday tasks: getting out of bed, reaching the bathroom at night, pulling on a sweater, finding a word at dinner.
We help families plan the move home from The Ottawa Hospital, Bruyère, Queensway Carleton and Hôpital Montfort. Our Ottawa team goes through the discharge instructions with your family and sets up help for the early days back. Before visits begin, an RN meets your relative in person for an assessment, drafts the care plan and remains in charge of it as recovery moves along.
Stroke rehabilitation usually starts in hospital within 24 to 48 hours of arrival. It then moves to an inpatient unit, an outpatient program or community services, and how long it lasts depends partly on the support a person has at home.
Daily help
What a PSW Does During Stroke Recovery
Our PSWs work to the plan the RN wrote, and a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) handles any nursing visits it includes.
Bathing and dressing
Assistance in the shower or at the sink, with shaving, mouth care and clothes. The PSW leaves room for your relative to do each part they can manage.
Meals and fluids
The PSW prepares meals as the care plan sets out and leaves drinks within reach. When a speech-language pathologist has prescribed food textures or thickened fluids, every dish follows those instructions.
Conversation
When talking has become hard, the PSW allows extra time, keeps questions short and uses whatever methods the therapist recommends.
Medication and the house
Prompts to take medication at the prescribed times, along with light housekeeping and errands.
Visit notes for the family
Each visit is written up in the Family Room, an online portal Integracare runs for families. Invited relatives can check the schedule there and read each note shortly after it is recorded.
Prevention
Prevention Routines at Home
Treatment decisions belong to your relative's doctor. Our team keeps the daily routines around them on schedule.
Medication on time
PSWs prompt each prescribed dose and encourage fluids through the day. An RN reviews any change they report.
Follow-up care
Our care coordinator follows test results and speaks with physicians, keeping the family up to date.
New warning signs
Every PSW watches for the signs of another stroke, such as a face that droops, an arm that goes weak or speech that slurs. A stroke is an emergency, so at any sign the PSW dials 9-1-1, notes when the signs began and tells the nurse on call.
A nurse on call
Our nurses take calls 24/7 from families and caregivers when something changes, such as a missed dose, a poor night or a minor fall.
Rehab at home
Carrying On With Rehab Exercises at Home
Public therapists usually leave a written home exercise program and expect a family member to run it. Between therapy sessions, an Integracare PSW can take that on, following the therapist's plan. The PSW clears a space, stays close for balance and notes how it went.
When the relative handling most of the daily help needs time off, our PSWs can cover a few hours or longer stretches. Families who want someone there around the clock can choose 24/7 care or live-in care.
Talk to Us Before the Discharge Date
Send us the hospital's discharge plan, and an RN will set the first weeks of visits with you.
Local Resources
Other Stroke Recovery Help in Ottawa
Other organizations run these programs. Each sets its own rules, and Integracare is separate from all of them.
Scroll the table sideways to compare care options.
| Program | What it offers | How to reach it |
|---|---|---|
| The Ottawa Hospital | Home of the Champlain Regional Stroke Centre for urgent stroke care, and a Stroke Prevention Clinic that quickly assesses high-risk patients. | Prevention clinic by referral from a doctor or nurse practitioner |
| Bruyère Health | Inpatient stroke rehab at Élisabeth-Bruyère Hospital, and an outpatient and community program for adults back home, generally within 6 months of the stroke: usually 2 sessions a week for 8 to 12 weeks. | Outpatient program by physician referral |
| Ontario Health atHome, Champlain area | Publicly funded home care for people who qualify. A care coordinator sets the services after an assessment, and Integracare visits can be added around them. | 1-800-538-0520 (toll-free) or 613-745-5525 |
| March of Dimes Canada | An Ottawa Stroke Peer Support Group that meets in person on the last Tuesday of each month, and the After Stroke support program. | After Stroke: 1-888-540-6666 |
| Ontario Caregiver Helpline | Free phone support for family caregivers, answered 24/7. Staff point callers to local support groups and programs for the stroke survivor. It is not a crisis line. | 1-833-416-2273 |
Questions
Stroke Care at Home: Questions From Ottawa Families
What families ask us while a relative is still in hospital.
When is the best time to contact Integracare?
While your relative is still in hospital, as soon as the ward mentions a discharge date. That leaves time for the RN's home assessment and for preparing the house before the first night back.
How does private care fit with public stroke rehab?
Clinicians at the hospital, Bruyère or Ontario Health atHome set the rehab goals. Our PSWs help your relative practise the assigned exercises between appointments and handle personal care, meals and housework the rest of the week.
Can we use Ontario Health atHome and private care together?
Yes. A care coordinator at Ontario Health atHome decides the publicly funded services, after weighing your relative's assessed needs against what is available locally. We schedule our private visits around theirs.
Who oversees the care plan?
A Registered Nurse, who sees your relative at home before visits start, settles the plan together with your family and amends it whenever recovery calls for a change.
Can we work with the nurses in French?
Yes. Our Ottawa nurses supervise visits and manage each client's care in French or English.
How long do families keep stroke care in place?
As long as your relative needs it. The RN adjusts the hours as recovery progresses, whether that is a few weeks after discharge or many months later.
Other services
More Care in Ottawa
Home Care in Ottawa
Personal Support Workers in Ottawa
Nursing Care in Ottawa
Physiotherapy in Ottawa
Respite Care in Ottawa
24-Hour Home Care in Ottawa
Live-in Care in Ottawa
We also provide stroke care in Greater Toronto and stroke care in Winnipeg.
Free In-Home Assessment
Contact Integracare Ottawa About Stroke Care at Home
Tell us what you need. A nurse will contact you within one business day.
343 Preston Street, Suite 1104, Ottawa, ON K1S 1N4
Prefer to talk?
Ottawa(613) 212-7567 ↗We serve families across the Ottawa region. See the areas we cover
Clinically reviewed by Bethel McMaster, BScN, RN ·