Private home care · Winnipeg

Stroke Care at Home in Winnipeg

Nurse-led support from Health Care Aides (HCAs) in the weeks after a hospital stay. They help with getting up and moving safely, washing and dressing, meals, and practising the exercises the rehab team set.

Request a free assessment Call Winnipeg: (204) 977-7575

Free in-home assessment. No obligation.

After a stroke

Home From Hospital, With Help in Place

In a single day, a stroke can change how a person walks, talks, swallows or does up a button. The first nights home raise practical questions: who helps on the stairs, who stays close in the shower, what to do when a word will not come.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) says hospital teams begin discharge planning almost as soon as a patient is admitted. Calling during the stay gives our Winnipeg team time to meet your family and prepare for the day your parent comes home.

Talk through your options

What our aides do

Daily Help From Health Care Aides After a Stroke

A Health Care Aide works under a nurse's supervision on personal care and routines at home.

Transfers and walking

A transfer means getting from bed to chair, onto the toilet or into a car, which calls for caution when one side is weak. The aide uses the method the hospital therapists taught and stays close on stairs.

Washing and dressing

Help at the sink or in the shower, and with shaving, hair and teeth. The HCA puts the weaker arm into a sleeve first and leaves the person time to manage what they can.

Meals and swallowing

A speech-language pathologist, the specialist who treats swallowing problems, may set how soft food must be or call for thickened drinks. Our aides prepare meals that way, stay at the table and tell the nurse about any coughing.

Speech and understanding

Aphasia, a language problem caused by the stroke, can make words hard to find or follow. The HCA allows time, asks short questions and follows the therapist's advice.

Home exercises

Rehab teams may send people home with a written exercise program. The aide gives a reminder when each session is due, keeps the person steady and records how it went.

Medication reminders

Prompts at the prescribed times, a record of each dose, and a call to the nurse about a missed one.

Safety

Getting the House Ready Before Discharge

At the in-home assessment, a nurse walks through the rooms with your family. A clear path from bedroom to bathroom, a sturdy railing on every staircase, a shower chair and grab bars all lower the chance of a fall. If the hospital's occupational therapist has recommended equipment, we plan around it.

Winnipeg winters add work at the front door. Our aides keep the entry clear of boots and mats, help with coats and footwear while the person sits, and plan outings around icy days.

The first weeks

Support That Changes as Strength Returns

Needs shift quickly after a stroke, so the nurse reviews the plan often.

Before discharge

Call when the ward starts talking about a discharge date. We go over the hospital's instructions, the therapy schedule and how many hours of help you need.

Back home

Visits can be longer at the start, covering mornings and evenings when washing, dressing and transfers take the most effort. For the first few nights, a family can add around-the-clock care.

As routines settle

Hours can come down as the person manages more alone. The aide's notes appear in the Family Room, a website where relatives you invite can see the visit schedule and read each note as it is recorded.

Further along

Help may last a few weeks or many months. When a spouse or adult child has carried most of the load, planned respite visits give them time away.

Plan the Return Home With Us

Share the discharge plan with us, and a nurse will help you set the visit schedule for the first weeks.

Request a free assessment Call Winnipeg: (204) 977-7575

Energy and outlook

Tiredness, Low Mood and the Pace of the Day

Fatigue after a stroke can be heavy and hard to predict, and may last for months. One long appointment might leave a person tired until bedtime. The HCA spreads out the harder tasks, plans rest after therapy and keeps evenings quiet.

Sadness and frustration are common too. Our aides watch for changes in sleep, appetite and interest in usual pastimes, and report them to the nurse.

Lowering the risk

Keeping Watch at Home

The doctor decides the treatment. Our aides help in 3 ways.

Follow-up visits kept
Help keeping track of follow-up appointments, so none are missed.
Warning signs acted on
HCAs know the warning signs of a new stroke: a drooping face, a weak arm, slurred speech. At any sign, the HCA dials 9-1-1, because a stroke is an emergency, and tells the nurse on call.
Concerns passed on
The HCA stays within reach on stairs and in the bathroom. A fall or new leg swelling goes to the nurse straight away.

Side by side

How Private Care Fits With Public Stroke Services

Details from the WRHA and from Shared Health, Manitoba's provincial health organization, are as of October 2026.

Private care from Integracare
Getting started
Call (204) 977-7575 to book a free in-home assessment.
Therapy
Health Care Aides help the person practise the exercises the therapists set.
Schedule
Chosen by your family, from a few hours a week to 24-hour care.
Daily care
Personal care, meals, transfers and medication reminders under a nurse-led plan.
Public services
Getting started
In hospital, the ward team helps connect the person with WRHA Home Care during discharge planning. Most rehab programs need a referral from a health care professional.
Therapy
Teams at the Community Stroke Care Service (CSCS) and Riverview, and outpatient rehab programs.
Schedule
Set by assessment. CSCS averages 90 days.
Daily care
WRHA Home Care may include personal care, help with meals and medication, and nursing, depending on what its assessment finds.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

	Private care from Integracare	Public services
Getting started	Call (204) 977-7575 to book a free in-home assessment.	In hospital, the ward team helps connect the person with WRHA Home Care during discharge planning. Most rehab programs need a referral from a health care professional.
Therapy	Health Care Aides help the person practise the exercises the therapists set.	Teams at the Community Stroke Care Service (CSCS) and Riverview, and outpatient rehab programs.
Schedule	Chosen by your family, from a few hours a week to 24-hour care.	Set by assessment. CSCS averages 90 days.
Daily care	Personal care, meals, transfers and medication reminders under a nurse-led plan.	WRHA Home Care may include personal care, help with meals and medication, and nursing, depending on what its assessment finds.

Local Resources

Other Stroke Recovery Help in Winnipeg

Other organizations run these programs. Each sets its own rules, and Integracare is separate from all of them.

Health Sciences Centre and St. Boniface

Health Sciences Centre (HSC), run by Shared Health, is Manitoba's only Regional Stroke Centre. When appropriate, it can give clot-dissolving medication or remove a clot in the first hours. St. Boniface Hospital's emergency department also receives stroke patients on referral.

Riverview Health Centre

Riverview runs inpatient stroke rehab on its 4 East unit, which Shared Health lists as the Provincial In-patient Stroke Rehabilitation Unit. Admission starts with a physician's written application.

Misericordia Health Centre

Misericordia's Transitional Care Unit serves people who need a longer recovery after a hospital stay. It plans their discharge from the day they arrive.

Community Stroke Care Service

This WRHA early supported discharge program lets people with a new mild to moderate stroke leave hospital sooner and continue rehab at home. HSC, Riverview and St. Boniface refer patients directly. Referrals from other hospitals and community sites are considered case by case. Patients and families cannot sign up on their own.

Stroke prevention clinics

After a transient ischemic attack (TIA, often called a mini-stroke) or a stroke with good recovery, a health care provider may refer the person to one of Manitoba's 2 stroke prevention clinics, at Health Sciences Centre and Brandon Regional Health Centre.

Support groups and caregiver classes

The Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba, (204) 942-2880, runs programs for survivors, such as the Speak Easy Club for communication and a Winnipeg peer support group. Registration is required. Shared Health also lists WRHA's Powerful Tools for Caregivers classes, Heart & Stroke's Care Supporters' Community and A & O: Support Services for Older Adults.

Good to know

Common Questions About Stroke Care at Home

For families getting ready for a relative's discharge from a Winnipeg hospital.

When should we call Integracare after a stroke?

During the hospital stay, once a discharge date comes up, so there is time for the nurse's home visit. Our intake team responds within one business day.

Who sets the exercises our aide helps with?

Your rehab team: hospital therapists, the Community Stroke Care Service or an outpatient program. Our HCAs follow the written routine your family member brings home.

Can we have private care and WRHA Home Care at the same time?

Yes. A case coordinator, the health professional who assesses your family member for WRHA Home Care, sets any public visits, and our hours are scheduled around them. Case coordinators rarely contact private agencies themselves, so share your coordinator's contact details with our nurse and we will keep in touch.

Is a nurse involved in stroke care at home?

Yes. A nurse assesses your family member at home, writes the care plan with you and updates it as recovery goes on. Nursing support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Other Services

Arrange Help After a Stroke in Winnipeg

Tell us about the stroke, the discharge plan and the help you have in mind. Our team responds within one business day and arranges a free assessment at home.

Call our local number, or the toll-free line from out of town.

Start your request

A few simple steps.