Durham Health Partners Mark One Year of Transforming Home Care in Durham Region

Oshawa, ON – February 24, 2026 – One year ago, Lakeridge Health, the Durham Ontario Health Team (OHT), and CBI Home Health came together to launch the Durham OHT at Home program – an innovative care model designed to modernize home care and better support residents across Durham Region. Today, partners are celebrating the program’s first anniversary and its early impact on patients, providers, and the broader health-care system.

Launched in January 2025, Durham OHT at Home brought a new way of delivering home care, bringing health-care professionals with different skills together into well-coordinated care teams. Over the past year, the program has supported residents by providing timely access to personalized care in the home – helping clients avoid unnecessary emergency department visits and hospital admissions, while enabling appropriate referrals to community and specialist resources when needed.

Since its launch, Durham OHT at Home has demonstrated meaningful impact across key measures of access, quality, and patient experience.

• Total patients served as of January 27, 2026: 465
• 100% of complex patients seen within 24 hours
• 100% of complex patients had medication reconciliation/prescriptions filled within 48 hours
• 100% of patients felt their care needs were met
• Average patient satisfaction: 4.9 out of 5.0
• Average net promotor score (willingness to recommend the program): 9.6 out of 10
• Average patient goal achievement: 96%
• 52% of patients were discharged to self-management, with no further need for home care

“Home care truly is an exciting frontier for innovation in health care, and the first year of Durham OHT at Home shows what’s possible when partners come together around a shared vision,” said Jon Hantho, President and CEO of CBI Home Health. “We are proud of the progress made so far and energized by the impact this model is having for clients and families.”

“Having the right home care solutions in place is critical to preventing readmissions and emergency department visits,” added Brian Pollard, Health System Executive, Clinical, Lakeridge Health. “After one year, Durham OHT at Home is demonstrating how integrated, coordinated home care can help Lakeridge Health achieve its vision of One System. Best Health. while also fostering a healthy Durham Region population.”

The Durham OHT at Home program is one of seven Ontario Health Teams across Ontario testing this new way of delivering care. The program is being rolled out alongside an evaluation that will look at patient outcomes, patient experience, and how the model affects the health-care system over the two-year pilot.

“As the program enters its second year, all partners remain focused on building on early successes and continuing to improve access to high-quality, integrated home care for Durham Region residents,” explained Shannon Bourke, Director, Regional Program, Lakeridge Health.

About the Durham OHT

The Durham Ontario Health Team (OHT) brings together healthcare organizations, patients, families, and care partners to improve access and coordination of health services. This partnership spans the full care continuum, including primary care, hospitals, mental health, social support, home care, and long-term care. Launched in December 2020 by the Ministry of Health, the Durham OHT includes 18 core partners and is supported by over 70 healthcare organizations across the region, representing health, social, education, and private sectors.

As Durham OHT at Home enters its second year, the program has reached key milestones, now supporting approximately 500 patients and tracking toward the target of 700 patients served within the Oshawa neighbourhood model. With strong early outcomes and operational stability established, partners remain focused on continued evaluation and disciplined growth. As one of seven provincial pilots, future expansion and scale will be guided by direction from Ministry partners regarding the broader strategy for modernizing home and community care across Ontario, with Durham positioned and ready to align with next steps as provincial priorities evolve.

About CBI Home Health

For over 50 years, CBI Home Health (HH) has been where better begins. We are one of Canada’s largest home care and specialized community services providers, operating in more than 800 communities. Every day, our 8,000+ compassionate caregivers deliver impactful care that maximizes independence, function and well-being while we partner with hospitals, governments, funders and other healthcare partners to shape the future of community healthcare.

About Lakeridge Health

Lakeridge Health is one of Ontario’s most comprehensive health systems, with five hospitals, four emergency departments, three critical care units, a long-term care home, a state-of-the-art, community-based surgical centre, and more than 30 community-based locations delivering acute, ambulatory, and long-term care. We are home to leading regional programs in cancer care, chronic kidney disease services, and critical care. In addition, we offer specialty services such as a Level 3 Trauma Centre, The Shoulder Centre, thoracic surgery, gynecology oncology, eye care, and a full continuum of mental health and addictions care. Through transformative research, dynamic academic partnerships, and over 160 active clinical studies, we are advancing medical knowledge and training the next generation of providers through the Queen’s–Lakeridge Health MD Family Medicine Program and the LHEARN Network. Supported by nearly 9,000 staff, physicians, and volunteers, and working in collaboration with the Durham Ontario Health Team and community partners, we are committed to building an integrated system of care and empowering people across Durham Region to live their best health.

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For more information, please contact:
Strategic Communications
Communications@lh.ca