Fast Track to Stroke Rehabilitation
Kingston Health Sciences Centre, Providence Care Hospital, Stroke Network of SEO
Timely access to rehabilitation is a key best practice in stroke care. The Fast Track working group was established to facilitate a Fast Track process for flow from acute to rehabilitation stroke units in the Kingston area. This process facilitated timely access to inpatient rehabilitation for the Acute Stroke Unit patients at KHSC who were “most ready” for inpatient rehabilitation.
The Fast Track Aim was: For patients meeting the “Fast Track Criteria”, referral to acceptance will occur in ≤4 hours. The project included identifying the patient cohort; mapping the referral process; determining process changes and establishing data collection practices to monitor impact. The main changes for the Fast Track patient group were to replace the onsite assessment at KHSC and to replace the patient summary from the Rehabilitation Centre with a more robust referral package which included a stroke-specific medical form. The revised referral package ensured transfer of essential information directly to the rehabilitation team on admission.
Upon launch of the new process the Fast Track patients were now accepted to the waitlist for a bed within 4 business hours and transfers typically occurred the day after referral. Fast Track patients represent approximately 50% of the patients referred. Saving the additional assessment time has enabled this patient group to move faster and has freed up needed resources to focus on the more complex patients and on their associated referrals.
Fast Track Project - Executive Summary 2022 click here!
Fast Track Project - Final Report 2022 click here!
Fast Track Project – For Slidedeck presentation Fall 2021 click here!
For more news on the Fast Track project, click here
Stroke Fast Track and Regular Rehab Referral - Quick Reference click here
Fast Track Project - For further information, please contact Shelley Huffman at shelley.huffman@kingstonhsc.ca