Health

[This page was supplied by Mini Jacques to support her presentation at HICK Tech.]

What is the Assistive Devices Program?
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care runs the Assistive Devices Program (ADP) to help people who have long-term physical disabilities get needed equipment and supplies. In some cases ADP pays 75 per cent of the cost of items like orthopaedic braces, wheelchairs, and breathing aids. In other cases, such as artificial limbs and breast prostheses, ADP contributes a fixed amount up to a maximum contribution. For some kinds of supplies, such as ostomy and needles and syringes for insulin-dependent seniors, ADP pays an annual grant directly to the person.

If you are receiving social assistance benefits under Ontario Works (OW), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Assistance to Children with Severe Disabilities (ACSD), you may be eligible to receive more money.

Who can apply for this help?
Any Ontario resident who has a long-term physical disability and has a valid Health Card issued in his or her name. Fact sheets on each category of equipment specify medical conditions people must meet to get help in paying for equipment.

Are there income limits for ADP assistance?
No. You are eligible for ADP whatever your income.

What if I receive benefits from Workplace Safety & Insurance Board or Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)?
ADP does not pay for equipment available under Workplace Safety & Insurance Board or to Group ‘A’ veterans for their pensioned conditions.

What types of equipment does ADP cover?
ADP covers the following categories of equipment:
Communication Devices
Diabetes Equipment & Supplies
Enteral Feeding Supplies
Hearing Aids
Home Oxygen
Insulin Pumps and Supplies for Children and Youth age 18 and under
Orthotic Devices
Ostomy Supplies
Pressure Modification Devices
Prosthetic Devices (Breast, Limb, Ocular, Maxillofacial)

Visual Aids
audio book playback machines
braillers
computer hardware and specialized software
enlarging optical systems, (CCTVs)
magnifiers, telescopes, binoculars
optical character recognition (OCR)
specialized glasses, specialized lenses/contact lenses
specialized peripherals, (e.g. braille embossers, refreshable braille displays)
spectacle-mounted low vision and field enhancement aids
standard orientation and mobility canes

How do I apply for ADP assistance?
The steps are listed in the fact sheet or application form for each category. Everyone must start with an application or authorization form. You fill in part of the form. The rest will be filled in by other people.

If a medical assessment is required, who does it?
Usually a medical doctor who specializes in caring for people with your type of disability. Some people may also be assessed by a team of health care professionals. After examining you, the doctor will describe or confirm your physical problem on the form. You will be asked to sign the form so your doctor can release your

What is a registered vendor?
A supplier who is approved by ADP. ADP-registered vendors agree to carry a wide range of products and have skilled staff to answer your questions. Some ADP-registered vendors can make a device designed to meet your special needs.

ADP will not pay for replacement of equipment that is lost, stolen or damaged due to misuse before the minimum replacement period is up. Clients are encouraged to buy insurance to cover the cost of replacement in these cases.

OVERVIEW of PROGRAM
Objectives
The Assistive Devices Program (ADP) is administered by the Operational Support Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
The objective of ADP is to financially assist Ontario residents with long term physical disabilities to obtain basic, competitively priced, personalized assistive devices appropriate for the individual's needs and essential for independent living.
Devices covered by the program are intended to give people increased independence and control over their lives. They may allow them to avoid costly institutional settings and remain in a community living arrangement.
Equipment Funded by ADP
ADP covers over 8,000 separate pieces of equipment or supplies in the following categories: prostheses; wheelchairs/mobility aids and specialized seating systems; ostomy, and enteral feeding supplies; needles and syringes for insulin-dependent seniors; monitors and test strips for insulin-dependent diabetics (through agreement with the Canadian Diabetes Association); hearing aids; respiratory equipment; orthoses (braces, garments and pumps); visual and communication aids; oxygen and oxygen delivery equipment, such as concentrators, cylinders, liquid systems and related supplies, such as masks and tubing.
Eligibility
Any Ontario resident who has a valid Ontario Health card issued in their name and has a physical disability of six months or longer. Equipment cannot be required exclusively for sports, work or school. Residents with a primary diagnosis of a learning or mental disability are excluded from ADP, as are those on Workers' Compensation. There are specific eligibility criteria which apply to each device category.
Accessing ADP
Initial access is often through a medical specialist or general practitioner who provides a diagnosis. In most device categories, an authorizer assesses the specific needs of the person and prescribes appropriate equipment or supplies. Finally, a vendor sells the equipment or supplies to the client.
In some device categories, such as adult hearing aids or prosthetic devices, the assessor is also the vendor.
Authorizer
Most devices must be authorized by a qualified health care professional registered with the program. Registered authorizers work in hospitals, home care agencies or private practice.

Vendor
The program will only help pay for equipment that is purchased from vendors registered with the Assistive Devices Program.
Financial Assistance
ADP pays up to 75 per cent of the cost of equipment, such as artificial limbs, orthopaedic braces, wheelchairs, breast prostheses and breathing aids. For others, such as hearing aids, the ADP contributes a fixed amount. With regard to supply items as ostomy and needles and syringes for seniors, the ADP pays an annual grant directly to the person. The home oxygen program, under ADP, pays 100 per cent of the cost of oxygen and related equipment for seniors and those on social assistance, home care or residing in a long-term care facility, and 75 per cent for all others.
In most cases, the client pays a share of the cost at time of purchase and the vendor bills ADP the balance.
For ADP supply categories where grants are paid, the client pays 100 per cent of the cost to the vendor.
All ages are eligible for devices except the needles and syringes grant which is restricted to insulin dependent seniors.
There are many sources of funding for the client's share of the cost including :
clients
voluntary/charitable organizations e.g. March of Dimes, Easter Seals, Kiwanis
social assistance, DVA
insurance companies
relatives/friends.

For information, write:
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Assistive Devices Program
7 th Floor, 5700 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2M 4K5

Web-site:
www.health.gov.on.ca

"I may be blind, but boy do I have vision!" - Mini Jacques

Learn about how your business can increase sales by making its services more accessible; learn about how people with low vision use the Internet to enhance their lives; ask your questions of this amazing, dynamic and expert panel!

Formed in 1996, Digital Expression spent 4 years serving Toronto before relocating to Grey/Bruce. Operated by Phil McDonald, it provides design and consultation in web development and printed media. www.digitalexpression.ca

Libby Thaw, founder of the Checkered Eye Project, small town citizen who has low vision, stay at home mother, and social activist in the field of low vision. www.checkeredeye.com

Mini Jacques is a successful marketing and public relations consultant with over 20+ years working in the coporate world, as well as the tourism and hospitality sector and as a promoter of regional and community events.

Mini will speak to working, hiring and doing business with someone who has with low-vision.

Mini Jacques will also spend a few moments discussing the Ontario Assistive Devices Program.

The Grey Bruce District Stroke Centre is part of the Ontario Stroke System. The vision of the Ontario Stroke System is to improve access to best practice stroke care across the continuum of care. To improve access to best practice stroke care requires that individuals are aware of best practices and have the ability and support to put this knowledge into practice. In the Stroke System best practices are not just for the health professional but also the individual who is at high risk of stroke or has experienced a stroke.

The Internet provides many opportunities to enable knowledge to transfer to practice. For individual, there are numerous information sites and interactive tools to assist with modifying their behaviour to prevent stroke and assist them in establishing a healthy lifestyle. For professionals the internet and e-mail has increased the opportunities to share information and interact with each other to improve practice resulting in better outcomes for the client.

This presentation will highlight a number of endeavours by the District Stroke in collaboration with its partners to effectively use the Internet to improve knowledge translation. Provincial and local initiatives will be presented. Lessons learned will be shared. A discussion with audience will help the participants to suggest effective ways to further use the Internet in local initiatives.

Example of initiatives:

• Heart and Stroke Foundation Blood Pressure Action Plan
• Evidence to Practice Project
• BRAINSAVE
• Rehabilitation Education Program for Stroke (REPS) – On-line Education
• Towards Evidence Informed Practice Project and use of Live Meeting
• Grey Bruce Rural Community Partnership in Resource Exchange for Healthy Living –Information Prescription Project.

Future:

• Stroke Blog
• Virtual Reality
• Telerehabilitation

A recently deployed syndromic surveillance project has forged new communication links between the community hospitals in Grey-Bruce and the Grey Bruce Health Unit (Health Unit). ECADS – which stands for “Early CBRN” (Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear) Attack Detection by Computerized Medical Record Surveillance – is a new electronic software application designed to identify emerging outbreaks of illness in the community. Each of the 11 rural hospitals in Grey-Bruce are ECADS participants, as is the Owen Sound site of Grey Bruce Health Services (GBHS) which houses the server.

ECADS uses data as reported by patients who visit area hospital Emergency Rooms (ER). Based on an archive of illness profiles, the technology assigns ER patients’ chief complaints into one of eight illness categories or syndromes – respiratory, gastrointestinal, constitutional, rash, hemorrhagic, botulinic, neurological, and “other”.

Data received from all area ERs is analyzed at the GBHS central processing site four times during each 24-hour period. When a predetermined probabilistic threshold of illness is exceeded in any illness category, the system will generate an alert. When this happens, the Health Unit determines the authenticity of the alert by reviewing the particulars.

A recently released ECADS respiratory alert prompted the Health Unit to suspect that Pertussis (whooping cough) may be involved. Local ERs received a Physician’s Advisory
that provided preliminary notice that children with these symptoms may not be isolated random cases, but part of a suspected Pertussis cluster. ER personnel were also requested to obtain specimens for laboratory confirmation of the disease.

The value of ECADS to provide an early warning of community-wide illness was demonstrated recently by a retrospective simulation conducted by Richard Davies. Dr. Davies used patient data from the Walkerton, Ontario outbreak to show that the outbreak could have been identified up to three days earlier than it was. This offers a significant opportunity for hospitals and public health to diminish the impact of an emerging public health threat and to strengthen outbreak identification and control protocols with other partners and the greater medical community.

This project has been in place at GBHS for six months, but its real-time simultaneous ability to provide advanced warning of outbreaks of illness in the community may prove invaluable. This technology has allowed the roles of the community hospital and the Health Unit to provide an enhanced approach to identifying and managing potential threats to public health.

Dr. Hazel R. Lynn is the Medical Officer of Health at the Grey Bruce Health Unit.