Description:

The Day Hospital team of health care professionals works with the patient to determine individual treatment goals (regularly reassessed throughout the program) to improve or increase the patient's independence.

The service features a supervised exercise program that focuses on cardiovascular fitness; upper and lower limb strength; endurance training; energy conservation; relaxation training and breathing control techniques.

The Day Hospital team educates patients about their disease and their medications, as well as how to plan and cope with day-to-day activities and independent living in the community.

The team ensures that a patient's family physician is kept up-to-date on his or her progress.

To download a brochure on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), click here.

Lungs and Breathing

The cost of the service is covered for patients with a valid Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) card issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Eligibility: Adults (18 years of age and older) with chronic lung disease (see "Referral Requirements" for more detail).

Patients must be:

• 18 years of age and older;
• In need of a minimum of three of the services offered by the program;
• A patient of a family physician in the community;
• Non-smokers (Day Hospital staff can provide information about appropriate smoking cessation programs);
• Medically and mentally stable (in order to fully participate in the program).

Referrals are accepted by fax from physicians and should include: medical history and relevant test results (ie: pulmonary function, chest x-ray, CT scan, oxygen or cardiac assessments) and patient demographic information.

Fax to: 416-243-3696 or call 416-243-3631.

A physician referral is required. To find out more on how to refer, visit here. To access the relevant referral form, click here.

For information about accessing the Respiratory Day Hospital, please call the Admitting Department at West Park Healthcare Centre at 416-243-3632, or email admitting@westpark.org.

For information about accessing the Respiratory Day Hospital, please call the Admitting Department at West Park Healthcare Centre at 416-243-3632, or email admitting@westpark.org.

The Day Hospital hours are Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Over the course of two to three months, a patient will spend approximately six hours a day, three times a week in the program. (Variations may be made to meet specific patient requirements.)

Upon discharge, patients will continue to be monitored through West Park's follow-up clinic. Whenever possible, these follow-up visits will be coordinated with a patient's medical appointments with a West Park respirologist.