Healthcare Partners

Assisted Living 613-256-1031

Assisted living services are publicly-funded, community-based health care services that provide eligible seniors with the personal support services needed to allow them to continue living on their own, or with an informal caregiver at home for as long as possible. These services are available in/near (within 10 minutes of) Almonte and Carleton Place and focus on the essential activities of daily living that an individual can no longer do, or finds challenging to do on their own, such as:

• Personal hygiene
• Dressing
• Medication Assist/Reminder
• Homemaking services
• Safety and reassurance checks (via phone or in person)
• 24-hour urgent response

Who We Are

• We operate as a hospice without walls.
• All services are offered free of charge.
• Our focus is palliative care support for adults and caregivers.
• We are managed by a Board of Directors.
• We employ both Registered Practical Nurses (RPN) and Registered Nurses (RN) who manage our Visiting Volunteer program and provide advocacy and guidance to our clients.
• We have a volunteer Program Admin Assistant, who is a retired Registered Nurse (RN)
• We support 55-65 clients on a regular basis
• We offer Public Education Programs including Practical Caregiver Training, U-First Training, Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Advance Care Planning, and more in the Spring and Fall.

Where We Operate

• We provide care at home— personal residence, long- term care home, retirement home or hospital.
• North Lanark — Almonte, Carleton Place, Appleton, Clayton, Beckwith, Blakeney, Pakenham, and surrounding areas.
• No special referrals are required from doctors or other health professionals.

What We Offer Our Clients

• We provide needs assessments.
• We have over 27 trained Visiting Volunteers who provide personalized care through comfort, compassion and support.
• We support family and caregivers as well.
• We provide education, including how to find other services available in the community.
• We value and respect confidentiality.
• Our services are based on a holistic approach, respecting culture, dignity and personal lifestyle preferences.

How We Reach Out to the Larger Community

• We offer Public Education Programs including Practical Caregiver Training, U-First Training, Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Advance Care Planning, and more in the Spring and Fall.
• We provide or source grief counselling and bereavement support, including four Grief and Bereavement Support Groups per year in Almonte and Carleton Place in spring and fall. We ensure that information and resources are available on our website.
• We regularly post information to our social media pages and the local media.

HHNL at a Glance 2024

• Comfort, Compassion, Advocacy and Support in Your Own Community
• We maintain relevant book collections at all public libraries in the area
•  We publish a quarterly e-newsletter that is sent to over 700 subscribers.

New for 2024

• We achieved Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) Accreditation for a three-year term in February
• A drop-in Caregiver Support Group is held in Almonte on a monthly basis at our office at Unit #2, 500 Ottawa Street
• We are coordinating a drop-in monthly Death Café also in Almonte at Unit #2, 500 Ottawa Street 
• A Day Hospice program will be held weekly in Carleton Place starting in July 2024. The Day Hospice will be a program for our clients who have a life altering, progressive illness to help make their lives a bit brighter and it will also give their caregivers some respite time as well.

Partnerships

• We are partnered with Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO), Champlain Palliative Care Program, Hospice Ottawa, Hospice Renfrew, Almonte and Carleton Place Hospitals, and the Lanark Leeds Grenville Paramedic Service.
• We are members of the 4 Rivers Ontario Health Team
• We are an affiliate member of the LLG Ontario Health Teams
• We maintain close ties with many local organizations such as the Alzheimer Society of LLG, Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program, Hospice Care Ottawa, and many others (hhnl.ca/community- partners/)
• Our “Comfort Crew” knit and crochet shawls, blankets and more for our clients and residents of long-term care.

How We Are Funded

• We are a registered Canadian charity that relies almost solely on donations and proceeds from our fundraising efforts. Canadian Registered Charity #821748134RR0001
• We run three main fundraisers each year — our Tree Fundraiser, an Online Auction and Hike for Hospice.

Access our assistance by visiting our website at www.hhnl.ca, emailing our Program Coordinators at info@hhnl.ca, or calling 613-406-702 or 343-262-0902.

Lanark County Mental Health is a community based mental health service responding to Lanark County adults and transitional aged youth (17 years and over) who experience mental health concerns such as suicidal thoughts, trauma, anxiety, depression or symptoms of psychosis.

A multidisciplinary team including case managers, social workers, community mental health nurses, psychiatric consultants and social recreation worker provides a range of mental health services including crisis response, assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, court diversion and community supports. Mental health workers are on-site at our three local hospitals to provide comprehensive mental health assessments, resources and services to referrals received through the AGH and CPDMH Emergency Departments.

The Lanark L.E.A.D. Team Protocol includes local hospitals, police services, mental health and addiction services, ambulance services, child and youth services and schedule one hospitals in providing proactive crisis response to persons experiencing mental health concerns.

The Program also hosts specialized services including the Geriatric Psychiatry Outreach Team and general psychiatry consultants via service protocol agreements with Brockville Mental Health Centre (ROMHC). Affiliate teams include Dual Diagnosis Assertive Community Treatment Team, Assertive Community Treatment Teams, Early Intervention in Psychosis (Heads Up and On Track) and Dual Diagnosis Consultation Team.

Counselling and other clinical services are available to support adult victims of domestic violence and/or sexual assault trauma.

Services are provided confidentially, respectfully and within a shared care model of treatment which promotes recovery. All service enquiries are welcome.

Office Hours

AGH: Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

CPDMH:  

Main Office - 88 Cornelia St. W., Unit A2 Smiths Falls Tel: 613-283-2170.

Almonte General Hospital – 75 Spring Street Almonte, ON Tel: 613-256-2514 ext. 2249

A Satellite office in Carleton Place is located at 5 Bates Drive.

More information can be found on the Lanark County Mental Health website.

Lanark Transportation is a grassroots, not-for-profit association that connects people with life-enhancing community supports and services. They provide transportation to families, seniors, children, youth and others living in Lanark County and the Town of Smiths Falls so they may attend:

• Medical appointments
• Day programs
• Counseling services
• Social service appointments
• Food programs, and more

They also help people return home from hospital. (non-emergency / non-stretcher transportation).

Too learn more or book a ride please visit their website at https://lanarktransportation.com/ride-the-lt/.

Public health programs and priorities are established by the provincial government for all local public health organizations in Ontario, whose legislative mandate comes from the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA). The purpose of the HPPA is to “provide for the organization and delivery of public health programs and services, the prevention of the spread of disease and the promotion and protection of the health of the people of Ontario.”

The Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) are published by the Minister of Health and Long- Term Care under the authority of the HPPA. The OPHS are the minimum mandatory programs and services with which all Boards of Health must deliver.

The standards ensure the Health Unit has programs and services in the following areas:

• Chronic Diseases and Injuries (lifestyles and healthy living such as physical activity, nutrition, substance use prevention, mental wellness, oral health and healthy sexuality)
• Family Health (reproductive health, pregnancy, parenting, baby friendly initiative)
• Infectious Diseases (infection control, TB prevention and immunization)
• Environmental Health (safe water, food safety, rabies prevention, health hazards, hygienic personal and child care settings, built environments)
• Emergency Preparedness
• Health Equity (Food security, access to services, social connectedness)

The Health Unit is an on-site partner at the Almonte General Hospital and is located at 79 Spring Street Unit 2 in Almonte directly across from the Hospital’s parking lot. Office staff can be reached by calling 613-256-1203. Office Hours are Tuesdays 9:00am - 4:00pm Thursdays 9:00am - 4:00pm (Closed over the lunch hour). The Sexual Health Clinic hours are Tuesday 10:30am - 4:00pm (closed 12:00pm - 1:00pm). Immunizations Clinic is on Tuesdays from 9:00am - 10:00am by appointment only.

Main offices are in Brockville. For more information please visit the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit website or you can call 1-800-660-5853. You can also connect with us @LGLHealthunit on Facebook and Twitter.

Life labs is an on-site partner at the Almonte General Hospital and is located at 95 Spring Street. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday: 7:30 am to 3:30 pm and is closed on weekends and statutory holidays.

Clinical lab testing often provides few simple answers to commonly asked questions. For more information on lab tests, patient instructions, and what to expect when visiting a LifeLabs patient service centre please visit LifeLabs.com or call the Customer Care Centre toll-free at 1-877-849-3637.

To minimize your wait time at the patient service centre, we recommend you book an appointment for your next visit using the Online Appointment Booking Service at LifeLabs.com.

LifeLabs also accepts walk-in patients. A patient greeting computer system keeps all patients in order and those waiting for lab tests will be called accordingly.

When you visit the LifeLabs patient service centre, please bring:

• Requisition form – a valid and completed Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Laboratory Requisition form for the tests ordered by your doctor. Present this form to the medical laboratory assistant.
• A Valid health card - although most routine tests are covered under your provincial health insurance plan, some tests may not be covered.

Meet Our Team

Almonte General Hospital has three Obstetrician/Gynaecologists on Active Staff. The Hospital is designated as a level 1B/low-risk facility. The obstetrical team works together on-call. This shared model is key to retaining and sustaining our providers.

Drs. Awwad, Fadare and Matei provide a full range of obstetrical services to women of the Ottawa Valley, including appropriately selected high-risk patients. This may include women carrying twins, well-controlled diabetic or hypertensive (high blood pressure) mothers, and breech presentations. They all also offer external cephalic version (ECV) for persistent breech presentations, to help mothers avoid a cesarean section.

Any woman felt to be at a higher risk than is appropriate for AGH may be referred to another hospital, usually to colleagues at the Ottawa Hospital.

A broad range of gynecological services are available at AGH. All three perform minimally invasive surgery using laparoscopic and hysteroscopic procedures (“keyhole” or “camera” surgery). We have access to cutting-edge equipment that is measurably safer and more effective than similar devices.

Hysteroscopic procedures are done using the MyoSure Tissue Removal System and, as an alternative to hysterectomy and hormones, we offer the NovaSure Advanced Endometrial Ablation System. Almonte General Hospital is the only hospital in the Ottawa Valley that offers these two options to women requiring treatment for common gynecological concerns.

Drs Awwad, Fadare and Matei perform hysterectomies, and offer both vaginal and abdominal procedures to women desiring definitive treatment.

Dr Awwad is one of the few gynaecologists in the Ottawa area offering laser for genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GUSM). This novel option uses laser light as an alternative to hormones to effectively and safely treat this common concern. Note that this procedure is not covered by OHIP.

• Dr. Matei offers laparoscopic hysterectomies and removal of the tubes and/or ovaries, as well as colposcopy.
• Dr. Bahaa Awwad, MD, FRCSC , Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology - 613-256-8800
• Dr. Kayode Fadare, MD, FRCSC 613-256-8598
• Dr. Anca Matei, MD. FRCSC- 613-256-8598

The Ottawa Valley Family Health Team (OVFHT) is an on-site Partner at the Almonte General Hospital located at 95 Spring Street, Almonte.  The OVFHT brings together a variety of health care providers to coordinate the highest possible quality of care for our patients. The OVFHT is comprised of 30 family physicians, a Paediatrician, Dermatologist and Psychiatrist. The OVFHT’s team of interdisciplinary health care providers include: three primary care nurse practitioners, clinic nursing, mental health workers a dietitian and three consultant pharmacists. All our primary care services offered in Almonte are provided under one roof located on the Almonte General Hospital campus. The OVFHT is based out of its Almonte location and will add a second location with the development of the Carleton Place Regional Health Hub. The OVFHT offers its programming to Carleton Place and Beckwith residents at its Carleton Place Regional Health Hub. Multiple healthcare providers support each program (e.g., nurse practitioners, registered nurses, mental health therapists, registered dietitians, and pharmacists etc.

For more information, visit the Ottawa Valley Family Health Team's website.

The Ottawa Valley Family Medicine Obstetrics (FMOB), offers holistic care for low-risk pregnancies, combining personalized support from a group of OVFHT family physicians with access to a social worker and dietician.

During your pregnancy, you’ll have regular appointments with each FMOB Physician in the group, ensuring continuity of care. The FMOB serve low-risk women from west Ottawa, the Ottawa Valley, and Lanark County, with delivery privileges at Almonte General Hospital, featuring private postpartum rooms, labor and delivery suites, and onsite ultrasound services.

To join the program, have your doctor refer you or complete our online intake form. A team member will contact you within seven days. Experience the dedicated care of the Ottawa Valley FMOB team on your journey to motherhood!

For more information please visit the Ottawa Valley Family Medicine website.

The Ottawa Valley Midwives (OVM) are a group of 12 registered midwives, regulated by the College of Midwives of Ontario, who provide individualized care to healthy low-risk pregnant people and their families throughout pregnancy, birth, and the first six weeks postpartum. The OVM have privileges at both the Queensway Carleton Hospital and the Almonte General Hospital. They also attend home births throughout the catchment area. For more information you can contact Ottawa Valley Midwives.