The Canadian Nurses Association is lobbying hard for a national strategy to adequately fund and administer health care in the home.
The Association has released a report with recommendations including allocating $3-billion in the next federal budget and a framework that tells Canadians how the system is working.
President Barb Shellian and ten other teams from the Association took part in meetings on Parliament Hill. She met with the Parliamentary Secretary to federal Health Minister Jane Philpott, Carmel Carroll and says the meeting as fruitful.
"Carmell is a registered nurse, so she's very aware and in tune with the issues that we've identified," says Shellian.
Shellian says healthcare professionals want greater support for home care. Patients also want it, and it is cheaper.
"Hospital care costs on the average of $1,000 per care where as care in the home is closer to $55 a day," she says.
While Canada's population is getting older, Shellian says home care isn't just a strategy for the aged. She says it is something all Canadians can use.
"Home care is for children who may be having a chronic disease, young people who are suffering from cancer, people who have had surgery and have been discharged from hospital," says Shellian.