In-home services: COVID-19 information
Effective April 6, 2023, the Provincial Health Officer provided an update on the official end of the respiratory season and many of the remaining COVID-19 Provincial Health Orders have been lifted. To learn more about these changes, please see: Acute care and hospital visitor information.
Home health provides a wide range of health care needs and personal support services to residents throughout the Northern Health region – in their homes, at clinics and other community locations. These services will complement and supplement, but not replace the efforts of individuals to care for themselves, with the assistance of family and friends.
If and when required, Home Health will assesses the need for other levels of care such as assisted living or residential care and can help with the transition to appropriate care needs, including home-based end-of-life care.
Information on eligibility, referral and applications for services can be found on the accessing services page. Information on associated costs for services can be found on the costs page.
Home health services
Acquired brain injury is damage to the brain, which occurs after birth and is not related to a congenital or degenerative disease (World Health Organization, Geneva 1996). In Northern Health, home and community care works in partnership with mental health and substance use to provide services to clients with a brain injury.
For more information visit mental health and substance use, or contact the Acquired Brain Injury Program, at 250-565-7393 (Prince George).
More information about acquired brain injury can be found at:
Adult day programs assist seniors and adults with disabilities to continue to live in their own homes by providing supportive group programs and health services that assist with daily activities of living and give clients a chance to be more involved in their community.
Case managers act as coordinators to help eligible clients obtain home and community care services. They determine the nature, intensity and duration of services that would best meet clients’ needs and arrange their services.
The case manager will stay in touch with the client to arrange care services and make any adjustments necessary in the event their care needs change.
CSIL is an alternative option for eligible home support clients. CSIL was developed to give British Columbians with disabilties and high-intensity care needs more flexibility in managing their home support services. CSIL is a “self-managed model of care.”
Clients receive funds directly for the purchase of home support services. They assume full responsibility for the management, coordination and financial accountability of their services, including recruiting, hiring, training, scheduling and supervising home support workers.
Community Rehabilitation is a professional service, delivered to eligible clients in the community by rehabilitation therapists who provide assessment and treatment to ensure a client’s home is suitably arranged for their needs and safety.
Palliative care is the care offered to a person whose disease is no longer curable. It is not offered with the intent to speed up or delay death. It's purpose is to provide comfort to the patient and family by addressing physical, emotional, social, spiritual and information needs. The Northern Health Palliative Care Program offers support to the health care team to help patients enjoy the best possible quality of life until death.
Northern Health also offers access to publicly subsidized hospice beds in a number of our residential care facilities. Hospice beds are available to those people with progressive life-limiting illnesses. For more information about hospice care services, please contact your family doctor or nurse practitioner. Your health care team will ensure you have the knowledge and understanding of your situation to enable you to make informed decisions.
Learn more about our end-of-life care and publicly subsidized hospice beds in residential care sites, available at our End-of-Life Care page.
The HSCL program provides non-emergency nursing, rehabilitation, dietary and dental hygiene services to adults who live in the community and have a developmental disability and are eligible for services under Community Living British Columbia (CLBC).
Community Living BC provides support and services to people with developmental disabilities and their families. For more information, visit Community Living British Columbia.
Home care nursing, or community nursing, is professional services, delivered to eligible clients in the community by registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Nursing care is available on a non-emergency basis for British Columbians requiring acute, chronic, palliative or rehabilitative support.
The Northern Health Home Oxygen Program (HOP) provides oxygen services at home through private home care companies. Clients must qualify according to the BC HOP Medical Criteria (PDF). Please talk to your family doctor or nurse practitioner to see if you are eligible for these services.
Qualifying clients will be set up in a timely manner with the appropriate equipment as determined by the HOP and the home care provider. They will perform ongoing assessments to ensure that oxygen needs are being met and the client continues to qualify for the program.
Home support services are designed to help eligible clients remain independent and in their own home as long as possible. Home support provides personal assistance with daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and medication assistance.
Lifeline is an easy-to-use medical alarm service designed to reduce the risk of living alone. In the event of a fall emergency, help is available at the touch of a button. The Lifeline Personal Help Button connects you to a trained Personal Response Associate who can send help quickly – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For more information, contact the NH Lifeline office at 250-645-3758, or toll-free at 1-800-851-0184
More information
- For more information on Home Health Services, contact your local Home Health / Community Services office.
- For more information about Home and Community Care services in BC, visit the BC Ministry of Health Home and Community Care.