Lise has osteoporosis, a condition in which bones thin and become susceptible to fracture. Since 1991, she has lost over six inches of her height and, until 2004, suffered years of debilitating pain and emotional stress.
That year Lise became a patient in the Grey Nuns Osteoporosis Clinic, where she learned more about her condition and started receiving new medication as part of a drug research program. Working with an osteoporosis specialist, the multidisciplinary Grey Nuns care team provided nutrition education and information about medication options and safe ways to exercise. They answered Lise's many questions and kept in close communication with her family physician.
Lise and many other patients with chronic illness and health conditions have come to Caritas outpatient clinics for assessment, treatment, and follow-up visits. Outpatient care is one of the fastest growing areas in health care as new technology and approaches allow more people to be treated without being admitted to hospital. Caritas outpatient clinics recorded almost 165,000 visits last year.
The clinics serve almost every area of medicine—from orthopedics to childhood asthma to wound care. Here, health professionals work together to form a network of support and collaborate to meet individual patient's needs.
"I feel like I have a team," said Lise, who is able to drive and live on her own. "When my life fell apart, they made me feel like my life counted."
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