Providence Healthcare’s Patient Flow and Admitting Team; Photo by Katie Cooper, Unity Health Toronto
Two sliding doors mark the entrance to the admissions area at Providence Healthcare. In the left corner, three small chairs circle a table where the waiting space is quiet and empty. In the right corner stands a mobile admitting station, and beside it, a door that remains perpetually ajar—always ready for the next patient.
On this day, Kathleen Alvarez, Admissions, Discharge and Transfer (ADT) Coordinator, greets a patient who has arrived from an acute care hospital. The patient is on a stretcher with a transfer board, coming to Providence for post-surgery rehabilitation. Kathleen confirms the usual details: name, date of birth, and family doctor.
“Have you been travelling outside of Canada in the last month?” Kathleen asks, and the patient shares she recently travelled with family. Between many smiles, laughter, and a humorous conversation about the patient’s recent travels, loved ones, and an “adoring dog,” Kathleen confirms there is no fever and no symptoms of a cold, flu, or COVID-19.
Kathleen gently removes her old identity bracelet, puts on a new one, and, even though the patient is on a stretcher, gives her a quick tour of the hospital and points out her room.
“Thank you, dear,” says the patient, and she is wheeled away.
These are the threshold moments at Providence that start with the Patient Flow and Admitting team. They define everything that follows.
Compassion rooted in patient need
In the office area next door, the Patient Flow and Admitting team is busy at work. Nazeefah (Naz) Hanif, the Operations Lead on the team, sits in the far corner in front of two screens. She is working to bring in a patient who has been making progress at another facility and wishes to transfer to high-intensity rehab at Providence. Within minutes, Naz is on the phone, organizing everything—confirming there are no infection issues, coordinating with the attending physician, requesting medical records, and arranging transport.
For Naz, admitting patients is as much an art as it is a science. She recalls a more complex admission from earlier in the day that required specialized equipment, added infection precautions, and careful space planning.
“This patient couldn’t go to a regular bed,” Naz says. “He needed a bed that’s wider, that extends, and a private room where isolation keeps everyone safe.”
She also remembers a woman from a few weeks ago who needed a specialized pediatric walker because she was very petite. The team accommodated her as soon as it was possible.
“Every detail matters,” says Naz. “We are the first point of contact. It all starts here.”
Innovation at every turn
Rony Toma, a Patient Flow Coordinator, has worked at Providence for 12 years, spending the last three on the Patient Flow and Admitting Team. When asked what makes the team innovative, he begins listing the extraordinary pathways the team has created that have enabled people across the Greater Toronto Area and the province to access the highly skilled expertise of Providence’s rehab specialists:
The Emergency Department Direct to Rehab Pathway: Providence was one of two pilot sites to provide direct access to rehab facilities from the emergency department. What started as a pilot project is now the standard of care across the GTA.
The Community Admission Pathway: Most hospitals only accept patients from acute care, but Providence opens another door. “People who are in the community and have a need for inpatient rehab, we can admit them through family doctors and even paramedic teams,” Rony says. “It’s something that a lot of other hospitals don’t do.”
The MS Pathway: Recently resumed after a COVID-19 pause, this partnership with St. Michael’s Hospital's BARLO MS Centre allows patients with multiple sclerosis to access direct admission to inpatient rehab when needed.
The Peritoneal Dialysis Pathway: For many years, Providence has been one of only two rehab hospitals across the GTA offering on-site peritoneal dialysis. “We are able to take patients who are on PD and actually do rehab with them here,” Rony says. It was this team that made it possible.
The Low-Intensity Amputee Rehab Pathway: As of a year ago, Providence became the only hospital offering this specialized care for amputees with complex needs who can’t handle high-intensity rehab.
What emerges is a portrait of a team driven by innovation, urgency, and compassion. Working seamlessly together, they anticipate needs, and enable access for patients with needs that are too complex for other hospitals.
Dignity in every interaction
Later, Rebekah Mohammed, ADT coordinator, admits a patient coming from home, not from a hospital—that’s the team’s Community Admission Pathway at work. There’s something comforting about how she works: laughing, joking, treating the admission like a casual conversation.
“I like to meet people on the same level,” she says. “I find that people just get along with you better when you speak to them like they’re human. Everyone has a better experience.”
Before the rehab program begins and the hard work of getting back to life starts, the Patient Flow and Admitting Team has said, through gentle actions and caring words: Welcome. You matter here. Thank you for your trust in us.
The Patient Flow and Admitting Team includes: Lindsay Martinek, Senior Clinical Program Director, Denise Ouellette, Clinical Manager (CM), Wendy Legacy, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Nazeefah Hanif, Operations Lead (OL), Shelley Allen, Operations Lead ALC (OL ALC), Mary Grace Lozano, Admissions, Discharge and Transfer Coordinator (ADT), Vinusha Vijayarajan (ADT), Stephanie Reece (ADT), Rebekah Mohammed (ADT), Alyssa Adato (ADT), Kathleen Alvarez (ADT), Saira Alibhai, Patient Flow Coordinator (PFC), Janell Mason (PFC), Rony Toma (PFC), Karen Yu (PFC), Sheri Corkum (PFC); Monica Mccullagh, Community Health Navigator (CHN); Erin Leneeuw (CHN); Cristina Pascual, Community Resource Worker (CRW), Samantha D’Souza (PFC).
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