⁠Nursing Care – Freiheit Care

Nursing Care in Ottawa

Skilled Clinical Care at Home — So a Hospital Stay Doesn't Turn Into a Hospital Life

There’s a specific kind of fear that comes with a discharge folder: a wound that needs redressing, an insulin pen nobody in the family has used before, a medication schedule that has to be exactly right. Our registered nurses take that responsibility off your hands and deliver hospital-level clinical care in the place your family member actually wants to be — home.

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The Care a Hospital Gives You — Delivered Where You Actually Live

Modern hospital discharge happens fast, and the instructions that come with it are often more than families expect to manage alone: change this dressing daily, check blood sugar four times a day, watch for these specific signs of infection, take this medication at exactly this time. It’s a lot to hand someone who isn’t a nurse.

Freiheit Care provides skilled nursing at home across Ottawa, Kanata, Nepean, Barrhaven, Orléans, Vanier, Stittsville, Gloucester, Manotick, and into Gatineau and Aylmer — medication management, wound care, post-surgical support, chronic disease monitoring and palliative nursing, delivered or directly supervised by a Registered Nurse.

The goal is simple: give your family member the clinical care a hospital would give, without the hospital — and give you back the role of family member instead of unpaid nurse.

Call 613-518-8258 for a free consultation — no obligation, no pressure.

The Choice Isn't "Home or Hospital." It's "Home With Nursing, or Home Without."

Most families don’t actually choose between a hospital bed and home. They choose between managing a medical situation alone at home, or having a nurse do it with them. The first option is where preventable readmissions come from — a wound that gets infected because nobody caught it early, medication taken wrong because the schedule was confusing, a chronic condition that quietly slides out of control between doctor visits.

A registered nurse in the home closes that gap. Regular clinical assessment catches problems while they’re still small. Correct medication administration prevents the errors that land people back in the ER. Skilled wound care heals faster and with fewer complications than a well-meaning family member managing gauze and tape from a printed instruction sheet.

Hospital readmission within 30 days is common and often preventable. The difference is frequently whether anyone clinical was watching in between.

What Our Nursing Care Includes

Delivered by Registered Nurses and RPNs, built around what your physician has already prescribed and what your family actually needs.

Medication Management and Administration

Setting up, administering and monitoring prescribed medications, including oral, topical, injectable and inhaled. We catch interactions, missed doses and side effects before they become a crisis — and we teach the client or family to manage it confidently when that's the goal.

Wound Care and Dressing Changes

Assessment and treatment of surgical wounds, pressure injuries, diabetic ulcers and chronic wounds, with a plan developed alongside your physician and reviewed as healing progresses. Regular, skilled attention heals faster and catches infection early.

Post-Surgical Recovery Support

Mobility support, pain management, wound monitoring, and watching for the specific complications that follow surgery — infection, blood clots, breathing problems. The support that turns "sent home too soon" into a safe recovery.

Chronic Disease Management

Ongoing nursing support for diabetes, heart disease, COPD and other chronic conditions — blood sugar monitoring and insulin administration, vital signs tracking, symptom management, and coordination with your physician when something changes.

Catheter, Ostomy and Continence Care

Insertion, maintenance and troubleshooting of catheters, ostomy care, and bowel program management — the kind of care most families are understandably reluctant to take on themselves.

IV Therapy and Injections

Regular checks of blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, blood sugar and general condition, with findings reported directly to your family and physician — early warning instead of surprise.

Vital Signs Monitoring and Health Assessment

Regular checks of blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, blood sugar and general condition, with findings reported directly to your family and physician — early warning instead of surprise.

Oxygen Therapy and Respiratory Support

Setup, monitoring and troubleshooting of home oxygen equipment, and support for clients managing COPD or other respiratory conditions who need more than a family member can safely provide.

Palliative and End-of-Life Nursing

Comfort-focused clinical care for serious or terminal illness — pain and symptom management, dignity, and a nurse who understands that at this stage, quality of the time remaining matters more than anything else.

PSW, RPN, or RN — What's the Difference, and Who Do You Need?

Most home nursing plans use a mix — an RN designs and oversees the plan, an RPN delivers much of the day-to-day skilled care. That’s exactly how we structure it, so you never have to work out which professional a situation needs.

When Families Call Us About Nursing Care

After Hospital Discharge or Surgery

Sent home with a wound to dress, a drain to manage, or a new medication schedule, and nobody in the family is a nurse. This is the most common reason people find us, and often the most time-limited need.

Managing a Chronic Condition

Diabetes, heart failure, COPD, kidney disease. Conditions that are manageable at home with the right monitoring, but where things can turn quickly if nobody clinical is watching for it.

A Wound That Isn't Healing as Expected

Pressure injuries, diabetic ulcers, surgical wounds that look wrong, or dressing changes too complex or painful for a family member to manage confidently.

Palliative and End-of-Life Care at Home

Families who want their loved one to stay home for their final weeks or months, with pain and symptoms genuinely managed by someone clinically trained to do it.

Family Caregivers Handed a Medical Task They Didn't Sign Up For

Insulin injections. Catheter care. A dressing that has to be done exactly right. It's reasonable to not want to be your parent's nurse — that's a different relationship than the one you had.

Managing something like this?

One honest conversation, no obligation. We'll tell you what level of care fits.

Nursing Through Ontario Health at Home, Versus Private Nursing

Ontario Health at Home nursing. Ontario funds nursing visits at home for eligible clients, at no cost, typically arranged around hospital discharge or by physician referral. It’s genuinely good care — the trade-offs are visit windows rather than exact times, less continuity of who comes, and hours based on assessed need rather than what a family would prefer. If you’ve just been discharged and haven’t been connected to Ontario Health at Home, start there — ask your hospital’s discharge planner before you pay for anything privately.

Veterans Affairs Canada. Eligible veterans can receive funded nursing care through VAC. We’re an approved provider and manage the coordination directly.

Private insurance. Many extended health plans include a nursing care benefit. We provide itemized receipts with the nurse’s registration details for claims.

Private nursing. What Freiheit Care provides. You choose the schedule, get continuity of caregiver wherever clinically possible, and there’s no waitlist. Many families use public nursing hours as a base and add private hours for the gaps — evenings, weekends, or simply more frequent visits than the public system provides.

If Ontario Health at Home will cover what you need, we’ll tell you that on the phone. We’d rather be the agency you trust than the one you resent.

The Nurse Who Saw the Wound Last Week Knows What Normal Healing Looks Like

Clinical consistency isn’t a nicety in nursing care — it changes outcomes. A nurse who has followed a wound for three visits has a baseline: they know what it looked like last time, whether it’s improving at the expected rate, and what a new development actually means. A different nurse each visit is starting from zero, reading notes instead of seeing the trend.

The same applies to chronic disease management. A nurse who knows your father’s baseline blood pressure, his normal breathlessness on exertion, and how he behaves when something’s wrong will catch a real change faster than someone meeting him for the first time.

Caregiver and nurse turnover is the industry’s biggest quality problem, and the reason is pay. In May 2026, Freiheit Care was certified as a Champion Level Living Wage Employer by the Ontario Living Wage Network — the highest tier in Ontario. We pay above the living wage and build toward full-time hours with benefits, because that’s how you keep experienced nurses on a case long enough for continuity to matter.

Fair pay → nurses stay on the case → they know the baseline → they catch what’s actually new.

When to Call Us, and When to Call 911

Families managing a medical situation at home are often unsure where the line is, and that uncertainty is stressful on its own. Here’s a plain guide.

Call 911 or go to the ER for: chest pain, difficulty breathing, sudden confusion or loss of consciousness, signs of stroke (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech), severe uncontrolled bleeding, or a fall with a suspected broken bone or head injury.

Call your nursing team the same day for: a wound that looks infected — increasing redness, warmth, swelling, discharge or odour — a fever, blood sugar that’s badly out of range, new or worsening pain, confusion that’s new but not sudden, or simply something that doesn’t look right and you can’t explain why.

Bring it up at the next scheduled visit for: routine questions about medication timing, mild and stable symptoms already being managed, and general questions about the care plan.

We would always rather get an unnecessary call than a missed one. If you’re unsure, call.

Nursing Care Across Ottawa, Gatineau and the Surrounding Region

We provide nursing care wherever your family member is — their own home, a family member’s home, a retirement residence, or a long-term care home where additional one-to-one nursing is needed.

Bilingual nurses available — French-language nursing care across Vanier, Orléans, Gatineau and Aylmer.

What Happens After You Call

Nursing Care in Ottawa — Your Questions Answered

What does nursing care at home include?

Nursing care at home covers skilled clinical services delivered by a Registered Nurse or RPN: medication management and administration, wound care and dressing changes, post-surgical support, chronic disease monitoring, catheter and ostomy care, IV therapy and injections, vital signs monitoring, oxygen therapy, and palliative nursing. It's built around what a physician has prescribed and reviewed as the client's condition changes.

What's the difference between a PSW, an RPN and an RN?

A PSW provides hands-on daily care — bathing, dressing, mobility, meal support — but is not a regulated health profession and doesn't perform clinical tasks like injections or wound care. An RPN is a regulated nurse who provides skilled care for clients in stable condition, including medication administration and wound care. An RN is the most broadly trained regulated nurse, handling complex or changing clinical situations and overseeing the overall care plan, including RPN-delivered care.

Is nursing care covered by OHIP?

Ontario Health at Home funds nursing visits for eligible clients at no cost, usually arranged around hospital discharge or by physician referral. It's genuinely good care, though visit times are scheduled rather than chosen and continuity of nurse isn't guaranteed. If you've just left hospital and haven't been connected to it, ask your discharge planner before paying privately. Private nursing, VAC funding for eligible veterans, and private insurance benefits are the other routes.

Can a nurse manage my wound better than I can at home?

Usually yes, and the reason is assessment, not just technique. A nurse who sees a wound regularly can tell whether healing is on track, catch early signs of infection, and adjust the dressing and treatment plan as it changes — judgment that's hard to build from a printed instruction sheet. For anything beyond a simple, healing-well wound, professional wound care reduces complications and speeds recovery.

Will the same nurse come every visit?

We keep nursing assignments consistent wherever clinically possible, because continuity genuinely improves care — a nurse who's followed a case knows the baseline and catches what's actually new faster than someone seeing it for the first time. It's also why we became a Champion Level Living Wage Employer: fair pay is what keeps experienced nurses on a case long enough for that to matter.

Can you manage insulin injections and diabetes at home?

Yes. Our nurses handle blood sugar monitoring, insulin administration, and broader diabetes management, and can teach a client or family member to manage it confidently if that's the eventual goal. Diabetes management is one of the most common reasons families call us.

Do you provide post-surgical nursing care?

Yes — mobility support, pain management, wound monitoring, and watching for the specific complications that follow surgery, such as infection or blood clots. Post-surgical nursing at home is often what makes an earlier hospital discharge safe rather than risky.

What's the difference between calling your nursing team and calling 911?

Call 911 for chest pain, difficulty breathing, sudden confusion, signs of stroke, severe bleeding, or a serious fall. Call our nursing team the same day for signs of wound infection, fever, badly out-of-range blood sugar, new or worsening pain, or anything that doesn't look right. Routine medication or care-plan questions can wait for the next scheduled visit. If you're genuinely unsure, call us — we'd rather field an unnecessary call than miss a real one.

Do you offer palliative and end-of-life nursing care?

Yes. Comfort-focused nursing for serious or terminal illness, including pain and symptom management, delivered at home so families can spend the time that's left together rather than in a clinical setting.

Can nursing care be combined with personal care or home help?

Yes, and it usually is. Freiheit Care provides personal care, home help, dementia care and respite alongside nursing, under one plan and one team — a nurse managing a wound and a PSW providing daily personal care can be coordinated seamlessly, instead of two agencies that never talk to each other.

Do you offer nursing care in French?

Yes. Bilingual nurses are available across Ottawa, Vanier, Orléans, Gatineau and Aylmer. Nous offrons des soins infirmiers en français dans la région d'Ottawa-Gatineau.

How quickly can nursing care start?

Often within a few days of the free consultation, and faster for urgent post-discharge situations — tell us the timeline and we'll work to it.

Trusted. Loved. Recommended.

Real stories from Ottawa families who trust Freiheit Care for skilled, RN-led nursing at home.

Choosing a caregiving agency for a loved one is not an easy decision. After trying a few different options, we were incredibly fortunate to find Freiheit Care. From our very first phone call, we have been treated with kindness, respect, understanding, and professionalism. The caregivers are skilled, dependable, patient, and genuinely compassionate. They have taken the time to understand and handle my parents' unique needs, routines, and preferences.

Freiheit recently provided respite care in our home to allow my husband and I to take our first trip in 20+ years. They cared for our intellectually disabled son, teenaged daughter and our dog which allowed us to travel without worry. We received timely updates and knew that the care worker had the support of a nurse (if needed)as well as back up personnel. Meals, supervision, and companionship requirements, and detailed care instructions were followed to the letter. Highly recommend Freiheit for respite care.

For the past year and a half we have been receiving health care assistance from Freiheit. Helen, the co-owner, has been very efficient and pleasant to deal with. She quickly located a nurse with all the skills and values we were seeking, who is a great fit with us. She has checked with us a few times to make sure that things are going well and is easy to get in touch with. Her agency has an effective way of checking that her staff are present and prompt, not that we have had any concerns with that.

I have been a nurse for 23 years and have not had the pleasure of working with such a compassionate and caring team. From the CEO to HR..to payroll, I am treated with respect and am made to feel that I am much more than a number. I can reach out to any of the management team, at any time and am answered promptly. Everything from Communication to being paid is in a timely fashion. I would highly recommend having Freiheit as an employer to my colleagues. I am honoured to work for Helen and the team.

Most of all she told me that she and her physician- husband (co-owner of the company) were proud of their handpicked "team". Finally, she seemed just kind, just so kind and compassionate... you could hear it in her voice and feel it through the airwaves😊😊What a leader she is!! Thank you for your passion, Helen!

5.0

Average Rating

2019

Serving Ottawa Since

RN-Led

Clinical Oversight

100%

Vetted & Insured Caregivers

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Tell Us How We Can Help

You don’t need a diagnosis worked out or a plan already in place. Most families call holding a discharge folder, a new prescription, or a situation that’s simply become more than they can manage safely alone.

Tell us what’s going on and a registered nurse will help you work out what level of care is actually needed — including whether Ontario Health at Home is the better first call. No cost, no obligation.

Speak directly with our care team.
No call centers, no hold music.
We’re here when you need us.

Schedule your care at a time that works best for you. No obligation, just answers and guidance.

We typically respond within one business day.
We’re happy to help.

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