Behavioural Support Transition Units (BSTU)

What are Behavioural Support Transition Units? 

Behavioural Support Transition Units (BSTUs) (or “behavioural specialized units” [BSUs]) provide specialized care to individuals with responsive behaviours/personal expressions that cannot be effectively supported in their current environment and for whom all other applicable services (e.g. regular long-term care beds, community supports) have been fully explored.
Specialized care in a BSTU is required due to the frequency, severity and/or level of risk that the responsive behaviours/personal expressions pose towards themselves, co-residents, visitors and/or staff members. A BSTU offers specialized and increased staffing, a tailored environment, focussed behavioural assessment and enhanced care planning. Access to care in a BSTU is managed by Home and Community Support Services.
 
In response to the growing presence of the BSO population in Ontario’s BSTUs, the BSTU Collaborative launched in 2015, supported by the BSO Provincial Coordinating Office and brainXchange. The purpose of this collaborative is to bring together health care professionals, leaders and individuals with lived experience in order to promote person and family-centred best practices related to BSTUs. Products created by the BSTU Collaborative are listed below.

To learn more and/or join the BSTU Collaborative, please contact the Knowledge Broker.

Providing Person & Family Centred Care within Behavioural Support Transition Units (BSTU): The Critical Elements

This report is intended to be a resource for professional care providers across the spectrum of care that support individuals and families in the transitions of moving into and moving out of a BSTU.

Environmental Scan of Ontario's Behavioural Support Transition Units (BSTUs)

The BSTU Collaborative designed and facilitated an environmental scan of BSTUs in Ontario to establish an overall understanding and serve as a snapshot of existing BSTUs at a specific moment in time.