Ortho Connect

Ortho Connect is a peer support program offering services by telephone and online to help orthopaedic patients prepare for surgery, for the hospital and for planning a recovery at home.

The Ortho Connect website has been designed to complement the telephone support service by providing patients with additional learning resources, tools to monitor progress and a forum to share experiences.

Developed by the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation, Ortho Connect is a free, telephone-based peer support program through which people newly referred for bone and joint surgery are matched with trained volunteers who have already undergone similar surgical treatment. Volunteers are trained to listen, support, and encourage, and to refer clients to community resources for information and assistance based on individual client needs and desires.

The purpose of the program is to enable patients to learn, understand, and become comfortable with their upcoming surgery, supported by a person who knows what they’re going through. After receiving a request for service, the Foundation matches a volunteer to the request usually within 48 hours. The program is similar to peer support programs such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s Reach-to-Recovery Program.

If you’d like to access the Ortho Connect Phone Program, call the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation at 1-800-461-3639, or click here to complete an application form.

For our Patient Information Resources, including educational booklets and Surgery Information Sheets click here.