CHANGES IN FUNDING

As a reminder, April 1, 2022 brought in changes to the level of financial, administrative, and organizational support that can be offered by the LTCI due to shifts in funding.

LTCI regular operations will remain unaffected:

1. The LTCI encourages sites to meet regularly with their CORE or TORCH physicians. LTCI funding is still available for physician attendance at up to two interdisciplinary (eg. CORE, TORCH) quality meetings per site, per fiscal year. Funds for additional meetings can be requested in writing.
2. The LTCI Learning Series events will continue
3. The LTCI’s after-hours call groups will continue to provide after-hours support
4. Physician quarterly payments and supports remain unaffected
5. Our Program Consultant is available to assist sites with issues related to medical coverage or medical practice model implementation and maintenance, upon request.

As always, thank you for your dedication to long-term care. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

REMEMBERING DR. CAROL JENKEN

We at the LTCI are saddened by the passing of Dr. Carol Jenken. Carol was an integral member of the long-term care community with a compassionate and kind heart. A celebration of Carol's life will be held on Thursday, July 7, 2022, in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens, 4665 Falaise Drive from 2:00-4:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Cancer Research Society. Condolences may be offered to the family at mccallgardens.com. View a message from her family here. 

SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

Earlier this month, CEO of Island Health, Kathy MacNeil, shared her support for people who are impacted by the war. Since the invasion began, Island Health has been able to respond to a call for specific equipment, by providing the following: 20 beds, 4 cribs, 2 equipment chairs and 2 Broda chairs. For the full story, click here.

WELCOMING ERIN BALLARD

Erin Ballard is the new Long-term Care Wounds Nurse with Island Health. Erin recently participated in a LTCI Learning Series presentation on wounds alongside Shelley Barnes. You can find notes and a recording of the presentation on our resources page here. Erin is available for referrals from Island Health owned and operated and affiliate sites. View Erin Ballard's Referral Form here or contact her at: Erin.Ballard@islandhealth.ca

QUALITY OF LIFE AFTER FEMORAL FRACTURES

A new study out of the Netherlands sought to answer the question: Is nonoperative management of proximal femoral fractures a viable treatment option for selected frail patients with limited life expectancy compared with operative management? Ultimately, they found that in patients who chose nonoperative management, the health-related quality of life was not inferior to that in patients who received surgical treatment. Their findings suggest that, following shared decision-making, nonoperative management is a viable option for frail institutionalized patients with a proximal femoral fracture at the end of life and that surgery should not be a foregone conclusion for these patients. You can find the details of this study on our website here. For more on the discussion you can view and leave comments here.

BE A PART OF "DOCTORS OF BC: OUR STORIES"

We know the world expects a lot from doctors and that is why we want to remind British Columbians that doctors are humans too. Given the hardships of the past two years, now more than ever it is important to get this message across and we want to share your story through the new “Doctors of BC: Our Stories” campaign. Through this campaign we will portray the life changing events and unique emotional journeys our doctors have experienced during their time in medicine or at a turning point in their career. Complete the submission form and tell us in your own words – and by sharing a few photos – how a specific occurrence or encounter has changed your outlook on medicine, the course of your practice and/or your patients’ lives, and what you have learned from it. There are a series of questions that will serve as food for thought, including further details on how to submit your story. The campaign launches this month, follow their Instagram account @doctorsofbc to see the series as well as comment and share your colleagues’ stories. Questions? Email sjalali@doctorsofbc.ca

WORKING GROUP RECRUITMENT 

The Learning Series Working Group will be reconvening in June of 2022 to steer topics for our popular Learning Series events. If you are interested in joining the working group, please reach out to the LTCI team at VictoriaSouthIsland.LTCI@victoriadivision.ca. Physicians will be compensated at the sessional rate for their time.

MISSED IT?

Did you miss our LTCI learning series event, ‘The Eden Alternative’ with Cheryl George and Suellen Beatty? You can find presentation slides, video, and session handouts on our Learning Series resources page.

LEARNING SERIES SURVEY 

We are running a survey on historical topics and future proposed topics for our popular learning series. Click the button below to help steer topics for this upcoming year!

*NEW* UTI SBAR

The LTCI has developed a new tool to facilitate clear communication between care home staff and physicians. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most diagnosed infections in long-term care, and a common reason for calls to physicians. It can be difficult to differentiate between a UTI that requires antibiotic treatment and asymptomatic bacteriuria, which does not require antibiotic treatment. The new UTI SBAR aims to help care home staff and physicians make this differentiation. You can read more about best practices on this topic here or find a direct link to the UTI SBAR on our website here

RESOURCES

Detailed information on Masking Policies in LTC homes can be found on the BCCDC website here

The BCCDC releases a weekly Long-Term Care, Assisted Living & Independent Living Report outlining current cases of Covid-19 in care homes. The most recent report can be found linked here

Interested in learning how to facilitate culturally safe Advance Care Planning conversations with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds? A 2 hour, three-module, eLearning course is available here

Find information about the BC Centre for Palliative Care, and the supports and resources they provide, here

The Pain Foundations for Primary Care Providers course is a free, online, and self-paced (12-15 hrs) pain science and chronic pain management course for doctors and other health professionals offered by Pain BC. Find more details and course registration info here.

Choosing Wisely in Long-term Care Toolkit available here.

BC Patient Safety & Quality Council Long-term Care Resources available here

Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Using the Age Friendly 4Ms to Better Advocate for Older Adults” available here

EVENTS

May 9-15, 2022: It is national nursing week and time to celebrate the nurses in your life! To read more, you can visit the Canadian Nurses Association's website.

May 10, 2022: 18:30–20:00 PDT Systemic Racism in Healthcare. Learn more and register here.

May 16-18, 2022: IHI Patient Safety Congress, Virtual and Dallas, TX, USA. Register by April 15 for the early bird rate. Explore the agenda and register here.

May 18, 2022: 09:00-12:15 PT. Advocacy for Change: Doctors of BC Virtual Course. Free for members. More information here.

Spring 2022 GPSC Billing Webinar Series: For details and registration, visit the GPSC website.

• May 19, 2022: GPSC fees part 3: Prevention, mental health, palliative.
• June 9, 2022: Case-based experiences.

May 31-June 2, 2022: This year’s Quality Forum is being held at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver with the theme Healing Together, Emerging Stronger. Register now.

May 31, 2022: The Joint Collaborative Committees (JCC) will present their annual JCC Pre-Forum titled “Regroup, Reflect, and Evolve: Strengthening Our Community of Caring,” as part of the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council’s Quality Forum. Click here to read more about the JCC Pre-Forum

June 10-June 11, 2022: Save the Date for the Island Medicine Conference, time TBD. Hosted by Island Health and in collaboration with the Island Medical Program, UBC Faculty of Medicine, and the University of Victoria. This event will be held at the Victoria Convention Centre, BC.