This is a bi-weekly newsletter designed to create connections across the Long-Term Care and Assisted Living sector at Vancouver Coastal Health. It is an opportunity to share best practice and innovations, celebrate successes and get to know what our colleagues are doing at VCH, and beyond, to create the best possible experience for residents, families and staff at our homes. We want to build our COMMUNITY, so please share this newsletter widely and send us your stories! | My colleague, Josephine, and I were on our way out of Creekstone Care Home after a session with the staff and residents of the Special Care Plus. As we were leaving the front of the building, a sharply dressed man was parked out front, struggling to transfer his wife (a resident at Creekstone) into his car. Josephine and I helped the resident into the car and her husband was sincerely grateful for the assistance. He shared with us that it was their 50th wedding anniversary and he was taking her out for sushi in Horseshoe Bay – their favourite spot. As this was their golden anniversary, he was planning on gifting her a gold necklace and he was very excited for their special day together. Happy 50th anniversary to the happy couple! ~ Jill Wong, Clinical Resource Therapist, Long-Term Care & Assisted Living Professional Practice Team | Meet the VCH Ethics Team The VCH Ethics Team consists of 5 ethicists: Bethan Everett (for Vancouver Community of Care and Regional Programs), Julia Gill, Kristina Smith (for Coastal and Richmond Communities of Care), Kim Jameson (currently on maternity leave), and David Migneault (physician ethicist support for all VCH and affiliated sites). Ethics Services supports staff, leaders, physicians, patients and families in their process of deliberation concerning complex issues on what to do when there is values conflict or uncertainty, or they are experiencing moral distress. The goal is to come together to find some clarity and common agreement on what may be ethically justifiable option(s), all things considered at the time a decision needs to be made. The team provides three primary functions for all areas of practice across Vancouver Coastal Health: 1) Ethics Consultations with an individual Ethicist, a regional ethics committee or a small group of its members. This service is free, confidential and available to patients, clients, residents, substitute decision-makers, health care professionals and care providers. 2) Input into policy or guidelines by offering an advisory role to leadership, clinical and administrative units, and task forces to help analyze, develop, implement and assess various policies/guidelines that include an ethical component (e.g. DNAR, adverse event disclosure, Delivery of Food and Fluids, MAiD). 3) Ethics Education (informal and formal) such as unit-based rounds, brown bag lunch presentations, seminars, practicum, workshops and Ethics Conferences. To learn more about Ethics Services, visit http://www.vch.ca/your-care/ethics-services or to join their listserve please email: ethics@vch.ca |  Celebrating our Colleagues! The Province of British Columbia has proclaimed October 18, 2021 Health Care Assistant Day in honour of the over 38,000 health care assistants currently registered with the BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry, who are "essential to the safety and quality of personal care for patients, clients and all British Columbians."
Oct. 14, 2021 marked International Allied Health Professions Day, and the Ministry of Health-Allied Health Policy Secretariat announced that it will be acknowledging and celebrating this day of recognition. This will be a first for the Province of B.C. to formally recognize the broad range of professions that make up the allied health workforce and the critical role they play in our health system. October is Occupational Therapy Month! VCH OTs have been using the VCH intranet (oneVCH)'s High Five feature to celebrate each other throughout the month. Let's follow their lead and celebrate our colleagues in each of these wonderful and essential roles by giving them a high five, whether in-person or virtual! To all of the health care assistants, allied health professionals, and occupational therpists who provide exceptional care and who go above and beyond every day to provide the best possible experience for those they care for, we salute you! |  Community of Practice postponed. Due to third dose COVID booster clinics occuring at many homes over the next few weeks, Tuesday's Community of Practice meeting has been posponed. This month's topic will be deferred to the next meeting on November 16th @ 2 p.m.
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Missed a meeting? Recordings and resources from past meetings can be found in the LTC Community of Practice tab on this webpage (scroll to the bottom of the page to find the tab): https://bit.ly/3adaVkF |  Hearts and Hands Conference. SafeCare BC's Hearts and Hands is a conference for healthcare assistants in British Columbia with the goals of celebrating, educating, and inspriring. Since its inception, the Annual Hearts and Hands Conference has always been a chance to recognize and celebrate the hard work that healthcare assistants do on a regular basis. This year's conference will take place from October 18-22 and is FREE to all who register. While the conference is directed at healthcare assistants, the event's sessions and activities have relevance for anyone. You can participate at a time and place that is convenient for you. Aside from two live sessions, there are short, education sessions (10-18 minutes) and fun, interactive activities. New content will become available each day of the event. For more information, or to register, go to: https://www.safecarebc.ca/heartsandhands/
| National Long-Term Care Standard Survey Findings. As part of the development of the National Long-Term Care standard, the committee received over 16,000 responses to the Developing National LTC Services Standards: Your Opinion Matters! Survey. The survey insights are helping the LTC Services Technical Committee understand the themes that are important to Canadians when it comes to defining the type of care and services Canadians want to see provided in their long-term care homes. You can read the What We Heard Report #1 to learn more. There is also still time to submit a Consultation Workbook. The Consultation Workbook can be completed by anyone who is interested in providing their input on improving the delivery of long-term care in Canada, whether you are a long-term care resident, family member, health care provider, researcher or anyone else. Consultation Workbooks can be submitted until December 1st, 2021. Both the report and the Consultation Workbook can be found here: https://bit.ly/3p8HWHh |  LTC+ Acting on Pandemic Learning - September Webinar. The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council and Healthcare Excellence Canada's LTC+: Acting on Pandemic Learning Together September coaching session focused on structured communication and conflict management tools and strategies to help proactively alleviate challenges. To view the recording, visit: https://bit.ly/2YXwEu9. The next coaching session will take place on October 25th.
|  Research in Long-Term Care: Family Visits Through Robots. A team at UBC has been trialling the use of a "telepresence robot" to help connect families with residents using technology. These robots prop up iPads so residents can chat with friends and family virtually, without having to hold or operate the iPads themselves. Family members can book a time slot, and using an app, drive the robot to the bedside of their loved one, or to their lunch table, and visit in real time. When they’re done, the robot goes back to its charging station and the resident does not have to do anything. Right now, there are 10 prototype telepresence robots in four care homes at VCH. Lillian Hung and Jim Mann, study co-lead and patient partner, will observe their impact on social isolation over a three-year period. For more about this project, see this Global News article: https://bit.ly/3n4ttt0
| Previous issues of the Connections Newsletter can be viewed at: View past issues | | | | | |
