News and Stories

Bruyère awarded CABHI funding for innovative projects

04/27/2018

Bruyère Continuing Care conducts innovative research every day, and new funding is the key to allowing this innovation to continue. Most recently, Bruyère has been selected as the recipient of funding from the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), through their Spark Program and Researcher-Clinician Partnership Program (RCP²). The successful Spark projects are the Path to Home Passport and LIFEView initiatives, and the successful RCP² project is RESPECT.

What is the Path to Home Passport?

Discharging from a rehabilitative hospital stay is often an overwhelming endeavor for patients with dementia and their caregivers. It can be a great challenge trying to remember all of the advice and instructions given by staff, and so the Bruyère Geriatric Rehabilitation Program has been developing a solution to make the transition from hospital to home more seamless – The Path to Home Passport.

The Path to Home Passport is a workbook to be completed by the patient or caregiver before they are sent home, prompting questions to be asked and answered about what matters most to them in this transition. The passport also ensures that discharge instructions are written in an easy to understand way, as it is very important for seniors and caregivers to receive information that is accessible and can be easily shared with their primary care team.

This initiative received $49,544 in funding from CABHI’s Spark Program. The funds will be used for further expansion and testing, including using best evidence to develop a mobile application for patients and caregivers to use. The research will take place at Bruyère, in the John and Jennifer Ruddy Geriatric Day Hospital and the Geriatric Rehabilitation Programs.

 

Team Members	Roles
Debbie Gravelle	Team Lead, Executive Sponsor
Helen Niezgoda	BRI Operations Manager
Max Paultre	Technology Lead
Dr. Jay Mercer	Physician Consultant – Primary Care
Dr. Anne Harley	Physician Consultant – Geriatric Rehabilitation Program
Dr. Anne Monahan	Physician Consultant - Chair, BCC Care of the Elderly Physicians’ Association (COEPA)
Dr. Chantal Bachman	Knowledge Translation Consultant
Chantal Séguin	Clinical Manager – Geriatric Rehabilitation Program
Jessica Singh	Physician Assistant – Restorative Care
Patrick Hurteau	Director of Professional Practice for Allied Health
Harvinder Singh	Pharmacist
Judith Minorgan	Social Worker
Carol Ryall	Privacy and Security Consultant
Robert Arsenault	Graphic Arts Specialist
Bruyère Library Services	Literature Review and Library Services
Sandra Schmidt	Project Coordinator and Nurse

 
 

What is LIFEView?

Reminiscence that helps an individual to reflect on and communicate one’s life story is called life review and is an important part of bringing one’s life to a close. Music is documented as being an enjoyable and emotionally-engaging aid to stimulate recall of memories. Less is known about the use of meaningful video recordings of places known to the older adult. In an effort to connect with these patient memories the Bruyère Palliative Care Team has been looking to innovative approaches for delivering  reminiscence therapy – thus emerged LIFEView.

LIFEView is a new innovation based on the MOTiView solution, an audio and video library with over 1,200 items to select from.

The LIFEView research team will be using the CABHI funding to explore this use of music and video in creating reminiscences for life review and to improve the quality of life of patients admitted to palliative care. The research will take place on the Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit and within patients’ homes. LIFEView has not been used in palliative care to date thus this project will open a new vertical for the industry partner. 

 

Team Members	Roles
Rebekah Hackbusch	Project Lead and Clinical Chaplain
Dr. Jill Rice	Interim Chief of the Division of Palliative Care and Physician Lead for the Regional Palliative Consultation Team (RPCT)
Dr. Peter Lawlor	Palliative Care Physician and Clinician Investigator
Dr. Shirley Bush	Palliative Care Physician and Clinician Investigator
Anne Mantha	Director of Clinical Programs, EBH
Marie-Eve Pinard	Social Worker
Mary-Anne Bourque	Clinical Chaplain
Mario Daponte	Clinical Manager
Marie-Claude Legacy	Practice Support Nurse
Monisha Kabir	Research Assistant

What is RESPECT?

Most people want to die at home surrounded by their family and loved ones. For many, having the support they need to die at home starts with a discussion about what to expect. This often doesn’t happen. Part of the challenge is overcoming the difficulty of talking about death.

Drs. Peter Tanuseputro and Doug Manuel, along with their colleagues from research institutions across Canada, have developed a web-based tool – the RESPECT CALCULATOR – specifically for this need. They are now refining and evaluating the tool before implementation in Canada.

RESPECT is short for Risk Evaluation for Support: Predicting Elder life in the Community Tool. It is a predictive tool that calculates how long you will live based on questions you answer. These questions surround your health condition, such as what diseases you have and how difficult it is to care for yourself. RESPECT is for people or their caregivers who are uncertain whether they are approaching the end of their life. RESPECT can also be used by formal caregivers such as physicians, home care staff or palliative care teams.

This project received $249,000 in funding to continue their efforts for 15 months. This CABHI funding will help further develop RESPECT, and engage in evaluating its impact on older adults and their caregivers.