Entre Nous
April 2017 - Long-term care
Post-fire recognition event
On the afternoon of March 23, Saint Louis Residence held an event to thank employees, residents and community members affected by the January 30th fire. Thank you again to all!
Falls Prevention Leadership Team Corner
Welcome to our Falls Prevention Leadership Team Corner. This initiative is linked to our best practices in fall prevention. Everyone has a role to play in preventing falls, so join us in our continued quest to reduce falls for our residents. Ensure your loved one wears only shoes with nonskid soles when walking (not Crocs or mule slippers). It is also important for the resident to wear adaptive clothes, thereby making it easier to undress when they toilet themselves. Look for more tips in next month’s newsletter!
Quality improvement in long-term care
Quality improvement is an ongoing priority that helps us continually transform resident care. In 2017, we will focus on four indicators:
- the resident experience;
- the potentially inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics;
- the prevention of pressure ulcers;
- the prevention of falls.
Stay tuned for more information to be posted on the Quality Matters boards on the units.
Best Practice Spotlight Organization
During a symposium in March, Melissa Donskov had the chance to present the great work we are doing on our Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) initiatives such as falls prevention and oral care. Saint-Louis Residence is one of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s Long-Term Care BPSO.
Welcome to the long-term care students
At Bruyère, learning is one of our fundamental values. Welcome to the twenty-some students who started their placement at our two long-term care homes in March!
The personal support worker students come from the Préposé aux services de soutien personnel program at Le Carrefour. They get to put in practice what they have learned and develop their competences working with residents. The other students are from La Cité and Algonguin College. These students are finishing their degree to become a registered practical nurse (RPN). During this six-week internship, they are paired with a RPN and experience the therapeutic relationship between the nurse and the resident.
Research corner
Ontario long-term homes care for residents until the end of life and many have embraced a hospice palliative care approach. This approach is guided by a philosophy, value, and care practice that aims to relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for persons who are living with, or dying from, advanced illness.
Clear communication at the end of life is particularly important. Algonquin College and the Bruyère CLRI have developed a comprehensive set of learning materials on this topic. Visit http://clri-ltc.ca to watch a webinar by palliative care nurse educator, Ruth Richardson, on using the palliative care approach to inform communication at the end of life.
Élisabeth-Bruyère Residence
Pressure ulcers
The residents’ skin is fragile and a precious barrier against infections. Prevention of pressure ulcers is the February and March theme in continuing education at the Élisabeth Bruyère Residence. This subject represents a mandatory education topic in long-term care. Employees are reviewing best practices in pressure wound prevention through a module that includes a poster, a booklet and a quiz. It is our employees' duty to examine each resident's skin at each shift, to see if there are changes and to share this information.
Respecting residents' privacy
"Residents do not live in our workplace, we work in their home."
It is important to respect residents’ privacy. Before entering a resident’s room, visitors and employees should knock on the door, wait for a response and only enter upon permission. If there is no response, knock again and announce your name and the reason of your visit.
Saint-Louis Residence
Learn computer skills
Are you on Facebook? Would you like to know how to operate your iPad or iPhone, or simply learn basic computer skills? A dedicated volunteer would like to teach residents and tenants how to use their electronic devices. If you are interested, please contact us at loisirsrsl@bruyere.org or at 613-562-6262, ext. 2509.
Bed rails and bed entrapment
In long-term care, bed rails are perceived as equipment to help keep residents safe. However, in some situations, bed rails pose risks, one of which is bed entrapment. This means that a resident could become trapped in the spaces around or between the bed rails, mattress and/or bed frame. In an effort to ensure the safety of our residents, the use of bed rails is the subject of a quality improvement project. The project is based on best practices set by Health Canada and supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. We will keep you informed as this project moves forward. Thank you for your collaboration!
Optimizing the laundry services
We are currently working to optimize the laundry services at Saint-Louis Residence. In an effort to standardize and distinguish families who do their loved one’s laundry, a new laundry hamper has been purchased by the residence and has been placed in the room of the residents in question. Please do not move these nice blue and grey striped hampers.
Do you have a funny, touching, story that is worth sharing? Send it to Anne-Laure Grenier (agrenier@bruyere.org or ext. 2518).