Seeking Your Input on the Nursing Home Legislation

Open house
Alberta Health is seeking your input on Nursing Home Legislation. Discussion topics will focus on care providers, eligibility, social and leisure activities and meal requirements. Click on the above image for more details.

Can hospitals stays lead to delirium?


It is not uncommon for people admitted to a hospital to experience confusion and anxiety. However, in some situations, this develops into delirium. This is especially true for the elderly population. What is delirium? What causes it? What can be done to decrease the likelihood of its occurrence?

In a recent article published in the Globe and Mail, these questions were addressed. If you have not had the opportunity to read, “How a disorienting hospital visit can lead to delirium,” you may wish to do so. Among other things, it will provide some insight into what can happen when someone you know is admitted to the hospital and how your presence can make a difference.

Trapped inside her own body

Imagine being conscious of what is happening around you but not being able to respond in any way. Imagine listening to doctors talk about you and the grave prognosis they held for you, without them realizing that you could hear every word.  You want nothing more than to tell people that you are okay but there is no way to do so because you are not asleep but not awake.  This is the reality Brisa Alfaro found herself in. Click here to read Alfaro’s story.

At 32, Brisa Alfaro experienced a brain-stem stroke, one that leaves patients paralyzed but painfully aware of the world.( National Post)

Continuing Care & Community Living Expo 2016

On Thursday, April 21st, the Continuing Care & Community Living – Expo 2016 was held in Calgary. This event, sponsored by Alberta Health Services and Covenant Heath, focused on introducing individuals and their families to new initiatives, opportunities and technologies relating to independence and aging.

Below are some tweets that @aircalgary sent while attending Expo 2016.

If you were unable to attend the Continuing Care & Community Living – Expo 2016 in Calgary, you have a chance to do so on Friday, May 6th in Edmonton, Alberta. As was the case in Calgary, admission and parking are FREE. To learn more about the event, including the topics that will be addressed, click on the image below.

Expo2016

What Does, “Like Family” Mean?

familyWhen talking about Family Presence, it is not uncommon for people to mention that the individuals whom they would want to be present with them in a hospital are not legally family members but are instead individuals who are “like family.” However, what does this terminology really mean?

While interviewing individuals for her latest book on friendship, Deborah Tannen frequently encountered the phrase, “like family.” As Tannen explains, “My friends are the sisters I was meant to have,” a woman told me. Another said that her friends are more precious than her sisters because they remember things from her past that her sisters don’t and can’t, since they weren’t there. And a man commented that he didn’t enjoy a particular friend’s company all that much, but it was beside the point: “He’s family.”

Through comments such as these and the descriptions and explanations people provided, Tannen garners an understanding of friendships, relationships and the concepts of family and “like family.”

Click here to read Tannen’s article.

Family Presence Heads to “The Hat”

On Friday, March 18th, @aircalgary, a member of the Patients 4 Change (Pts4Chg) community, set out for Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was there that the next Family Presence chat session was taking place. Below is @aircalgary’s overview of the day.

Friday March 18, 2016

The Canadian Mental Health Association’s cozy meeting room in Medicine Hat was the location of my second Family Presence coffee chat from 1 pm to 3 pm. Organized with the help of Lorna Scott, a local author, caregiver coach and trainer, Lorna brought together members of the Caregiver Coalition of Southeast Alberta for our chat on the Family Presence campaign in advance of April 4th Change Day here in Alberta. I brought the swag, cookies and balloons and Family Presence conversation cards. To learn more about this group that has been connecting caregivers in SE Alberta since 2009 see: https://www.facebook.com/CaregiverCoalitionOfSoutheastAlberta/.
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Webinar – Family Presence

Family Presence _Dec2015revJan8

 

As noted earlier, there is a Family Presence Campaign underway in Alberta. Part of this campaign sees the promotion of 24/7 visiting hours in Alberta’s care facilities.

The Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) also has a campaign focusing on family presence. Related to this, there is a webinar on Tuesday, February 16th, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., MST, entitled, “Better Together: Canadian Case Studies.” This presentation will highlight the Ottawa Hospital, which adopted family presence policies in September 2015. The webinar is free and is apt to have some valuable information.

Alberta Man Seeks Answers

What was supposed to be a joyous and memorable day for Belal Hossain and his family turned out to be much different.  Shortly after giving birth to their third child, Belal’s wife died.  There are many questions surrounding this event, with the primary one being, “How could this happen?”  Click here to read the full story.

Saturday Jan 23rd, 2016 First coffee chat about #FamilyPresence campaign!

conversations(The following was submitted by patient/family advisor – @aircalgary)

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Great conversation about:

  • There are no right words (e.g., patient, resident, client).  Person-centred care is the point. Family is whoever the person decides he/she wants to participate (or NOT) in his/her care.
  • Patient and Family Advisor wisdom shared- always have more than one patient and family Advisor on a quality improvement committee. Sometimes groups just going for numbers of advisors, or stories for tokenism. Look for genuine commitment on part of the committee to really listen and include to patient experience as an equal voice of truth in decision making.
  • Some committees are doing great, other staff members need orientation first before they include patient and family Advisors in their work.
  • Imagine Citizens is doing amazing work to ensure a clear citizen voice is available to shape healthcare improvements in patient and family centred care.

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Reminder – Family Presence Coffee Chat

reminderJust a reminder of the Family Presence Campaign coffee chat that will be held tomorrow, Saturday, January 23rd, at 10:30 a.m. at the Starbucks in Brentwood Village Mall in Calgary. (This Starbucks is located across the parking lot from the Bank of Montreal.  301 – 3630 Brentwood Rd. N.W.)  Come and join us for a coffee and hear more about the campaign and how you can get involved.  Hope to see you there!