Category Archives: Family Presence

A Hospital Halloween

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A Canadian hospital is helping make the hospital experience less spooky for parents of sick or premature newborns.

Yesterday, I was talking to some friends whose son is in the Alberta Children’s Hospital. According to J.W., they had spent over $60.00 for a Halloween costume for their two-year-old son, M.W. Unfortunately, due to a medical issue that arose on October 29th, the costume had not been worn and remains in its original bag.

Hearing this, I was reminded of an initiative that had been started by two nurses on a neonatal unit. The end result saw babies wearing handmade felt Halloween costumes at a hospital in Edmonton. Click here to read the story.

Understanding Dementia & Brain Health – Alzheimer Calgary

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If you will be in Calgary or area on the evening of August 29/2018, this may be an event you want to attend. Given that dementia is becoming a reality for more people, the information provided is apt to be relevant to you or someone you know.

Another Chance

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Senior’s Healthcare in Alberta – Have Your Say

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Do you live or work in the province of Alberta and are you:

  • an older adult (65 years of age and over),
  • a caregiver of an older adult (spouse; family member; friend; neighbour), or
  • a clinician or health/social care provider (doctor; nurse; care aides; allied health provider; pharmacist; social worker) working with older adults?

If so, the Scientific Office of Alberta’s Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network invites you to complete the following survey. By responding to the survey, you will be helping to determine the direction/priorities for future research and initiatives in the area of seniors’ health. Thanks in advance for your participation.

What’s Important to Seniors’ Health in Alberta?

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Do you live or work in the province of Alberta and are you:

  • an older adult (65 years of age and over),
  • a caregiver of an older adult (spouse; family member; friend; neighbour), or
  • a clinician or health/social care provider (doctor; nurse; care aides; allied health provider; pharmacist; social worker) working with older adults?

If so, the Scientific Office of Alberta’s Seniors Health Strategic Clinical Network invites you to complete the following survey. By responding to the survey, you will be helping to determine the direction/priorities for future research and initiatives in the area of seniors’ health.

Get Involved – Health Research Opportunity

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Do you reside in Alberta? Are you interested in health research and patient engagement? If you answered “Yes” to both questions, you may wish to visit the Patient/Family Registry web page. In addition to discovering what is happening in the world of health research in Alberta, you can fill out an application form to get involved!

Patient & Family Centred Care Week Begins

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Alberta Health Services’ Patient & Family Centred Care Week goes from November 6-10, 2017. A number of events are being held across the province to honour this week. Check out the program to see what is happening over the next five days. Here is hoping you will be able to participate in some of the activities.

Transfer of Care Experience?

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Are you a patient or family member who has experienced what it is like to go from the adult Intensive Care Unit to the Ward of a hospital? If so, the Department of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Calgary is inviting you to join in a facilitated session to discuss the transfer of care process. This session will be held on November 2, 2017; 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in Room TRW2D39; Teaching, Research and Wellness Building, Foothills Campus, University of Calgary; Calgary, Alberta. Click here to read more.

September is Pulmonary Fibrosis Month

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Darlene, a member of our Pts4Chg community, was critical in making September – Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month – in Edmonton! If you or someone you know suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, this free patient forum may be of interest to you. The event will be held on September 27th from 9:00 a.m. – 3:30: p.m. in Edmonton. Click here for more information.

Congratulations again, Darlene, on a job well done!

Feedback Please

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A small group of patient/famiy advisors and Alberta Health Services staff have been working to create an app that could easily capture data regarding the patient/family experience at the end of a clinic/hospital visit. This app would allow programs/areas to obtain information about the patient’s/family’s experience immediately after the care was received. All feedback, including Ideas and suggestions of how the program/area could be more patient and family centred, would be provided anonymously. Having this information readily available would allow managers and healthcare teams to make improvements in the care provided by their program/area.

A prototype of this app has been developed, which will be tested in two clinics. However, before doing so, your assistance is being sought via the completion of a short survey relating to the prototype. If you could take a few minutes to complete this survey, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help! Please note that the survey is NOT limited to family/patient advisors.