Category Archives: Family Presence

The Cost of Speaking Up?

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Oft times, patients and families are hesitant to express their complaints and concerns relating to a particular care facility. The source of this hesitation can be from a deep sense of fear – the fear of retaliation. While in most cases no negative repercussions result when a complaint or concern is raised, such is not the case in a long-term care facility in Ontario, Canada.

According to a retired hospital nurse and daughter of a resident at the care facility, she is no longer able to stay in her mother’s room while her mother is being cared for by the staff. The reason for this restriction is because of the complaints the daughter made about the substandard care and dangerous hygiene practices she witnessed. “You complain and this is the price you pay.” What does this say about the facility’s view of family presence?

Click here to read the full story.

Family Presence: Ming Ming

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The following was submitted by Emma, a member of the Pts4Chg community. Thanks, Emma.

This is Jim. He spent 8 long weeks as an inpatient at the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Thankfully, the unit he was on allowed pet visitors. For Jim, this was patient centered care! Seeing his dog, Ming Ming, brought him such joy and the drive to do what he could to get home to her. Thank you Red Deer Regional Hospital for realizing pets are family too!

Updates on Family Presence Work

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Hello Pts4Chg Community!

Over the last four months the materials for patients and families as partners and advisors have been refined a wee bit and are also now translated into French. Our small ‘collation of the willing’ (volunteer citizens, patient and family advisors and CFHI) also thought it important to also create a survey to help improve the materials upon use. I know that many of you provided feedback already (which I still have) and some of that has made it into the current version. Much of it has not though, as we needed to find a way to capture input that would likely also come in nationally. So please complete the two short surveys if you have time, so that your impressions on the info can be included when next edits are made, likely well into 2017.

If you are active on Twitter, here are some suggested hashtags for the overall Better Together campaign too, that this is part of, if you are tweeting this info out.

  • #MoreThanAVisitor
  • #Cdnhealth
  • #shoulder2shoulder
  • #familypresence

These two documents are designed to support the movement for Family Presence in healthcare.

1. The first document, Partner Tips, is intended to be used by patients and families at the point of care (e.g. at the bedside, in an office or clinic).

2. The second document, Conversation Tips, is intended to be a resource for patients and families in conversations with healthcare providers, or organizations, or communities.

Please feel free to download, copy, distribute and use these documents. You will need Adobe Reader on your device. You are welcome to adapt them to meet your local team’s needs.

These tips sheets are also available in French: http://www.fcass-cfhi.ca/WhatWeDo/better-together/resources

Want to have your say and Be part of the pilot for these documents!?

The volunteers with ‘IMAGINE CITIZENS Collaborating for Health’ would appreciate your feedback and comments about these two documents. Please click these links to complete the two surveys about each document:

1. “Partner” Tips Survey and
2. “Conversation” Tips Survey.

Comments received will be reviewed by IMAGINE CITIZENS’ volunteers so that any significant edits can be incorporated. New versions will be available periodically, every six months or so, through the partner organizations.

Thank you for your help!

Troy Stooke
volunteer
IMAGINE: Citizens Collaborating for Health & Member of Pts4Chg community

End-of-life Decisions

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Although the following is a work of fiction, Patricia Bath (author) states, “[T]he situation explored may be all too common.” Without further adieu, let the story begin.

Beep. Beep. Beep. There’s a slow, rhythmic sound next to my head. I’ve never heard a sound like it before. I hear a whoosh on the other side of me, and at the same time I feel pressure in my chest, like a balloon that on the verge of popping.

It only lasts a few seconds and the pressure is gone. My chest returns to normal and I immediately feel better. Something squeezes my left arm tight—so tight that I want to yell. But I can’t make any words come out.

Then, just as quick as the pressure in my chest came and left, so does the pinch around my arm. I don’t know where I am, but I feel like I’m being tortured.

“I know that it’s cold in here, but I’ll use this warm blanket to keep you warm,” says the strange voice, belonging to a person I can’t see.

Who are you, I try to ask. But just as the darkness around me persists, so does my inability to speak. I have no idea where I am, and I’m scared.

The voice comes back, “Ok, it’s time to roll on your side.” I feel someone tug on my left side and roll me onto my right. A new beeping starts: this one sounds angry, like something’s wrong. I want to ask but I can’t make the words come out. I feel what I think is water and a washcloth on my backside and I’m overcome with embarrassment.

Why is this stranger washing me? I feel the sensation of rubber being dragged across my left side as I hear a different voice say, “Hey, I’m dropping her here. Are you almost done?” There’s a little push on my back and the rubber stops tearing at my left side.

click here to continue reading.

Family Presence: More of a Presence

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exciting newsFamily Presence is becoming an important topic in Alberta’s healthcare system. As such, we have added a Family Presence area to our website. There you will find some new material that is hot off the press! Click here if you are looking for Family Presence tips, conversation starters and more…

Helping Oneself and Others

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In an online post, Sheila, a member of the Pts4Chg community, raises an important topic. How does one obtain assistance for oneself or others when it comes to health care? How does one

tactfully get help for yourself or a loved one, or even possibly someone we don’t know who is in the hospital and we see that he/she is not getting the care that the Dr. prescribed, such as meds being missed or denied, patient not being fed, etc. Sadly, only those who have a loved one who comes to visit, will get these issues fixed, but I have seen (too many times) meals delivered to people without a loved one there to feed them, which were just picked up and taken away when the dietitians came back to collect trays, no one to feed those who are the most sick and alone or help them get the care the Dr. prescribed. In my local hospital, those with visitors get the most care because then there are ‘witnesses’ to what did or did not happen. The ones who are alone are in a dangerously negligent position.

Any comments and suggestions relating to this topic are welcome.

Suicide Prevention Workshop

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Straight Talk is a half-day workshop focusing on preventing suicide in youth. It is designed for parents, family and friends, and anyone who works with youth ranging in age from 12 to 24 years old.

Date: September 13, 2016
Location: Kahanoff Centre, 2nd Floor – 105 12 Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Fee: Free
Contact: Candice Hickman, registrar@suicideinfo.ca or phone: 403-245-3900

Click here for more information about the workshop and to register online.

Seeking Your Input on the Nursing Home Legislation

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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?

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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.