Author: Anil Gosai

Enhance student skills and knowledge in resident nutrition

 

Calling all post-secondary education institutions! You can offer your students new skills and knowledge in resident nutrition by incorporating our new Nutrition in Disguise (NiD) Lesson Plan into your curriculum!

The Ontario CLRI at the RIA is excited to introduce the NiD Lesson Plan aimed at educating the next generation of Food Service team members on the health and wellness of residents living in long-term care.

Our Lesson Plan is designed specifically to support instructors in preparing students to excel in bringing delicious, nutrient-dense foods to long-term care homes.

The NiD Lesson Plan has short videos, customizable assignments, and valuable resources to support instructors in teaching students about resident health and wellness.

Bring the NiD Lesson Plan to your class today!

New IPAC eLearning course released

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on infection prevention and control (IPAC) in Ontario’s long-term care (LTC) homes. In Spring 2021, the Ontario CLRI at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) released an IPAC resource page and eLearning series. Now we have added to the eLearning series with a new course: IPAC While Infection Prevention and Control While Supporting Residents Living with Dementia

“Our eLearning courses are based on situations that team members encounter in their work,” says Audra Thompson-Haile, Interim Director for the Ontario CLRI at the RIA. “This eLearning helps team members and essential care partners transfer IPAC knowledge to the care they provide.”

The new eLearning course focuses on using IPAC best practices while assisting residents living with dementia. It applies a person-centred, strengths-based approach to situations including meeting a resident’s needs while they are in isolation, assisting a resident to stay in their isolation area, administering a nasal swab, and assisting a resident with effective hand-washing.

With the IPAC resource page and eLearning series, learners will be able to apply their IPAC knowledge and skills to specific scenarios in LTC homes and situations encountered in the community.

 

Here are the eLearning courses that we have available for our IPAC series:
  1. Break the Chain of Transmission: IPAC Core Concepts and Practices (prerequisite for the other courses in the IPAC eLearning series) – Also in French!
    • Types of Transmission and the Chain of Transmission
    • Additional Precautions and Routine Practices in Long-term Care
    • Applying Best Practices for Hand Hygiene and PPE
  2. IPAC While Supporting Residents at Mealtime – Also in French!
  3. IPAC While Travelling To and From an LTC Home – Also in French!
  4. IPAC While Administering Medication
  5. IPAC While Supporting Residents with Personal Care: Peri-Care, Continence Care and Using the Toilet
  6. IPAC While Supporting Residents  with Personal Care: Bathing, Dressing, and Grooming
  7. IPAC While Supporting Residents Living with Dementia

Courses 1-6 are also available in French, while course 7 will also soon be released in French.

Visit the IPAC in LTC page.

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The IPAC in LTC courses and training materials have been developed by the Ontario CLRI at the RIA in collaboration with an expert panel of IPAC specialists working in LTC and an advisory panel of LTC team members, essential care partners, and The Ontario Caregiver Organization.

New eLearning course on pain and distress management

 

The Orientation eLearning courses, created by the Ontario CLRI at the RIA, provide education for new team members during orientation, and for existing team members during their annual training. These scenario-based learning courses ensure that learners have the knowledge and skills needed to assist the people they support and are in line with Ministry of Long-Term Care guidelines. They were developed using evidence-based best practices and adult education principles, in collaboration with subject matter experts and LTC leaders.

Managing Pain and Distress in Long-Term Care is a self-paced Orientation course on pain management that will equip or refresh long-term care team members on the knowledge and skills required to support residents. Pain and distress often indicate a medical condition that requires assessment, intervention, and treatment.  A person can experience pain and distress in different ways including physically, socially, spiritually and psychologically. Our new course can equip clinical and non-clinical team members with the skills and confidence to recognize signs of pain and distress, and develop and implement pain management care plans.

 

Click here to access the eLearning course for clinical team members

Click here to access the eLearning course for non-clinical team members

 


This eLearning course, part of the Orientation course series, was developed by the Ontario CLRI at RIA in 2022 with the generous support of Schlegel Villages. We would like to thank the people who contributed to the development and review of content for this course including:

Trisha Wilson, RSW, Performance Improvement Lead, NW Regional Palliative Care Program, Hogarth Riverview Manor LTC, St Joseph’s Care Group

Gwendolyn Cleveland, RN, BScN, MEd, CHPCN(C), Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Consultant (PPSMC), Community Health Team, Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities

Tara Moffatt MN, RN, CHPCN, CON, Palliative Pain and Symptom Management Consultant, Nipissing and Parry Sound Districts, VON Canada

Kim Arquette, Clinical Specialist, Schlegel Villages

 

Achieve your EDI goals with the 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Calendar!

The Ontario CLRI at Bruyere and the Ontario CLRI at RIA is excited to share the 2023 print Diversity and Inclusion Calendar. Our print calendars are available in English, and for the first time ever, in French!

The calendar features religious and spiritual days of significance, cultural celebrations, awareness days and health promotion days. Learning about the many cultures, religions and days of significance is fundamental to inclusion, and this calendar can help you achieve your EDI goals in your home.

Take some time to explore the dates within the calendar! Staying aware of these days and scheduling activities around them will help you create an inclusive home, 365 days a year. You can also follow the links to learn more about each date in our digital version.

This calendar has been developed as a resource for LTC teams to demonstrate commitment to honouring and celebrating diverse communities, cultures and faiths of those who live, visit and work in LTC homes.

We have been hearing from a number of organizations, including LTC homes and hospitals that are using the calendar regularly to support their planning, their learning, and it is helping to guide their communications both internally and externally about days of significance.

“At the City of Toronto, Seniors Services and Long-Term Care utilize the CLRI Diversity Calendar alongside the Days of Significance Calendar for the Toronto Public Service to advance Equity, Diversity and Inclusion when communicating to stakeholders, in divisional communication and when planning resident and client focused events and celebrations. We have very diverse LTC residents, community-based programs clients and staff members, and these tools are helping us support divisional initiatives such as the Confronting Anti-Black Racism in the Workplace Action Plan, Indigenous Cultural Competency and Advancing the Truth & Reconciliation Action Plan, and Leading & Learning with Pride: A Tool Kit, Video, and Campaign to enhance support for 2SLGBTQI+ Seniors.”

Jennifer Dockery, General Manager, City of Toronto, Seniors Services and Long-Term Care

Click here for the printable English calendars.

Click here for the printable French calendars.

New recipes for LTC homes are now available!

We’re excited to announce that our Nutrition in Disguise (NiD) team has added 17 new, delicious recipes to our NiD Recipes for Long-Term Care Homes resource, expanding our selection of recipes to 25!

From mouth watering desserts and sweet treats like bran choco chip cookies and orange creamsicles, to warm, hearty dishes like lasagna and soups, there is a nutritious meal here that you and residents in your home will enjoy and love.

These recipes are available at no-cost for families, care partners, food service team members, and others in LTC who assist with menu planning to add to your LTC home’s menu and eating programs. Each recipe is packed with nutrients to support residents’ health. 

Recipes are vetted by a dietitian, designed to be cost-efficient for LTC home budgets, and even resident-approved for taste, flavour, texture and appearance. You can download the recipes in PDF and in an editable Word format for your home’s customization.

Click here to view all of our recipes

 

Nutrition in Disguise 

The Nutrition in Disguise (NiD) project focuses on creating nutrient-dense recipes by adding healthy ingredients to common foods that LTC residents already enjoy.

Visit our Nutrition in Disguise page for additional resources and to learn more about this project.

 

Acknowledgments

The Nutrition in Disguise resources are made available through the Ontario CLRI at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA). These resources are based on research completed by the RIA, the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph, in partnership with Schlegel Villages. This research was made possible with the generosity of George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited.

         

New IPAC courses now available in French!

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on infection prevention and control (IPAC) in Ontario’s long-term care (LTC) homes. In Spring 2021, the Ontario CLRI at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) released an IPAC resource page and eLearning series. We are happy to announce that new courses in our IPAC eLearning series are now available in French!

These eLearning courses focus on increasing IPAC knowledge and skills while empowering learners to protect themselves, residents, their co-workers, and their community. Learners will be able to apply their IPAC knowledge and skills to specific scenarios in LTC homes and situations they encounter in their communities.

“Our eLearning courses are based on situations that team members encounter in their work,” says Audra Thompson-Haile, Interim Director for the Ontario CLRI at the RIA. “This eLearning helps team members and essential care partners transfer IPAC knowledge to the care they provide.”

The eLearning courses we have available in our IPAC series in English and in French include:

 

  1. Break the Chain of Transmission: IPAC Core Concepts and Practices (prerequisite for the other courses in the IPAC eLearning series) – Also in French!
    • Types of Transmission and the Chain of Transmission
    • Additional Precautions and Routine Practices in Long-term Care
    • Applying Best Practices for Hand Hygiene and PPE
  2. IPAC While Supporting Residents at Mealtime
  3. IPAC While Traveling To and From an LTC Home
  4. IPAC While Administering Medication
  5. IPAC While Supporting Residents with Personal Care: Peri-Care, Continence Care and Using the Toilet
  6. IPAC While Supporting Residents  with Personal Care: Bathing, Dressing, and Grooming

Visit the IPAC in LTC page.

_______________________________________________________________________

 

The IPAC in LTC courses and training materials have been developed by the Ontario CLRI at the RIA in collaboration with an expert panel of IPAC specialists working in LTC and an advisory panel of LTC team members, essential care partners, and The Ontario Caregiver Organization.

Hear from students about their virtual interprofessional internships!

 

For the past two summers, the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI) at Baycrest has hosted several cohorts of the Interprofessional Student Internships in Innovation and Aging.

In response to the pandemic, this virtual 4-week summer program was adapted from an in-person format. Two cohorts per year, each comprising up to 10 students are selected through a competitive application process. Interns are immersed in a variety of online programming to enhance their knowledge of geriatrics and to develop valuable communication skills for future careers in long-term care (LTC).

“This was a great internship and I appreciate the hard work that went into creating this online format and ensuring a high level of education and efficient execution. Thank you for this experience!” —Intern, 2022

The interns apply principles of empathy, problem framing and ideation to internship activities while collaborating with peers, subject matter experts, persons with lived experience and residents in LTC. By engaging with an Interprofessional Team, students expand their network of healthcare professionals, experience mentorship, and witness the value of collaboration between each role in LTC.

Experiential activities provide an engaging environment during the internship. Some of these activities include facilitated sessions and a meta-simulation game world that combines simulated cases, eLearning, the SOS Seniors Care Game and other online activities through the Learning Inter-Professionally Healthcare Accelerator (LIPHA). 

As a capstone project, interns develop an innovative solution that promotes social connectedness in LTC. By learning and applying innovative design thinking strategies, the project facilitates learning in the analysis of a practical issue and ideation of sustainable solutions. A resident-to-resident pen pal program, personalized sensory experiences, intergenerational activities, and a cultural showcase are just some of the solutions our interns have developed.

Interns prepare and present their solutions to an expert panel of Baycrest executives, educators and resident caregivers in the form of a concise and persuasive storyboard. By sharing and receiving feedback from this panel, collaborative relationships and implementation opportunities beyond the internship are formed. 

“I think this internship is an amazing opportunity for students to gain professional skills and knowledge that is applicable to any setting in health care. I hope to use these skills to be a health advocate for the geriatric population in my future career.” —Intern, 2022

Check out this video to hear from students about their experience in the Interprofessional Student Internship in Innovation and Aging.

 

Celebrating over 10,000 Person-Centred Language pledges!

Please join us in the celebration of having reached over 10,000 Person-Centred Language pledges!

Last summer, we reached our goal of 5,000 Person-Centred Language (PCL) pledges from health care providers and persons with lived experience to commit to changing the way we interact with and refer to people living with dementia and other complex mental health conditions. We are pleased to announce that as of September 17, 2022, we have doubled that number and now have over 10,316 pledges! We wish to recognize everyone who reviewed our commitment statements posters, signed our pledge, and encouraged colleagues, co-residents, family and friends to do the same.

Reaching 10,000 pledges marks an important milestone for the PCL Initiative which is co-led by the Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) Provincial Coordinating Office at the North Bay Regional Health Centre and the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research & Innovations in Long-Term Care (CLRI) at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA). Since its launch in 2017, The goal of the PCL Initiative has been to develop a set of commitment statements and associated products to inspire language choices that are appropriate, respectful, life-affirming and inclusive when interacting with and referring to individuals who communicate via responsive behaviours/personal expressions associated with dementia, complex mental health, substance use and/or other neurological conditions, as well as their partners in care.

If you have not yet signed our PCL pledge, it’s not too late! Fill out your pledge and download your certificate today at www.behaviouralsupportsontario.ca/pledge

I’ve completed my pledge, what can I do next?

Complete the e-course

The back-to-school season is the perfect time to complete our PCL eCourse. Available in English and French, this FREE eCourse demonstrates how PCL can have a positive impact on communication, care, and help to reduce stigma and discrimination (45min).

Explore examples

Check out our Word Swap Poster for ideas on how to incorporate PCL in your everyday conversations.

Receive a free Commitment Pledge Poster

Get in touch

Tell us how you’ve incorporated the PCL initiative in your organization by e-mailing us at provincialBSO@nbrhc.on.ca

Thank you for your commitment to the PCL Initiative!

 

Research Institute for Aging logo

New eLearning course on fall prevention released

The Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care (CLRI) at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) has released a new Orientation course: Preventing Falls in Long-Term Care. This course is available at no cost to support new and existing team members in fulfilling Ministry of LTC’s training requirements.

 

Falls can result in serious injury, hospital admission, and long-term loss of mobility and function. By taking this course, team members will learn, at their own pace, appropriate awareness and corresponding actions to take to effectively prevent falls and keep residents safe. Two versions are available: one for non-clinical team members and one for clinical team members.

 

Visit our eLearning course for clinical team members

Visit our eLearning course for non-clinical team members