Resource Audience Type: Clinicians

Palliative Care Toolkit for Indigenous Communities

Posted on June 7, 2019 by -

About the Toolkit

The Palliative Care Toolkit for Indigenous Communities was created by Cancer Care Ontario in collaboration with First Nations, Métis and Inuit families and communities.  It includes:

  • First Nations, Inuit and Métis definitions of palliative care
  • Personal stories and other resources to help First Nations, Inuit and Métis families and communities develop capacity in palliative care, and cope with grief and loss
  • Information to support decision-making and planning for Indigenous people living with advanced cancer
  • Information to help care partners care for community members living with advanced cancer

This program has been identified as a resource that supports Indigenous culture in long-term care by the Ontario Caring Advisory Circle.

On-Demand Baycrest Behavioural Support Rounds

Posted on January 14, 2019 by -

Baycrest Behaviour Support Rounds

Baycrest Behavioural Support Rounds are open to all health professionals and students and provide a learning forum to review leading practices in assessing and managing personal expressions, as demonstrated by individuals who live with dementia.

Accessible through Zoom, these rounds are co-sponsored by the Baycrest Toronto Central – LHIN Behaviour Support for Seniors Program and the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care at Baycrest.

 

Honouring Grief and Increasing Resiliency

Posted on December 21, 2018 by -

This webinar will appeal to team members working in long-term care homes. We will examine the impact  of working with individuals and families experiencing chronic illness, dying and death. and how to build compassionate and resilient teams.

Recognizing that grief is a naturally present in workplace, we will honour the simultaneous joy and suffering that may be present. Central to this discussion will be how to strengthen self-awareness and self-kindness and sustain meaning in your work.

This webinar was originally presented on December 7, 2018, hosted by the Ontario CLRI at Bruyère.

About the presenters:


Tara Cohen, MSW, RSW
• Program Manager – Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program;
• Private Practice – Individual/Group Therapy

Tara Cohen is a Registered Social Worker who is deeply committed to supporting individuals in achieving their optimal quality of life, throughout their life journey. Working as Program Manager in health systems planning at the Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program, Tara encourages collaboration, integration and wellness across a variety of settings and populations, using a trauma-informed care perspective and mindfulness. Her hope is to attend to the needs and suffering, of individuals and families, as they walk their unique and collective paths through life, including illness, dying and death.

 

Pamela Grassau, PhD, MSW, BSW
•Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Carleton University;
•Lecturer, Division of Palliative Care, University of Ottawa;
•Affiliated Investigator, Bruyère Research Institute

Pam Grassau, an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Carleton University, has been working with patients, families and care providers in palliative care education and research for the past 8 years. Focusing on families in end of life, and specifically mothers living with advanced illness and their adult daughters, her research focuses on care giving/receiving, life review, loss and legacy. A passionate believer in hospice, palliative care and in holistic relational ‘caring’ for all of us touched by advanced illness, end of life and bereavement, Pam’s works to weave self-compassion, narrative meaning-making, creative expression and transformative mindfulness into all parts of her life.

The Four Sacred Medicines

Posted on November 22, 2018 by -

Description

This pamphlet from Anishnawbe Health Toronto provides information on the four sacred medicines: tobacco, sage, cedar, and sweetgrass, including what each medicine may be used for, and how to take care of the medicines.

This pamphlet has been identified as a resource that supports Indigenous culture in long-term care by the Ontario Caring Advisory Circle.

Deprescribing.org

Posted on October 15, 2018 by -

A framework and tools for encouraging discussions about deprescribing

Older adults living in long-term care (LTC) homes often take many medications each day – sometimes this is not necessary and can even be harmful. Deprescribing is the planned and supervised process of reducing doses or stopping medications.

Decisions about medications for residents are best made when people work together with their health-care providers. Everyone in an LTC resident’s care team can help make medication-related care safe and effective.

The Bruyère Deprescribing Research Team worked with stakeholders across Ontario’s LTC sector to identify four behaviours and develop supporting tools that help deprescribing become a part of the culture of care. Click on the links in each behaviour to access tools such as process guides, infographics, cue cards and videos:

  1. People living in LTC homes and their families/caregivers will participate in shared decision-making to establish and monitor goals of care with respect to medication use while taking into consideration effectiveness, safety and non-drug alternatives.
  2. All healthcare providers and personnel will observe for signs and symptoms in the people they care for and report changes as a result of medication adjustments, or changes that might prompt a deprescribing review.
  3. Prescribers in every health care setting will document reasons for use, goals and timelines for each medication.
  4. All members of the health care team will participate in conversations about deprescribing.

The Bruyère Deprescribing Research Team is a partner of Ontario CLRI at Bruyère. For more information about how these behaviours were identified, read the Deprescribing in LTC report.

Additional resources and tools for optimizing medication use in older adults
  1. Five evidence-based guidelines that help health care providers make informed assessments of a resident’s medication and explore possibilities for non-drug treatments.
  2. “Talking about Medications” workshops that can be offered to residents, caregivers and staff to help people have discussions about medication decisions. “Talking About Medications” Materials – Deprescribing.org
  3. The Canadian Deprescribing Network raises public awareness about deprescribing and provides resources to address safe drug and non-drug approaches. Do I still need this medication? Is deprescribing for you? (deprescribingnetwork.ca)
Author/Source

Deprescribing.org houses deprescribing guidelines and other resources developed by Dr. Barbara Farrell and Dr. Lisa McCarthy’s research team at the Bruyere Research Institute (Ottawa). Barbara and Lisa are pharmacists who work with older people and are concerned about the risks associated with medications in this population.

To learn more about their work visit deprescribing.org.

Supported by:

Bruyere Logo Deprescribing Logo

A Guide for Planning and Providing Francophone LTC Services

Posted on April 12, 2018 by -

About the Guide

This guide provides practical advice and tools for how to plan, develop and deliver LTC services for Francophones in the GTA and across Ontario and Canada. The guide is intended for all those involved in planning, advocating for, and providing Francophone health services in Ontario, particularly the LHINs, FLHPEs, FLHNs, health service providers, particularly LTC home administrators and boards, all staff of LTC homes, and Francophone community leaders.

Although the guide is geared toward designing and delivering LTC services in French, the information and tools would be beneficial for other community and residential care models for Francophones as well as services for seniors from other language minority groups.

The development of this guides was a collaborative effort between the French Health Network of Central Southwestern Ontario, Entité 4, Reflet Salvéo, Bendale Acres, the City of Toronto and other regional partners.