Monday, July 06, 2015
Re-thinking Hospital Stays
July 6, 2015 - The Up for Lunch program at Glengarry Memorial Hospital is transforming the way seniors recuperate after surgery or illness.
Launched late last year, this small but innovative project in Alexandria is part of the Champlain LHIN’s strategy to improve care for hospitalized older people.
Based on a similar approach at Queensway Carleton Hospital, Up for Lunch aims to prevent seniors from losing muscle mass, resulting in a faster recovery and quicker discharge home.
“People think of hospitals as a place where you go to lie down and not move, and that’s changing,” says Dr. Nadia Kucherepa, Physician Lead in the rehabilitation unit at Glengarry Memorial Hospital. “We are challenging people to rethink what it’s like to be hospitalized.”
Millie Duplantis, who had a stroke at a karaoke club this past Valentine’s Day, believes she grew stronger partly because she was encouraged to get up for her midday meal. A tracking tool updated health professionals on her level of activity. Initially, she couldn’t move her left hand or left foot. After four weeks at the Glengarry Memorial Hospital, she was able to pedal a bike.
“It’s good to get up and move around because it’s hard on your system to be lying down and not doing any exercise at all,” says the 70-year-old from Ingleside. “My goal is to play with my grandchildren. I’m anxious to go back home to do my own cooking and to see the flowers. I’m not a big gardener but I like to be working in the flower beds.”
All 14 LHINs and Regional Geriatric Programs across Ontario launched the Senior-Friendly Hospital Strategy in 2011. The aim is to improve care for seniors through programs such as providing special training for hospital staff on the care of seniors, changing the way clinical services are delivered, and upgrading the physical environment with better lighting and wider hallways, for example.
“Most hospitals weren’t built around the needs of seniors. They were constructed at a time when the average patient was a lot younger,” explains Champlain LHIN CEO Chantale LeClerc. “Being senior friendly means not only creating a better physical space, but also modifying the cultural environment so that it’s respectful of older people. It’s about seeing hospital care through the eyes of a senior, and making decisions based on that perspective.”
The Champlain LHIN and Regional Geriatric Program of Eastern Ontario have made significant progress in the adoption of senior-friendly hospital practices across the region. The focus has been on two clinical areas – functional decline* and delirium**.
In 2011, only 24 per cent of hospitals in the Champlain region had policies and processes in place for the prevention and management of functional decline. That number had increased to 89 per cent just three years later in 2014.
As for delirium, more hospitals in the Champlain region are using a tool to screen patients for delirium, which is done early in admission and routinely afterwards. Only 53 per cent of hospitals in Champlain reported having policies and processes in place for the prevention and management of delirium in 2011. That figure had risen to 94 per cent in 2014.
“I’m proud to see that Glengarry Memorial Hospital is transforming the way seniors recuperate after surgery or illness,” says MPP Grant Crack (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell). “Guided by a comprehensive strategy, the Champlain LHIN is prepared to address the needs of this growing and valued segment of the population.”
* Functional decline is a loss of independence in the ability to care for oneself and move around. Medical illness, of course, can cause a decline in functional status, but other factors related to hospitalization such as extended bed rest can also play a role.
** Delirium is a short-term disturbance of consciousness with a reduced ability to sustain focus or temporary change in cognition including memory or language deficit.
More information
If you are a journalist, please contact:
Champlain LHIN Media Line
613.747.3250
Toll-free 1.866.902.5446 x 3250
champlain.media@lhins.on.ca
If you are a health service provider, please contact:
Chantal Mageau-Pinard
Glengarry Memorial Hospital
613.525.2222 x 4330
cmageau-pinard@hgmh.on.ca
|