Village Green DOC emphasizes skin care, fall prevention
Friday, December 17, 2004 - Natalie Miller
SELBY -- Managing pain, preventing falls and putting into place a new skin care program were priorities for Village Green in 2004.

Director of care (DOC) Jackie Maxwell points to fall prevention efforts as a key focus area lately. The Selby long-term care home manager attended a seminar in Kingston on falls, which was hosted by that area’s fall prevention coalition. She says ambulatory residents are most prone to falls.

“We go through spurts with different people,” says Jackie.

“We’ve tried to look at the times people are falling.” The DOC says the home is open to exploring different fall prevention tools. Currently, Village Green is experimenting with bed alarms and extra padding in the hip areas of residents’ clothing. “We’re trying them out,” says Jackie. “Prevention is more of a combination of things.” Jackie notes research shows not any one device prevents falls but they can all reduce the severity of a fall. “We’re always looking at other avenues.”

Village Green has had success with introducing OMNI’s skin care program. Two staff members, registered nurse Donna Chandu-Lal and registered practical nurse Cathy Young, took the skin care training with Theresa Hurd, a registered nurse and clinician from the Niagara region who has her own syllabus on skin care.

Jackie says healing times for wounds have been reduced and staff members have used some of the recommended products. “We’ve been more thoroughly looking at pain management and the types of surfaces people are on,” says Jackie.

Staff members are also being more particular about residents’ wheelchairs, encouraging families to purchase appropriate chairs for their loved ones, ensuring proper cushioning.

In 2004, Jackie met on a few occasions with directors of care in the area to discuss issues and concerns that impact all long-term care homes. “We’ve created more community linkages,” says Jackie. Ten DOCs from Lennox-Addington County meet on a quarterly basis. “Basically we’re able to discuss with our peers the challenges we’re facing in our area. It’s more me sharing with them since OMNI has done a lot of work on policy.”