Community partnerships help provide ‘seamless approach to resident care’
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 -- Natalie Miller
Meeting regularly with external health care colleagues and developing community partnerships helps create a shared knowledge base, track trends and benchmark statistics, an OMNI administrator says.

Community partnerships and involvement outside of the nursing home are important to Kelly Burns, administrator of Riverview Manor in Peterborough.

“It links us to our community partners.”

“It shows cohesiveness and a seamless approach to resident care. They’re all intertwined,” says Burns about the health care system from acute care to long-term care.

Since the fall of 2005, Burns has been a member of a network of professionals working to improve end-of-life care for nursing home residents in four Ontario counties

The Regional LTC Palliative Care Network was formed to develop a streamlined approach to supporting long-term care residents who are palliative and living in homes in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough, Haliburton and Northumberland counties. Burns is on the steering committee.

“We’re trying to streamline palliative care processes across the board,” she says.

The steering committee is comprised of long-term care employees, a consultant pharmacist and representative from Hospice Peterborough and meets four to six times a year and invites the public to attend quarterly sessions as well. Representatives from the 28 long-term care homes in the four counties are invited to attend.

“Our numbers are growing,” says Burns. She says as a result of the collaborative approach to pain management and palliative care “it’s becoming easier to talk home to home because we’re using the same tools and the knowledge is common.” Riverview has offered to pilot the use of pain assessment tools.

Burns also sits on the End of Life committee for her region which is comprised of doctors, nurses, access centre staff and social workers and meets quarterly and reports to the Local Health Integration Network. “We’re all trying to standardize end-of-life care.”

Burns is a member of the regional infection control committee for the area and sits on Trent University and Sir Sandford Fleming College’s advisory committee for nursing and personal support workers. It helps Burns stay current, raise the profile of long-term care and provide input about what’s needed in the sector, she says.

Riverview is fortunate to have strong partnerships with its suppliers as well, like Medigas, she notes. She says in addition to meeting the residents’ needs in terms of respiratory therapy, Medigas also provides in-services for residents, staff and families and employee straining, such as CPR. “They provide us with valuable education. I access them constantly throughout the year.”

The home’s relationship with Therapy Supplies is important too, says Burns. In addition to offering advice on proper assistive devices and providing follow-up support regularly, cleaning and maintenance clinics are also provided by the Greater Toronto Area-based supplier of wheelchairs and mobility devices, Burns notes.