Rosebridge mentors long-term care homes on palliative care
Monday November 26, 2007 -- Natalie Miller
Rosebridge Manor in Jasper is serving as the county lead and mentor for area long-term care homes on the subjects of palliative care and pain management.

The Palliative Care Integration Project is aimed at improving and providing consistent end-of-life care across all sectors of healthcare in the province.

Rosebridge Manor Director of Care (DOC) Nancy Unsworth is certified in palliative care and sits on the Southeast Local Health Integration Network’s Palliative Care Advisory Committee.

“They’ve asked us to be a mentor for other long-term care homes in the area,” says Unsworth.

The DOC suspects she was selected by the regional palliative care committee because of her certification in palliative care and fact she has served as a mentor in the past.

Rosebridge was involved in educating staff on pain management and specifically highlighting the use of two tools – the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). “They’re aimed to improve quality of life for residents who are palliative,” says Unsworth.

Staff education was ongoing weekly throughout October on how to use the PPS and ESAS assessment tools. The PPS is a common communication tool used between healthcare professionals across all sectors. PPS guides the assessment of a person’s functional performance and is divided into 11 categories that are measured in percentages to provide a framework for caregivers to measure a person’s decline over the course of illness.

The ESAS is a nine-point scale caregivers and residents can use together to gauge symptoms of illness including pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, appetite, well-being and shortness of breath. It helps caregivers and residents rate their symptoms and allows staff to track their symptoms and intervene accordingly, Unsworth explains. “This education really empowers the frontline workers to advocate for residents,” she says.

For instance, when a person’s rating changes, it helps caregivers adjust care plans and based on a person’s assessment they can utilize other supports such as spiritual counselling. It provides the opportunity for holistic caregiving, Unsworth says. “You implement the right care plan at the right time. “It’s really quite excellent.”

Unsworth says palliative care is important because “it’s a huge part of what we do. It’s in every care home in one shape or form. I think it’s one of the most important things we do.”

As the lead for the area, Unsworth expects she will be called on for support from other homes as needed.