Sudbury Regional Hospital has launched a new program for adults and seniors who need help living at home. Situated at the hospital's main campus, the Geriatric and Adult Rehab Day Hospital is designed to provide outpatient services to seniors and other adults who need assistance or rehabilitative services in order to stay at home.
The Geriatric and Adult Rehab Day Hospital offers a range of services, including counselling for nutrition, weight loss, anxiety and depression; education on the proper use of medication; hydrotherapy; and health education. The day hospital will also put clients in touch with community agencies that can offer additional supports, as well as social and leisure activities.
Members of the Geriatric and Adult Rehab Day Hospital treatment team will include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a registered nurse, a clinical nurse specialist, a dietitian, a social worker, a speech pathologist and a pharmacist.
The goal of the program is to eliminate the need for a hospital admission or reduce the time patients stay in hospital if they are admitted. "As modern medical advances offer more effective treatments and procedures, health-care providers must make outpatient care a greater area of focus," said Dr. Denis Roy, Sudbury Regional's CEO. "An essential part of being an academic health sciences network is researching and developing new models of delivering health care all aimed at improving the care we provide to patients."
Initially, referrals to the Geriatric and Adult Rehab Day Program will come from all inpatient floors at the hospital, the Geriatric Emergency Management (GEM) nurse at the hospital, and from Dr. Jo-Anne Clarke at North East Specialized Geriatric Services.
Referrals
The goal is to expand the program to include referrals from family physicians in Sudbury.
"We're really excited about this new program," said Andrea Lee, administrative director of continuing care and rehabilitation programs. "Adults and seniors who need assistance to live at home really want to stay at home, and this program is designed to help them do that by improving access to the services they need."
According to Lee, the program will have an impact on the hospital's burgeoning population of alternate level of care patients because it allows them to receive treatment for various conditions while still living at home. "Already, we've started seeing the benefits of helping these patients stay independent in their homes," she said. "We're hoping that we'll be able to change that trajectory of them going into a nursing home, making it later rather than sooner."
One client who was directed to the program from the emergency room was seen by a speech pathologist, who helped him with his swallowing issues; a dietitian, who talked to him about how to prepare healthy food; and a pharmacist who counselled him about an easier way to take pills. Because of the services provided at the rehab day hospital, he didn't have to be admitted to the hospital, said Laura Hill, the program's geriatric nurse specialist. The hospital has also launched a new initiative for geriatric patients in its Emergency Department.
Assessment
Seniors over the age of 75 who visit the hospital's Emergency Department will be referred to a Geriatric Emergency Management (GEM) nurse who will conduct a full assessment to determine their health-care needs and identify what support services they will need when they are sent home.
"This is the latest in a series of new programs we've launched to make this a more senior-friendly hospital," said Tony Corallo, chair of the hospital's board of directors. "The GEM initiative, our Emergency Department Outreach Service, and our Geriatric and Adult Rehab Day Hospital are all new programs that together will greatly improve the care our seniors receive while allowing them to stay in their homes longer."This innovative program is funded through the province's Pay for Results initiative, which is providing $110,000 in funding. The program's goals are to make Emergency Department visits less stressful for people over the age of 75, to improve the quality of their treatment, streamline their access to support services at home, and avoid the need for admission to the hospital and repeat visits to the Emergency Department.
The GEM nurse works in collaboration with the North East Community Care Access Centre (CCAC). Together, they put in place community support plans for seniors referred to the GEM program. "Integration through programs such as this one helps us work more creatively toward ensuring seniors' health and well-being," said North East CCAC CEO Richard Joly. "People recover better at home, stay healthier longer, and benefit from the care provided by their friends, family and community support systems."
