NEWSLETTER
Shining a spotlight on collaborative and innovative ways to help you achieve better health outcomes for older adults across the continuum.
May 2018
This month we highlight the agenda and final week of registration for the sfCare Intersectoral Conference on May 24, showcase #endPJparalysis success, and share new research on a sedative deprescribing tool for older adults.

Agenda now available for sfCare Intersectoral Conference 
Senior Friendly Care (sfCare) and the Senior Friendly Seven (SF7): building more connected care for frail seniors
Hundreds of healthcare providers from across Ontario attended the Senior Friendly Hospital ACTION Collaborative Showcase in March 2017 to share their work, collaborate with each other, and hear expert speakers. This year's senior friendly care event will connect healthcare providers across the continuum of care. To see the agenda, and registration details, click the button below.

When: May 24, 2018, 8:30am-4:30pm
 
Where: Holiday Inn, Yorkdale, Toronto, Ontario
 
Who should attend: any healthcare provider who delivers care with the goal of preserving the health and well-being of frail older adults and those at risk of frailty, including: ED and acute care staff, primary care physicians and teams, home and community care coordinators and personal home support workers, health care planners, and administrators.
 
About: The conference will build upon the sfCare Framework and companion SF7 Toolkits. This event features:
 
Speakers  - series of expert lectures on SF7 topics by: 
    • Dr. Barbara Liu, M.D., FRCP(C), FRCP(Edin)
    • Dr. Paul Oh, MD, FRCPC
    • Dr. Nasreen Khatri, Ph.D., C.Psych
    • Dr. Andrea Moser, MD, MSc, CCFP, FCFP
    • Dr. Heather Keller, Ph.D., R.D.
    • Lawrence D. Jackson, BScPhm, CTDP
    • Dr. David Patrick Ryan, Ph.D. C.Psych.
Collaboration - Structured, facilitated, small-group discussion and co-creation around the toolkits will provide an opportunity for you to share your expertise and provide insights on how to implement SF7 tools in a meaningful way in your practice / your sector / across the continuum of care.

Register now! Registration closes on May 16.
 

Renfrew Victoria Hospital implements #endPJparalysis 
Renfrew Victoria Hospital (RVH) was among the first wave of hospitals in Ontario to do some great work through the Senior Friendly Hospital ACTION (Accelerating Change Together in in Ontario) collaborative, and they continue to build on their success. 

Now they are among the first adopters in Ontario of the #endPJparalysis initiative, which we showcased in our May 2017 SFH Newsletter. RVH focuses on maintaining or increasing the functional abilities of patients during their stay. In their SFH ACTION initiative, RVH staff got patients up for meals, and their current initiative is getting patients dressed and mobilized.

Click here to read more about RVH's successes with SFH ACTION and #EndPJparalysis
Click here to read more about #endPJparalysis in our May 2017 Newsletter

Coach's Tip - EMPOWER - A great tool for working collaboratively with older adults on sedative deprescribing
A pilot study was recently conducted in hospitalized older adults to see if using the EMPOWER patient education brochure would lead to a reduction of  inappropriate  sedatives. During the study, sedatives were deprescribed in 64% of the participants (vs. the  hospital's  historical rate of 21%) with no worsening of self-reported sleep.

This is a great example of a "quick win" type of quality improvement initiative - the kind that requires very minimal  resources , and  yields excellent clinical results very quickly.  It is also a great example of many of principles and defining statements in the sfCare Framework, such as "informed and empowered older persons and families"

We encourage healthcare providers across all sectors to consider using the EMPOWER tool or other validated patient education tools for deprescribing, from the The Deprescribing Network.

Click here for the EMPOWER study publication  
Click here  for the EMPOWER tool
Click here for the sfCare Framework

Do you have tips or tools to share with the senior friendly care network, challenges you need help with?  Click here to connect with a coach

JOIN THE CONVERSATION #sfCare