In Aging & Veterans Care
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AtHome in Aging & Veterans Care January/February 2006 - Issue 31 Inside The new veterans’ portrait 2005 - Year studio and photography centre 2 in Review By Ana Seara The Veterans’ Portrait Studio and Photography Centre, located in 4 Don Cherry LG105 (the former Artisan Shop) is a new initiative of the Creative Arts and Recreation Hall of Fame Therapies Program. Last December two art 6 therapists, Katherine Carney and Ana Seara worked in the studio, taking individual 7 Afghanistan and family portraits of residents for the holiday season. The photographs were very well received by the residents and their 8 Empire Club families and due to the overwhelming success of this initiative and requests from residents, 9 Chronic Pain we have decided to continue the portrait studio on a full-time basis. As of January, Palliative Pain 2006 art therapist Ana Seara has permanently 10Management re-located to this new space and will continue 11Behind the to offer photo-related therapeutic services to our Veterans. Pain In addition to taking portraits in YOV Review the studio, Ana will continue to 12 offer individual and small group sessions any resident expressing 13 Laundry an interest. continued on page 3 Calendar 16 Above: Ana Seara and Larry Rapley in the new studio Putting our residents first. At Home is the official newsletter A year in review of Aging & Veterans Care. The newsletter is published six times From the Directors of A&VC a year and is made available to “Led by the wisdom of elders, we will transform healthcare.” all members of the Aging & Veterans Care community. With this guiding vision statement for the Aging & Veterans Care program at S&W, we succeeded in accomplishing many great things in 2005. Editor: Sally Fur We developed a Strategic Plan in 2005, and then set about Layout: Elayne Clarke determining our priorities and areas of clinical focus for 2005. The areas where we chose to focus are falls reduction (and reduction Photography: Doug Nicholson of injuries from falls), wound and skin care, least use of restraints, (unless noted otherwise) safe swallowing and improved pain management. The staff Circulation: 1,800 implemented projects aimed at improving our performance in all these areas, and we have been diligently tracking the outcome measures that tell us if we are achieving what we set out to do in Next copy deadline: each area. The projects in these five areas have indeed been very March 17, 2006 successful, with improvements in clinical outcomes for residents in every one of the five. For example, our use of restraints is well For more information, below the average across the province for long-term care (LTC) homes or to make a submission, please and hospitals, and our staff are well educated in alternatives to contact Sally Fur at restraints. 416.480.6100 ext. 5057 or by e-mail to [email protected] The Year of the Veteran proved exciting in many ways and kudos to the Year of the Veteran steering committee and the recreation Contributors: and creative arts therapies staff for their hard work in making the year a terrific success.This committee included Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), The Royal Canadian Legion and Army Navy Airforce Laura Bristow (ANAF), and they worked hard together to pull out all the stops for Kimberley Curtis the many events that occurred during the year. 2005 saw the opening Sandra De Costa of the Blythwood Club, the launch of the Veterans Grant A Wish Amin Dhnaani program, the initiation of the Lifelong Journey series and the 10th Christine Henry anniversary of the veterans summer camp. It was truly a fulfilling Leanne Hughes year. Lawrence Jackson Sally Lewis As part of the Year of the Veteran, we undertook a major staff training program in collaboration with VAC and Baycrest Centre for Karen Morris Geriatric Care. Titled “Caring for the Aging War Veteran”, the Wes Roberts program allowed all of our staff (over 450 were trained) a day away Ana Seara to learn more about ways of enhancing care and understanding our Ria Spee war veterans as they face the aging process. It was a truly enriching experience for our staff, and we are sure you will see and Material printed in At Home is feel the results in your care here. These training sessions could not protected by copyright and may have been possible without the generosity of Veterans Affairs not be reprinted without the Canada. permission of the editor. 2 January/February 2006 2005 also saw the improvement of some of our facilities. We made major progress on the redesign and landscaping of the Portrait Studio L-wing interior courtyard, allowing residents there access to secure and inviting outdoor space. We redesigned the L-wing continued from page 1 second floor patio to allow residents on that floor better access to the outdoors. This new patio includes a new gardening area The goals of these sessions and will even have a dog house for our furry friends. Thirdly, we are to allow residents to moved and renovated the Artisan market to make it more visible pursue their passion for and inviting. It’s also now open on weekends. It has been a huge photography, to increase success, and even provides enhanced volunteer opportunities for self-awareness, and to our veterans. Sales have increased dramatically providing more provide opportunities to money to be reinvested in creative arts programs. We hope that share life stories through 2006 will see even more enhancements to our buildings – your image narratives. The home! works of art created by the residents often include 2005 also saw a number of external reviews of our program and images from their past, but services by experts in the field of Aging, LTC and the care of many also include newly veterans. These reviews are planned and regularly recurring, created images that take and are very important to us in Aging & Veterans Care. They give advantage of modern digital us feedback about how we are doing from our peers, and help imaging techniques. These us to shape improvements where they are needed. Reviews last works are often documented year included: annual review by the VAC National Nursing as slideshow presentations Officer; our regular Ministry of Health review of our nursing home and made into published program, and in late 2004, our accreditation survey. We did memoir books. extremely well in all reviews, a testament to the excellence of our staff and programs. The front part of the new space will be used as a Finally, 2005 saw the first ever Aging & Veterans Care Research gallery to showcase the and Innovation Showcase. This incredible one-day event wonderful photographic work brought together staff from all areas in A&VC who are doing created by our residents. exciting research to understand and treat conditions and Please feel free to come in problems associated with aging. Research is the cornerstone of and meet Ana, our veteran an academic health sciences centre. The ability to transfer new photographers, or just knowledge into better practices is paramount. Research helps us browse through the gallery. understand a variety of issues from why elders don’t go out in the This exciting new project winter, to improved hearing aid technologies, to what it means for an was made possible through older person to be “known” by their caregivers, the day provided ongoing generous funding a stimulating glimpse into the future. by the Veterans Comfort Fund in support of the As we reflect on 2005, it is gratifying to see all that we achieved photography program. together. Thank you to all who made the year such a success – staff, volunteers, families and residents. And here’s to a great 2006! To book a portrait session, or to join a photography group please call Ana at ext. 5933. Dr. Heather MacDonald Dorothy Fergusen Medical Director Operations Director Aging & Veterans Care Aging & Veterans Care January/February 2006 3 PEACE of Cake No sour grapes! By Sally Fur For the second year in a row, Veterans at Sunnybrook & Women’s recently welcomed one of the the staff and students of the “greatest Canadians”, Hockey Night in Canada’s, Don Cherry, for a Faculty of Hospitality and special finale event for 2005 Year of the Veteran. Tourism at George Brown College came and together “Don Cherry’s arrival is an experience that is nothing short of exciting with members of the and is the perfect grand finale to a year dedicated to our veterans,” said Canadian Armed Forces, to Duncan Graham, president of the Veterans and Community Residents visit and pass out 500 gift Council. baskets filled with specialty baked goods to veterans at Wearing his trademark horse Sunnybrook & Women’s. collar shirt, Cherry addressed the veterans in Warriors’ Hall. He told the veterans, that they are The holiday goodies included “the greatest guys and gals in brownies, mince tarts, Lindt the world.” He also showed a chocolates, shortbreads, a video about Bobby Orr that his gingerbread man wearing a son arranged as a tribute to the red poppy and of course the great hockey player. delicious PEACE fruitcake. This fruitcake is not your Cherry is a well-known supporter of veterans. His grandfather was killed average fruitcake. Fit for in the First World War and another relative was killed just before the kings and queens, chef John Armistice Day treaty was signed. Higgins, director of the George Brown Chef School, Many Canadians may be unaware of the strong link between Canada’s national sport and Canada’s veterans. Looking back, hockey has created it when he worked for played a prominent role in Canada’s military heritage.