Celebrating Seniors Month at Bruyère
06/25/2021
This month we are celebrating Seniors Month, reflecting on how Bruyère is helping older adults stay safe, active, and connected.
Supporting Seniors’ Safety at Home and in the Community
Using technology onsite and in the community contribute to senior’s safety– both physically and mentally. Dr. Neil Thomas is one of the physician-researchers working to support older adults staying safe and independent in the community through technology.
Building on the research conducted at the smart apartment (SAM3), sensor installations have moved into the community to evaluate these systems in real homes. While we may see a snapshot of a patient’s life when they visit our sites, sensors capture an individual’s day to day, creating a benchmark of activity that can be used to evaluate changes in health and wellbeing. Changing how health and memory loss are tracked over time through sensors is changing how seniors can stay safe at home for longer.
In the community, whether accessing health services, housing, restaurants, legal aid, or transportation, knowing it is a dementia-friendly space or service is an important part of staying safe and staying connected. Dementia613.ca, a directory of resources that support living well with dementia, launched this year. With every business and service that joins, the 613 community becomes safer and more inclusive for those living with dementia and their caregivers.
Staying Active with Virtual Bike Tours
“One of the challenges our patients sometimes face after having been in the hospital for a long time is staying motivated to keep up with the therapies that help them get stronger,” said Dr. Mark Campbell, a physician-researcher at Bruyère.
In a study conducted at the Glebe Centre (Long-Term Care), Dr. Campbell and the team tested use of the jDome BikeAround™, a bicycle fit with a screen to project footage of street-level views while cycling, much like the beloved Motiview bicycles at our Village.
The team was excited to see that not only did the overwhelming majority of residents enjoy using the bike system, there were trends toward increased distance travelled, better mood, and a reduction in the number of falls with the use of the system. Even better news, this system will be brought to our Saint Vincent Hospital to incorporate it into low-intensity rehabilitation and medically complex care programs as a means of making exercise participation more fun and exciting.
“One of the goals of this project is to use state-of-the-art reminiscence-based technology to help patients stay motivated during their time with us at Saint Vincent Hospital so that they can get the most out of their rehabilitation program,” added Dr. Campbell.
Keeping Residents and Loved Ones Connected
Family members and loved ones are an important part of our patients’ and residents’ lives. The Designated Care Partner program that was implemented this past year has been vital in keeping residents connected to loved ones who provide critical personal, physical, and psycho-social support.
James Conklin, PhD, leads the implementation science team conducting a developmental evaluation of the program across three of Ontario’s long-term care homes (in Ottawa, Markdale, and Tavistock) to help strengthen the program’s implementation and to assess its impact. The team will capture the experiences of residents, designated care partners, and care providers over time to explore what has been working and where changes to the program may be useful based on the findings.
“This work is an important opportunity to reveal the barriers and facilitators of the designated care partner program's implementation,” said Conklin. “Learning from the strategies used by the three homes in their implementation could help other long-term care homes to anticipate some challenges and be better positioned for a successful implementation of the program, which we hope will lead to more long-term care residents staying connected with families and loved ones.”