Bringing care to seniors - how a team approach in Delta is helping seniors stay healthy

August 19, 2019

Coordinating our lives when we're young, mobile, and healthy can be a challenge. For seniors, accessing and coordinating care can be overwhelming, especially for those with chronic conditions, and often this means their health will suffer.

Bringing%20care%20to%20seniors%20-%20how%20a%20team%20approach%20in%20Delta%20is%20helping%20seniors%20stay%20healthy%20An innovative solution to help seniors stay healthy and independent longer has been developed by physicians involved in a Shared Care Delta Division of Family Practice initiative in partnership with nurses, pharmacists, community services staff and health authority administrators. With funding and support from the Shared Care Committee (a partnership of Doctors of BC and the BC government), they created a Delta Health Hub being piloted at an assisted living facility, Augustine House, in Delta.

The hub offers a centralized service where residents sign up and fill out a self-assessment form which is then reviewed by a geriatric nurse, physician and pharmacist who visit Augustine House every week. They then flag potential problems to the patient’s family physicians. Dr Katalin Balogh notes that a key factor for success is that “all providers can access the record including family physicians and the ER. This communication has been key". The increased communication also extends to the resident and their family through regular education sessions. Resident Cecile French appreciates the sessions: “Next week a pharmacist is coming to talk to us. When we learn to take care of ourselves, we don’t take chances, and that reduces the number of emergencies”.

This is just one example of how Shared Care and all the Joint Collaborative Committees are supporting partnerships and collaboration in health care that is resulting in better care for vulnerable populations.

Learn more about the Delta Health Hub here.