Vulcan and Region Family and Community Support Services hosted the Calgary Bow Regional FCSS spring conference with 30 Staff, Board and Council Members from many communities. This region includes Calgary, Banff, Canmore, Airdrie, Strathmore, Wheatland, Rockyview, High River, Foothills, Claresholm, Nanton, Stavely and Vulcan. It was a lovely bright, open space, and we appreciate being able to use it and showcase the Wellness Space to other communities. The morning speaker was Andrea Davis, a survivor of the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Disaster, speaking on trauma, resilience and the kindness of others. An Association update and regional sharing of information followed that.
The Adult Day Program Space
The ADP space has been helpful in keeping up with the constant changes that we continue to experience during the current pandemic. Although unable to run the Adult Day Program (ADP) in person during this time, the ADP team do still come in regularly to plan and prep their current virtual services for clients in the community within the space.
Home Care has also been able to utilize the space in between it being used for Public Health COVID Clinics, Long Term Care client socially distanced luncheons, meetings and many other things. One of the aspects Home Care has been able to do with the space, is hold socially distanced education sessions. These sessions enable us to keep our staff current and up to date on COVID changes, as well with the other job duties necessary to help keep our community/clients independent and in the community setting for as long as possible, by providing the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.
The picture here is just one of the many sessions that we have done since the pandemic started. It is around keeping our Health Care Aids up to date on distribution of medications and their role in this task, when completing it for our clients in need of this particular service. As medications are constantly changing and new medications are always being released it is important that we keep up to date for our client’s safety and our own safety.
Wishing the community well during this time. Stay safe, stay vigilant, stay compassionate for each other and we will get through this tough time together.
Sincere Regards
Staff were able to participate in NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program) in the wellness centre on April 15th. This course teaches staff concepts and hands-on skills required in caring for newborns that need resuscitation. A theory component and exam are done before the hands-on portion and testing, as seen in the photos. Having this onsite allows us to work with our site-specific equipment to familiarize ourselves and keep the experience true to our practice. We practice setting up the baby warmer, airway management, chest compressions, and medication delivery.
In conjunction with NRP, staff can also participate in Maternity Update, where we review imminent deliveries and complications.
Although Vulcan does not provide maternity services anymore, the staff still maintain their skills and knowledge through these courses. We provide this care in emergency cases such as imminent deliveries and when caring for patients being transferred for further care.
The Staff at the Vulcan Community Health Centre is using the Wellness Space for ongoing training. And would like the community to know how thankful they are.
ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) took place in the wellness centre on Tuesday January 26, 2021. The staff was covering IOs at this station (intraosseous – drilling into the bone when no IV access). We do this often in cardiac compromised patients and trauma patients. Staff are able to spread out during class content and then can come together for skills station.
I am home again! Words cannot express my gratitude! It has been a challenging 8 months of not being in clinical space.
I have been given permission to use Room 1317 for office space, and Exam Room 1335 to see patients. The two sites I work out of are, Vulcan and Okotoks. The majority of my referrals are from the Vulcan Medical Clinic.
I have been out in the community here since 2007. I work with the most amazing Colleagues and I am excited to get back to seeing my patients in person! The office and exam rooms are lovely and I am most appreciative. If you could please share this message with anyone who was involved with creating these spaces.
Regards,
Carrie
Connect Care is the bridge between information, healthcare teams, patients and the future. The foundation of Connect Care is a common clinical information system, that will allow healthcare providers a central access point to patient information, common clinical standards and healthcare practices.
Currently, the Wellness Space is being utilized for onsite training for our local healthcare team. Having space to provide this training, and remain socially distanced and safe.
We are able to do this training in this place, because of your donations.
Thank you!
On Wednesday, Feb. 17 we had Patrice Jull from 3M** come and provide education on Negative Pressure Wound Therapy using V.A.C. Therapy (vacuum-assisted closure). We set it up as a Zoom session for other staff to attend as well.
This type of therapy delivers negative pressure (from a vacuum) to a specialized foam dressing attached to the wound. This helps promote wound healing for difficult to heal wounds. The presentation covered how to prepare the wound bed, dress it and use the V.A.C. unit and accessories. Staff then participated in hands-on learning practicing with the equipment and simulated wound beds provided by Patrice. We finished off the session by setting up and completing wound care on our actual patient requiring this kind of therapy.
We don’t often receive patients with wound vacuum dressings so having the opportunity to bring in some “just in time training” helps staff provide current and competent safe care. This type of therapy is being used more and we will likely see more patients with it. Being able to provide this to our patients helps bring them back to their community sooner, spending less time in the urban hospitals.
We were so grateful to have the opportunity to use the new Multipurpose Room at the Vulcan Community Health Centre for the Covid-19 Vaccine Program. Our focus on the first few clinics is on the ages of 75 and up. For a lot of the seniors, it was their first visit since the new build, and they expressed how fortunate they were to be able to receive the Vaccine here in Vulcan. Having this large space available really simplified the planning of the Vaccination Program.
It is a beautiful, functional space!
Heart and Stroke Basic Life Support class is a yearly mandated course by AHS. It covers cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for adults, children and infants. Staff get the opportunity to practice their chest compressions and rescue breaths and use defibrillation (electric shock to the heart) for a patient in cardiac arrest ( heart stops beating). In the pictures, it was a mix of RNS LPNS HCAS. We are assessing the breathing and pulse of the patient in the group picture. I am demonstrating proper technique for chest compressions in the other picture
The Staff at the Vulcan Community Health Centre is using the Wellness Space for ongoing training. And would like the community to know how thankful they are.
ACLS (advanced cardiac life support) took place in the wellness centre on Tuesday January 26, 2021. The staff was covering IOs at this station (intraosseous – drilling into the bone when no IV access). We do this often in cardiac compromised patients and trauma patients. Staff are able to spread out during class content and then can come together for skills station.
Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. We are required to take it every 2 years to maintain certification and competency. The course covers the science of resuscitation using a systematic approach to care for various heart events. Although a heart attack might be what most people think of as the most common heart event, there are other heart arrhythmias or problems that we see and treat, such as heart rates too fast or slow, strokes. Doctors and nurses practice all of these using algorithms and simulations during the course and then finish with a written exam.
We were fortunate enough to host 2 ACLS courses this year to help catch up on staff that had courses cancelled due to Co-Vid, for staff that were due or had never taken it. It was a great opportunity to be able to do this on-site with our own staff. Not only did we get to discuss & use site-specific equipment and resources, we were able to practice as a team. Being comfortable in your own environment with your own equipment and people lends to a positive work experience and helps eliminate some of the tension that we naturally feel in some of these life-threatening situations.
Some of the pictures sent were workstations set up to practice airway management, such as insertion of breathing tubes and bagging to ventilate. We also had a station to preview and practice using the IO (intraosseous) equipment for patients that we are unable to get IV (intravenous) access on. The IO allows us to use the patient’s bone to infuse fluids and potentially life-saving medications. We also had a station where we practiced doing CPR using equipment that gives us feedback on the rate and depth of our compressions. The mannequin would have different coloured lights to let us know to hurry up, slow down, or push harder. This was a really cool feature that helped us improve the delivery of our compressions.
Thank you again to the Donors for helping make these opportunities possible in this space. I genuinely believe the more we can offer and educate our nurses and doctors, the more we are doing our part in looking after our community.
Supportive Pathways, Dementia Care Training.
As the Clinical Nurse Educator at the Vulcan Community Health Centre, I received dementia care training that I provide to staff called Supportive Pathways.
Staff working in Long Term Care are required to have this training. I attended an Early Onset Dementia Conference in Edmonton two years ago, thanks to the Vulcan County Health and Wellness Foundation bursary program. At this conference, I entered a draw and won the opportunity to be registered in a 12-day course called Dementia Care Matters! These 2 courses have allowed me to shape and enhance the Supportive Pathways course I teach staff and contributed to the Dementia Care for Support Staff training I provided in April. It was great to focus on support staff such as environmental services, dietary, and recreation as they have special day-to-day interactions with our residents.
My passion for dementia care has evolved through my nursing practice, training, and most importantly, through the eyes of a daughter of a parent living with Dementia. The picture in the PowerPoint is of my mom Dianne in a care facility with my daughter Mya making kissing faces at each other. Making moments with people living with Dementia can be as simple as drawing, doing puzzles, listening to music, or holding hands. These connections are often simple but impactful.