Category: Uncategorized

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Jessica Kelly, Registered Dietitian FHT/ORG: Stratford Family Health Team ABSTRACT: For Registered Dietitians and other health care professionals, facilitating positive lifestyle and behavioral change is a major part of one’s job, especially when it comes to chronic disease management.  While it can be rewarding, it often proves to be quite challenging at times.  One way to facilitate behavior change that seems to be slowly emerging in not only the literature but in workshops and conferences is “motivational interviewing” (MI).  There are many formats one can take to learn more about MI, however it can often appear difficult to turn the theory of MI into application.  This workshop is designed to share some practical tried and tested methods of how one can implement specific motivational interviewing strategies to not only provide a more rewarding experience for their patients, but make their own job appear less challenging. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Dr. Jean Clinton; Dr. Jean Mullens FHT/ORG: McMaster University, Offord Centre for Child Studies & Hamilton FHT ABSTRACT: The Province of Ontario has implemented an enhanced 18-month well-baby visit to shift the focus from a well-baby check-up to a pivotal assessment of development.  Standardized tools (the Rourke Baby Record-Ontario and Nipissing District Developmental Screen (NDDS)) are recommended to facilitate health care professionals to have a broader discussion with parents on child development, parenting, literacy, and connecting to local community services.  An educational webportal (www.18monthvisit.ca) has been developed to provide education and support for the visit.  The webportal includes downloadable versions of the recommended tools, key resources, learning modules, blogs, discussion forums and more. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Kirk Miller, Business Services Manager FHT/ORG: Guelph FHT ABSTRACT: Emergency departments see rostered patients for non-urgent care every day. Using acute care resources to process non-urgent visits is costly and impedes access for patients requiring urgent care. The WWLHIN has targeted a 10% reduction in CTAS 4 and 5 for hospitals in the region. The Guelph Family Health Team (GFHT) began a study of Guelph General Hospital (GGH) ED visits using a Learning community PDSA approach in March 2011. This presentation summarizes the methods for data collection, the process to present data to physicians, the collaborative work between GFHT and GGH and the strategies to achieve ED visit reductions. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Laura Turner, OT, Project Coordinator; Shellie Buckley, RN, Project Coordinator FHT/ORG: Stratford FHT ABSTRACT: Working in primary care on a Family Health Team is a new and emerging practice area for occupational therapists. Sharing common values of health promotion and wellness, occupational therapists and FHTs utilize varied models of service delivery to best address patient needs. A collaborative team effort is required to ensure that occupational therapy is a good fit with established teams, effectively meets the needs of rostered patients and does not duplicate existing community services. The objectives of this presentation are to share our experience providing OT in a FHT, including steps taken to design and implement a successful pilot project, the development of referral criteria for OT, an overview of patients who received therapy, examples of the interventions provided and a summary of the outcome measures and results used to demonstrate the value of this project. Plans to expand the role of occupational therapy will be included in this discussion. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Lori Letts; Julie Richardson FHT/ORG: School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University ABSTRACT: This presentation will share findings from two research projects that evaluated the contributions rehabilitation professionals make with patients with chronic diseases in primary care. The first study was a randomized trial with patients seen by physiotherapy and occupational therapy for individualized assessment, intervention, group self-management, and web-based supports to self-manage their conditions and functioning. Intervention group participants had significantly fewer planned hospital days, and were significantly more satisfied with rehabilitation services. The second study was a before-after design with case-matched controls, using a population based approach to rehabilitation self-management and organizational capacity-building. Participants in the intervention group had significant improvements in physical activity and strength; and improved self-efficacy that was not maintained. Team members reported benefits from the capacity building intervention. Together, these two studies call attention to the importance of self-management, physical functioning, and meeting rehabilitation needs of patients with chronic illnesses seen by Family Health Teams. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Janet Obre, RN (EC), BScN, PHCNP; Kate Jasper, B.A., M.Sc., Mental Health Counselllor FHT/ORG: STAR FHT ABSTRACT: The “Teen Health Check In” Clinic was developed to increase accessibility to mental and physical health care for youth in our practice community. The goal of the clinic is to provide information and supports that promote prevention, early identification and intervention for common mental and physical health concerns in a format that fits for teens. The plan for achieving this involves offering weekly open access / drop in time for teens, no appointment is necessary and youth can meet with a nurse practitioner and / or a mental health counselor. This initiative was developed in collaboration with community partners that can be referred to from the clinic. In providing this clinic the gap between mental and physical health is closed thereby decreasing stigma associated with mental health concerns. This presentation will outline the development and progress of this initiative, specifically addressing need, planning, implementation and evaluation. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Kimberly Vaughan, MSW RSW; Elizabeth Smith, RN (EC), MN PHC Nurse Practitioner FHT/ORG: Thames Valley FHT- Old South Site ABSTRACT: Adapted from the Antidepressant Skills Workbook (Dan Bilsker PhD/Randy Paterson PhD), this program for individuals with mild/moderate depression is short, structured, and focused on getting activated. An antidepressant toolkit encourages SMART goals and small steps towards success. Participants complete the PHQ-9 and Herth Hope Index at the beginning of the first session and at the end of the fourth session to provide pre- and post-test evaluation of the program’s effectiveness. In the pilot project of this program, participants post-test PHQ-9 scores averaged 2-3 points less than pre-test scores and post-test HHI scores averaged 4-6 points higher than pre-test scores indicating an decrease in depressive symptoms and an increase in hopefulness. Feedback provided by participants was overwhelmingly positive emphasizing benefits of the materials provided and the group format. Facilitated by a social worker and nurse practitioner, the success of this intervention also highlights the impact of interdisciplinary collaboration of FHT’s. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Brenda Mills, Coordinator, Child & Youth Mental Health Initiative; Jaclyn Busser, BScN, RN, CCHN(C) Public Health Nurse City of Hamilton & Hamilton FHT FHT/ORG: Hamilton Family Health Team ABSTRACT: The Hamilton Family Health Team (HFHT) has embarked on two key partnerships to improve patient care. This presentation will discuss the unique relationships between the HFHT and the Children’s Aids Societies, and the HFHT and Public Health Services. The first initiative involved the assignment of two child protection staff to work collaboratively with three family practices to increase knowledge and communication with a goal of early intervention and prevention strategies that are timely and less intrusive. The second initiative, the HFHT- Public Health relationship, started in 2009 with a focus on facilitating adaptation of the new ‘Enhanced 18 Month Well Baby Visit’ and has continued to expand since that time. This presentation will illustrate how the HFHTs partnerships have reduced barriers and increased capacity building, and will provide insight as to facilitating factors, challenges and key lessons learned from both exciting collaborations. Click here to view presentation.

2011 AFHTO conference presentation PRESENTER (S): Difat Jakubovicz, MSc, MD, CCFP, FCFP; Ian Waters MSW RSW; Azadeh Moaveni, MD CCFP, Gita Lakhanpal, MES, OT Reg (Ont) FHT/ORG: Toronto Western Hospital Learning Objectives Participants will be able to: a)     Understand key components of an Interprofessional Team Case Conference (IPCC) b)    Appreciate how IPCCs can help health care professionals become a patient centered collaborative practice team c)     Discuss opportunities and challenges when planning an IPCC Rationale/Background: Family Health Teams face numerous challenges in becoming effective interprofessional teams.  The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) Academic Family Health Team (AFHT) pioneered the Interprofessional Team Case Conference (IPCC) as a way to share expertise among health professionals in order to improve patient care. TWH then shared their expertise with St. Joseph’s Health Centre (SJHC) Urban FHT, who developed a site-specific model.  Successes and challenges of developing and maintaining IPCCs will be discussed and suggestions provided for how one can implement a similar model in their own practice. The IPCC focuses on improving patient care by developing: a) an understanding of the various roles and scopes of practice of various health care professionals, b) the ability to effectively communicate with other team members, c) respect for each profession’s contribution to patient care and d) a reflective process to maximize the quality and effectiveness of patient care. This will be an interactive presentation. Click here to view presentation.