peopleCare LTC Home Named a Medication Safety Champion
peopleCare Hilltop Manor Long-Term Care (LTC) Home in Cambridge has been named one of only 10 Champion Homes that will partner with the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP Canada) to improve medication safety for LTC residents under a new government initiative.
The news is part of the government’s recently announced Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care Initiative. Jenn Killing, peopleCare’s Vice President, Quality, Research and Strategic Partnerships says the Hilltop team is delighted to be a Champion Home that will provide tools, education and coaching support to other LTC homes across the province.
“For close to a decade, peopleCare has been leading safer medication management in LTC with our award-winning innovative Clinical Pharmacy Model, which improves resident safety – in particular during transitions – and frees up clinical staff time for more hands-on care at the bedside,” says Killing. “Our team is thrilled to have this opportunity to continue championing and accelerating best practices in medication safety in our sector and the health system, along with our colleagues, and we thank the government and ISMP for enabling this important collaborative work.”
A focus on innovation in the sector and health system led peopleCare to develop a first-of-its-kind in Canada pharmacy-led medication reconciliation model. Funded through the single largest research grant from the Ontario Centres of Excellence – peopleCare is the only operator of LTC homes ever funded through this initiative – the model was endorsed in the 2019 LTC Public Inquiry recommendations.
Committed to technology-enabled care, peopleCare’s model is supported by automated dispensing cabinets and tele-pharmacy features that ensure expert medication reconciliation is available at any time, with full remote access to the electronic health record and medication lists. More efficient, this enhances communication among the care team, particularly during transitions, when residents are more vulnerable to medication errors.
Research by the World Health Innovation Network at University of Windsor demonstrates peopleCare’s model helps ensure resident medications are managed accurately, completely and concisely, and cuts down dramatically on the time to first dose, after a resident is admitted or readmitted from hospital. Improving the experience of the resident and their family proved to be another key benefit.
Clinical staff participating in the study appreciated the extra time they gained thanks to the support of the pharmacist leading the medication reconciliation – time they could spend with residents. As one registered practical nurse described it, “When new residents are here for the very first day it’s nice to give them that extra one-on-one time and be with them for a little bit longer. Taking them for another tour and showing them other parts of the home – it helps so they and the [family] feel settled more easily into the new environment.”
Read the ISMP news release Announcing 10 Champion Homes for the Ontario Strengthening Medication Safety in Long-Term Care Initiative
Read peopleCare Wins Quality Improvement of the Year for Clinical Pharmacy Model
