By Heather Woodbeck, RN, HBScN, MHSA and Connie Wood, RN, BScN, MN, LTC best practice co- ordinator
We are living in extraordinary times. Professionally and personally, COVID-19 changed how we work and collaborate with others, and the long-term care best practice co-ordinator team is no exception. With the restriction of visitors to the homes, our in-person work changed. However, we quickly pivoted and established new practices to support long-term care homes in providing quality, evidence-based care to residents.
Since the start of the pandemic, RNAO's CEO, Dr. Doris Grinspun has been sending out regular COVID-19 Updates which have evolved into a weekly blog. Valuable information in these updates that is directly related to LTC is sent to each Ontario home by the co-ordinators. One home manager described her appreciation for the updates:
“Thanks for sharing this. Reading this put a warm glow to the end of a busy day. A wonderful example of the fact staff in Long Term Care Homes develop a love and deep respect for the residents (and family members) in their care. Also, an example of the ingenuity of LTC staff in demonstrating this fact, in spite of the restrictions placed on long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.“
RNAO established a COVID-19 Portal on the Association's website where you can consult credible resources and stay informed. We have developed the following resources to meet your needs.
- Support for Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes includes additional information to supplement your practice:
- Suggestions and Strategies for Isolating Residents in Long-Term Care
- Palliative Care Delivery in Long-Term Care during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Mental Health and Well Being: Resources for Psychosocial Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Possible COVID-19 Symptoms to Report
- Symptoms COVID-19 suspectes à signaler
- What to do if your resident is Short of Breath and you suspect COVID-19
- Visiting information
- The COVID-19 Press room has all our media releases and advisories, and media hits related to COVID-19.
- RNAO has links to COVID-19 Webinars. There are archived webinars, including our weekly (and now monthly) #TogetherWeCanDoIt webinars, Nursing Now webinar and our weekly (and now monthly) LTC Nurse Practitioner (NP) webinars. Here is where Greenwood Court shared their COVID outbreak story and their successful recovery.
- Early in the pandemic, access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was a major issue. RNAO vocally urged the federal and provincial governments to aggressively secure a supply chain for all the required PPE to protect staff and residents in LTC homes.
- Human resources quickly became an issue as COVID-19 hit LTC homes. RNAO was the first out the door addressing growing nursing human resource shortages. With many RNs, NPs and PSWs being quarantined and/or falling sick, staffing needs escalated with the acuity of the pandemic. RNAO’s VIANurse program, launch on March 13, was a free service vital to recruit and channel thousands of NPs, RNs, RPNs and PSWs to health organizations in crisis, and assisted in urgent interventions where severe outbreaks were ongoing. RNAO’s long-term care coordinators were engaged in around-the-clock support to LTC Homes that required help. RNAO’s Student Registry was a place for LTC homes to request nursing students in second, third or fourth year to fill personal support worker (PSW) positions.
- RNAO set up a Nurse Practitioner (NP) Forum bringing together LTC NP’s from across the province to discuss COVID related challenges. A new forum for Foot Care Nurses focused on discussing issues about opening services to resume their practice safely.
- RNAO LTC best practice co-ordinators joins AdvantAge Ontario and other partners in regular meetings. We see the importance to stream-line communication and learn from each other. For example, we collaborated to seek out the best available evidence regarding the use of fans in homes.
- The unprecedented stress during the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone associated with LTC – staff, managers, residents and families. The following Facebook groups offer RNAO LTC support:
- Connecting families – This Facebook group provides a forum to enable friends and families of loved ones living in LTC homes share their stories and get support from others experiencing similar situations. The group is moderated by RNAO's LTC BPP team.
- Sharing and Tackling Emerging Care Issues Facebook Group Together – This is for nurses and other health colleagues to raise concerns about practice issues.
- Peer-to-Peer Support during COVID-19 – In this Facebook group, nurses and colleagues share their stories and offer mutual support to assist in building resilience during this extraordinary time.
- COVID-19 #TogetherWeCanDoIt Campaign supports health-care workers on the front line at 7:30 each evening. Our #TogetherWeCanDoIt campaign encompasses multiple initiatives, including #Cheer4HealthWorkers.
- #Maskathon urges the public, especially children and youth, to wear a non-medical mask or face covering in indoor public spaces (shops, mall, and other businesses), busy areas and transit and send photos to RNAOs social media platforms via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
LTC best practice co-ordinators continue their work with long term care leaders in unique ways. Whether it is by virtual community of practice meetings by videoconference, telephone conference calls or emails, the connections continue to be strong.
COVID is changing how co-ordinators support LTC homes. Our world in LTC has changed. While we may be sharing a global experience of living in a pandemic, how we experience it is very specific to place, age, class, race, and gender. RNAO continues to advocate on expanding the capacity of Ontario’s health system to meet emerging health needs in tackling COVID-19 with the Nursing Home Basic Care Guarantee. RNAO calls for a new era in LTC by guaranteeing the basic care needed, shoring up staffing levels for regulated and personal support staff, and adjusting the staff mix, so residents in nursing homes can count on consistent, safe and quality care.
