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Restorative Care Unit helps seniors recover, return to their homes By Liz Dadson |
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The South Bruce Grey Health Centre has opened a facility that offers rehabilitation for seniors so they can recover from surgery or acute episodes, and return to their homes. It's the Restorative Care Unit in Chesley which opened Nov. 1. It has 10 beds, while a similar unit in Owen Sound has 12 beds and opened Dec. 19.
She said restorative care supports a "home first" philosophy and is for individuals who will benefit from a short period of low-intensity transitional care to improve strength, endurance and independence so they can safely return home. For example, if someone is a patient in an acute care bed at one of the 11 hospitals in Grey-Bruce and wants to go home, the case manager discusses discharge options with the family, and can refer the patient to the restorative care unit. The patient can spend up to 56 days there, said Ridgeway, but the goal is to have him/her ready within 30 days. Going home means returning to the patient's home, the home of a family member, a retirement home or supportive housing, not a long-term care facility, said Ridgeway. The client must agree to work at, and achieve, certain goals, she said. Patients must be mentally stable, take their medications correctly, and do several other independent care activities before they can go home.The first client to be discharged, said Ridgeway, was a lady from Walkerton who had received a hip replacement. "She was totally independent within six days, and just had to follow up with her surgeon in London. She is our first success story - she went home." The Chesley restorative care unit currently has nine patients, from Southampton, Kincardine, Walkerton, Hanover, Wiarton and Owen Sound, said Ridgeway. "We've had 19 admissions since Nov. 1 and only one had to return to an acute care bed," she said.
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Staffing has increased to accommodate the new service, said Ridgeway.
The staff includes a case manager, physiotherapist, Registered
Practical Nurse, five personal support workers, a pharmacist, a
rehabilitation assistant, an occupational therapist, and the health
centre is looking for a Nurse Practitioner. "We've had clients referred here from retirement homes and others referred from the hospital after they've had an acute episode," said Ridgeway. Health centre chief executive officer Paul Davies said one-time funding of $230,000 was received to set up the restorative care unit. The operation of the unit is now part of the health centre budget, he said. Davies said there wasn't a lot of additional infrastructure required because the rooms were already at the Chesley hospital. New beds were purchased, and the hospital foundation and the hospital auxiliary assisted with the equipment and furnishings. "It's a great place to work," said Ridgeway. "The people are happy. They want to go home. It certainly adds a different dimension to work." Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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