National Nursing Week | 2018

6 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2018

#YESThisIsNursing MAY 7-13, 2018 NATIONAL NURSING WEEK 2018

PRIORITY HOME CARE PROGRAM HELPS NURSES IMPROVE PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE By Mike Daly / Winnipeg Regional Health Authority

Case co-ordinator Melinda Homola helps patients recover at home.

It’s only been a few months since the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s Priority Home program debuted, but it’s already making a difference in its clients’ lives and in the lives of the nurses it employs. “Personally, it’s been quite rewarding,” says Priority Home case co-ordinator Melinda Homola, one of five nurses currently working in the program. “I’m learning new things every day, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with a really great team that shares the same goal — to improve our patients’ quality of life while maintaining them at home.” Priority Home, which got its start in November, is a person-centred, collaborative philosophy focused on keeping patients — specifically high-needs seniors — safe in their homes for as long as possible using community supports. It’s officially described as a short-term (up to 90 days), transitional, intensive, and restorative service available to eligible individuals who may need: • intensive case co-ordination • health-care aide or home-support worker assistance • rehabilitation services (occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech language pathology and rehabilitation assistants) • other home care supports

“What often happens is that, while in hospital, a patient may become what we call deconditioned; less mobile, weaker, or not up to the functional ability they had prior to their hospital admission,” Homola says. “Our goal is to try to help them regain some of that strength, mobility and function so that they can recover at home rather than having to stay in the hospital or enter a long-term care facility. “As case co-ordinators, we collaborate with the occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech pathologist on our team, and with the patients and their families, to identify goals that may allow the patient to become more independent and have a more successful transition back into the community. When we accomplish that, it’s very rewarding.” Many patients not only prefer their home environment, but often maintain better health in it. “There is evidence from other programs within Canada to support that clients tend to do better at home, especially when supported by additional resources such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists,” Homola says. “They have the benefit of familiar surroundings and the comforts of home, some of which, such as food, may be particular to their culture.” Helping her clients stay in their home environment speaks to the reason Homola entered the nursing profession nine years ago. “I went into nursing to help people and in this role I get to work quite closely with my patients to build a good rapport. I’m helping to see them through a difficult time in their lives and, at the same time, I get to use my nursing knowledge to help identify any medical problems that

may develop. It’s a very challenging role. I develop complex care plans for my patients that help them with their often challenging medical conditions.” Even in those cases where safety concerns make staying at home impractical for patients, Priority Home’s case co-ordinators are able to provide valuable assistance. “Ultimately, the goal is to help sustain the individual at home,” Homola says. “If we are able to do that and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions or trips to the emergency room, that’s a success in itself. But the goal can change if we, the patient or their family recognizes that being at home may not be the most appropriate approach,” she adds. “Then we can talk

about placement into assisted living, supportive housing, or help them through the process for long-term care. Helping clients and family members navigate through

those various options relieves their stress, and they are very appreciative of that.” ✚

PHOTO BY NATASHA WOLOSCHUK / WINNIPEG REGIONAL HEALTH AUTHORITY

CRITICAL CARE IN THE AIR STARS FLIGHT NURSES RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES ACROSS THE PROVINCE By Dean Pritchard

Melvin Yumang knew early on in his nursing career that he wanted to work with patients in crisis. What he didn’t know was that his workspace would be the inside of a helicopter, thousands of feet in the air. Yumang, 34, is a flight nurse with STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society), the non-profit helicopter emergency service that provides medical care and transportation for critically ill and injured patients. “We are taking care of people likely on the worst day of their lives,” Yumang says. “The fact that we are able to provide that care for that individual, for families to know that everything possible is being done for their family members, is something that is immeasurable. I have to pinch myself sometimes because I really do consider myself quite lucky to be part of this organization, to be part of this team.” From the STARS hangar at the Richardson International Airport, Yumang and the rest of his flight crew — two pilots, an advanced- care paramedic and sometimes a doctor — can be called at a moment’s notice to respond to medical emergencies at locations across the province. On one memorable occasion last February, Yumang and his crew received a report early in the evening of a snowmobiler who had been seriously injured at Falcon Lake. Complicating the rescue was the fact the injured girl and her friends were in a heavily wooded area with no cell phone service. “Landing close to the scene of the accident just wasn’t possible … so it was hard to be located by us, and even by the ground

crews,” he says. “It almost became a search and rescue situation. We were approaching sunset, basically, and at that point there was additional pressure to get to this individual who needed our care.” The helicopter eventually landed in a clearing two kilometres away from the accident scene, where Yumang and a paramedic were met by members of the snowmobile party and driven to the injured girl. “We treated her injuries as best we could and essentially had to walk her on a backboard for 45 minutes back to the helicopter,” he says. The patient was then transported to Winnipeg for further medical care. And that was Yumang’s second mission of the day. All in a day’s work for a STARS flight crew. STARS was founded in Calgary in 1985 and since then has added bases in Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg, flying 30,000 missions along the way. STARS missions are made up of scene calls and inter-hospital transfers. “A scene call would typically be a response to an accident, such as a motor vehicle accident on a rural highway or a critical fall that … requires us to land in the vicinity of (the patient’s) home,” Yumang says. “The other half of the time we conduct inter- hospital transfers, meaning we will present to a rural facility with the intention of bringing critical-care resources to that rural site to allow for safe transport into Winnipeg.” Yumang works part-time at St. Boniface General Hospital. It was there that he met several nursing colleagues who also worked for STARS, piquing his interest in the air service. He joined STARS as a part-time flight nurse two years ago.

“WE ARE TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE LIKELY ONTHE WORST DAY OF THEIR LIVES.” STARS flight nurse MelvinYumang takes part in a simulation exercise. PHOTOS COURTESY OF STARS

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“At St. Boniface, I got to meet many of the nurses I now consider my mentors,” he says. “Of the eight nurses we have on crew at STARS, five of them, including myself, have some sort of tie to St. Boniface.” STARS’ ongoing commitment to training and innovation has made it an integral part of Manitoba’s health-care system, he adds. Recent innovations include the ability to provide inflight blood transfusions, a development Yumang describes as “game changing.” “I think we’ve demonstrated how important we are in the chain of survival, and ensuring care is provided for those that otherwise would not be able to access it in a timely fashion.” ✚

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