PRIORITIES / Operational Excellence in Home-Based Palliative Care
Operational Excellence in Home-Based Palliative Care
An exchange of knowledge, experience, and expertise. The new CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub invites home care providers and palliative care specialists to participate in a series of facilitated sessions addressing the identified gaps and challenges in home-based palliative care. Using the Project ECHO philosophy of ‘moving knowledge rather than people in order to increase access to best practices and reduce geographical health disparities’, the CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub will improve the ability of local health care teams to provide better palliative care at home.
Working in partnership with Pallium Canada, as part of the National Palliative Care ECHO Project, the CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub will:
Major barriers to high quality palliative care at home include: a lack of palliative care training for frontline providers; gaps in knowledge and skills; limited access to palliative care specialists and a general workforce labour shortage. Through our work in mapping the palliative care experience, the CHCA has identified Pain and Symptom management as the ECHO theme for 2021-22.
Each one-hour learning session includes a teaching presentation from a subject matter expert, followed by a case scenario to support practical learning and application of new concepts. If you or your palliative care team are challenged with interdisciplinary communication and decision-making, managing palliative care emergencies in the home or having difficult conversations about pain and symptom management, we encourage you to join the CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub sessions.
Announcements and session details will be sent to all CHCA member organizations. There is no limit to the number of participants who can join a CHCA Palliative Care ECHO session. All sessions are free of charge.
Palliative Care ECHO Hub Project – Introduction and Approach (September, 29, 2021 12:00 – 1:00 pm)
Learn about the National Palliative Care ECHO Project and how to become involved in the new CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub. Gain an understanding of the challenges and gaps in home-based palliative care and how to directly connect with experts to address real case challenges facing your palliative care team.
Host: Jennifer Campagnolo, ECHO Hub Project Lead
Speakers:
Pain and Symptom Management at Home: Interdisciplinary communication and decision making (October 2021*)
Responding to the complex needs of individuals receiving palliative care at home requires coordinated and active involvement between the person, their caregiver(s) and the interprofessional health and social care team. Join this session to learn about a proven strategy to enable rapid clinical problem-solving and explore how this approach has positively reduced symptom burden in high-risk individuals. Session speakers to be confirmed.
Pain and Symptom Management at Home: Managing Emergencies (November 2021*)
An unexpected pain and / or symptom crisis can result in a rushed and unplanned emergency department visit and have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life. Home care professionals must have the ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of emergencies, know when patients are at risk and create a plan in case an emergency does happen. Join this session to discuss strategies and practice advice on this important topic. Session speakers to be confirmed.
Pain and Symptom Management at Home: Difficult Conversations with Caregivers and Patients (January 2022*)
Conversations about pain and symptoms with patients and their caregivers can feel uncomfortable and foreboding. Caregivers’ and patients’ experiences – what they think, feel and do – is highly impacted by their emotions. Join this session to learn about caregivers’ experience is supporting loved ones to die at home and how you can use emotional intelligence skills to guide conversations, provide guidance and engage caregivers and patients when talking about dealing with pain and symptoms at home. Session speakers to be confirmed.
Pain and Symptom Management at Home: Difficult Conversations ideas for Service Providers (February 2022*)
Supporting patients and families through palliative and end of life care is difficult, and so are the conversations about pain and symptom management. When health care providers are not equipped with the skills and tools to support these conversations they may feel uncomfortable and choose to avoid these important conversations. Join this session to explore ideas and strategies you and your team can use to start conversations, explain difficult concepts and ensure a good understanding of how to deal with pain and symptoms at home. Session speakers to be confirmed.
*Dates subject to change based on presenter availability
Each session’s learning content is reinforced by several resources available to the CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub community. These resources will include:
The CHCA Palliative Care ECHO Hub Community will be available in October 2021.
The Palliative Care ECHO Project is a 5-year national initiative that supports the creation of communities of practice, supporting continuous professional development among health care providers across Canada who care for patients with life-limiting illness. Led by Pallium Canada and partners from across Canada, the Project will deliver a continuous learning journey for health care providers to build local capacity to provide a palliative care approach to patients and their families. The Palliative Care ECHO Project is supported by a financial contribution from Health Canada.
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