New CARE Grant Projects Help Patients and Caregivers

The Emergency Department at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre can be a very busy place. Staff provides all the support and comforts they can. Now, thanks to a Family CARE Grant, they have two new ways to provide that support.

The first is actually a way to support the people who come with patients. Many bring a family member or friend. Essential care providers are part of patient care.

“Patient and Family-Centred Care (PFCC) – that’s what we’re all about here,” said Adrian McKee, a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department. “Essential care providers can give patients things that we as healthcare workers can’t give, like the love of their families.”

Those caregivers can also help with small things such as getting them a drink of water and help with other personal needs.

However, chairs in the Emergency Department used to be hard to find. That meant essential care providers often had to stand. With funding from a Family CARE Grant, the Emergency Department purchased 30 additional chairs – one of for each bedside. Caregivers can now sit down next to patients.

“More chairs means more space for loved ones,” McKee said. “Having a place to sit makes it easier on the care provider. It’s less stressful for them and patients.”

iPad Helpful in Many Different Ways

A Family CARE Grant also funded an iPad to help both patients and essential care providers.

“This tablet is super helpful and can be used in many different ways,” McKee said. “One of my favourite things it can do is allow patients to have video conversations with family members if they don’t have a phone with them.”

That’s just the start. Social workers can use it to help patients find and connect with services. Healthcare providers can use it to show credible information to a patient about their condition and treatment. Music can help calm patients who may be in distress. And although our Hospital has connections to the Multicultural Centre for translation, an app on the iPad can help when in-person translation services aren’t possible.

The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation’s Family CARE Grant provides funding for frontline employees to fund their own ideas for patient care improvements. In fact, “CARE” stands for “Care Advancements Recommended by Employees.” These grants are funded by donors like you who understand that little things can make a big difference to patient care. Whether it’s seeing a loved one on an iPad while you’re being treated in Emerge or making sure a family member helping you has a place to sit, Family CARE Grants make all the difference.

Learn more including how you can donate to this amazing grant program by visiting: https://www.healthsciencesfoundation.ca/familycare