Baycrest

NEXT PRACTICE A SMART, GREGARIOUS EXTROVERT, FRANK'S COGNITIVE ABILITIES AND BEHAVIOUR BEGAN TO DECLINE YEARS BEFORE HE CAME TO BAYCREST. Harriet Liebmann exchanges smiles with her husband Frank in his room at the Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged. MAKING AN IMPACT ON DEMENTIA CARE IN ONTARIO Frank Liebmann has been treated for dementia at Baycrest for five years now, but he remembers nothing about the experience because the illness has robbed him of his memory. His wife, Harriet, on the other hand, recalls it all in vivid detail. She credits Baycrest with correctly diag- nosing the condition and making sure her husband of 50 years continues to receive the care he needs. A smart, gregarious extrovert, Frank's cognitive abilities and behaviour began to decline years before he came to Baycrest. These changes in an otherwise healthy man in his sixties frightened and perplexed his family. After a long search for answers, Harriet turned to Baycrest where it was finally confirmed that Frank has frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a rare form that often strikes in middle age. Frank was initially admitted to the Behavioural Neurology Unit in Baycrest's hospital where the agitation, aggression and other difficult behaviours caused by his illness were assessed and brought under control. Later, he came to Baycrest three days a week to be part of a unique FTD manage- ment program in our recently renamed Freeman Family Day Centre. 10 2011/12 Baycrest and Baycrest Foundation Annual Report Now that the dementia has progressed to the point where he needs long-term care, Frank, 77, has moved to the Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged at Baycrest. Meanwhile, Harriet keeps in touch with others in her situation through an FTD family caregiver support program she joined at Baycrest when Frank was first diagnosed. As their disease progresses, about 60 per cent of patients who have Alzheimer's or other neuro- logical conditions will exhibit symptoms such as aggression, delusions and wandering. As the population ages, providing timely and appropriate care for a growing number of patients with these problems is becoming ever more challenging. Families and health-care providers are often not able to cope. Patients end up in acute care hospi- tals when they could – with the right resources and training – be better managed at home or in long-term care. Baycrest leads Toronto BSO strategy A new Ontario-wide program aims to achieve more equitable and coordinated access to expert care for these vulnerable patients, in the right set- ting and at the right time. The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is providing funding to the province's 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) to implement its Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) strategy. In January 2012, the Toronto Central LHIN appointed Baycrest to lead the BSO strategy in its catchment area. The appointment comes with $3-million in new annual funding.

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