Baycrest

FAMILY CAREGIVERS A VITAL RESOURCE When lawyer Steven Benmor learned that his mother was in the early stages of demen- tia, he felt "absolutely clueless" about the illness and what it would demand of him as a son. "Nobody is born with innate expertise in caring for a family member who has demen- tia," he says. SPOTLIGHTING BEST PRACTICES Baycrest has been selected as a Best Practice Spotlight Organiza- tion (BPSO) candidate by the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) for 2012-15. BPSOs are health-care and academic organizations recruited once every three years by the RNAO. The best practice guidelines Baycrest will be implementing include, among others, the prevention of falls; the assessment and manage- ment of pressure ulcers; screening for delirium, dementia and depression; and assessing and managing pain. "The designation will help us make an even stronger impact on patient care because we will be enhancing our evidence-based practice through the implementation and evaluation of internation- ally recognized best practice guidelines," says Karima Velji, Baycrest's chief operating officer and chief nursing executive. However, Benmor's understanding of the illness and his role as a caregiver became much clearer after he joined Caring for Your Loved One, a six-week Baycrest support pro- gram for family members. After completing the program, participants can join an alumni group that meets once a month. For spouses of persons with dementia living in the community, Baycrest offers The Changing Relationship, an eight-week program where participants discuss the emotional impact of caregiving for a husband or wife and share knowledge and information about resources. Innovative Caregiver Centre continued from page 8 The new Koschitzky Centre for Innovations in Family Caregiv- ing brings together a range of innovative Baycrest programs – developed and evaluated by our clinicians and researchers – to meet the ongoing needs of caregivers. The centre provides access to information, education, and individual and family counselling. These services were recently recognized by Accreditation Canada as a national leading practice, meaning they have set the bar for excellence in this field. The Centre is a "go-to" place to match each caregiver with the right service so they experience a greater level of understanding and support, which can reduce their stress and health risks, says Linda Jackson, executive director of Baycrest's Residential and Aging at Home Program. Each year, thanks to funding from philanthropists Sharon and her late husband Stanley Clavir, the Centre will add a new support group. "I want to help people in my situation," says Sharon Clavir, whose husband had memory difficulties and attended the recently renamed Freeman Family Day Centre. WATCH Another clinician-facilitated group for spous- es is Caring for Others. This innovative Web- based program allows caregivers to meet with each other from the convenience of their homes. The program reaches a unique group of younger adults providing care for husbands or wives who have frontotempo- ral dementia. FTD is a rare syndrome that typically strikes people in their 40s and 50s and causes a gradual, progressive decline in behaviour and language, resulting in increasing dependency. Earlier this year, at the end of a busy day run- ning his Ontario farm, Keith Lamont regularly logged in to the program in the evenings. His wife, Mary, has FTD, and Keith is her main caregiver. Because he lives in a rural com- munity, the Web group has been a godsend, he says. "You live in an increasingly isolated world as friends and family step back and the caregiv- er has to address a menu of ever-increasing issues. When you join the group, you realize that there are other people going through the same thing and maybe you can share a cop- ing mechanism you've discovered." 2011/12 Baycrest and Baycrest Foundation Annual Report 9 Mary and Keith Lamont in the early days of their move from the city to the farm when Mary was still well.

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