In 2014, Sunrise Health Region received ongoing funding from the government for our Geriatric Resource and Intervention Team. The team provides assessment and recommendations to assist in the management of long term care residents with behavioural challenges. Representatives from Behavior Management, Pharmacy and Occupational Therapy make up the core members of the team and other professionals may be brought in for consultation depending on the circumstances of the case.
The Geriatric Resource and Intervention Team can be called to consult in various situations that occur within Long Term Care (LTC). With their varied expertise, the team can assist in finding alternate solutions to resident care and help to discover what the resident’s care team could do to support the resident more effectively. Additional follow up from the team ensures that the care has improved, determine what interventions worked and what have not, and to suggest additional changes to the care plan.
This program has been built from the ground up and currently is focused in Long Term Care. As the team further develops, we hope to be able to increase services to include persons in the community or acute care who have been assessed for placement to ease their experience as they move into one of our LTC facilities.
Sunrise is optimistic that GRIT will assist in making life in our Long Term Care facilities a more positive experience for all of our residents, their families and our staff.
