for the patient with Dr. Datar and herself. This visit also includes the patient and sometimes their family, their home care nurse or other healthcare provider involved in the patient’s care. What truly sets this home visit model apart is the inclusion of all of these people relevant to the patient’s care and the opportunity for firsthand exchange of information. Ashley confirms, “It’s nice having the family there too because then
ing as a Case Manager in home care out of Alberta Health Services’ Westview Health Centre in Stony Plain for the last 11 years. The last two and a half years, she has been part of the team that assists people with a palliative diagnosis who want to have a home death. This can involve helping to arrange all of the supports the patient may need from occupational or physical therapy, to ordering a hospital bed, to teaching family members how to manage the medical equipment or give injections.
(From left) Members of the home visit team en route to a patient’s home; Carol Potter, home care LPN
you’re actually seeing where they are convalescing. You see the actual environment. Even over the phone it’s difficult to tell what their actual living conditions are like and what help they have available,” said Carol. For Carol and other home care nurses like her, the relationship with the
Sometimes you’re treating the family and not the patient. You’re making the patient comfortable but you’re providing a lot of psychosocial support to the family. you get the whole picture. Sometimes the patient isn’t saying everything that’s wrong, and this way the family feels like everyone is heard. There’s an open discussion about the care. It’s really collaborative. Everyone gets firsthand information from the healthcare team and that saves a lot of phone calling. It makes everyone feel more comfortable.” “Each person is contributing their expertise to the patient’s care including the family,” said Dr. Datar. “Everybody gets to ask questions. Everybody gets to offer an opinion.” Carol Potter, LPN, has been work10
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Carol has seen LPN responsibilities change considerably during her eleven years of practice. In home care alone, LPNs now administer injections, monitor vitals, do blood draws, manage line flushes and PICC lines, and much more. Carol says that her practical nursing knowledge and expertise is an excellent fit with palliative care at home, as the patients’ needs and complexities are well-managed within the LPN scope of practice. “A lot of these people aren’t able to come into the doctor’s office or into a clinic so it’s good to be able to see them in their home. Then
family physician is important because all the medical orders come through the doctor. “A good rapport with the family doctors is important so we have all our orders in place ahead of time, so there are no surprises. So that someone isn’t all of a sudden having a seizure and we have no medication to give them. In that case, we’d have to call an ambulance and have them come in through Emergency and that’s not where somebody who is passing away wants to be. ER doctors are there to save your life, not ease your way out of it,” she said.