1. The Caregiver Toolkit:The B.C. Interior Health Authority Experience Elisabeth Antifeau& Marian Krawczyk

2. Interior health authority: context • Over 742,000 residents of the Southern Interior B.C. • Large geographic area covering almost 216,000 square kilometres • Elisabeth Antifeau: Clinical Coordinator/Practice Lead, Special Populations,Community Integrated Health Services • 15 Practice Leads in total, 3 per 5 portfolios: Community Care, Mental Health, Aboriginal Health, Promotion and Prevention and Primary Health/Chronic Disease Management • Responsible for system-wide planning • Beginning a ‘management independent’ planning process for horizontal integration – 1st meeting March 27, 2012 • Offer a series of workshops on the Caregiver Toolkit (in conjunction with other resources)

3. Horizontal integration Initiative Facing the same issues as many other health authorities: • Geographically large and diverse (challenging to meet) • Constraints financially, temporally and in professional capacity • “Siloing”: Vertical integration functional, lack of horizontal integration • Many practice alignment projects • Lack of complete community supports • Inappropriate and/or early residential care admissions • Enormous pressure to deflect and defer residential admissions • Large ALC population • Need consolidated care strategy across silos • Barrier for home discharge is caregiver burnout; in part due to system neglect

4. Why use the cgpl? “Caregivers are important members of the care plan and health team”. • General discussion for generating ideas, networks and knowledge at: • Staff meetings • Workshops • Conferences • Clinical consults • Organization-Specific Knowledge Transfer • Between clinicians within discipline • Between clinicians across disciplines • Between clinicians and administrators • Between clinicians and caregivers

5. Why use the cgpl? “We’re really looking for different resources we can apply across our system as we develop”. • To include caregiver voice, perspectives and needs • To build capacity • For developing initiatives in system redesign • To develop practice standards • To develop front-line case management • To identify the gaps • To identify opportunities to work together • To address the gaps to change outcome for clients and families • To look at commonalities and linkages, sharing experience and knowledge

6. Projects & Initiatives “I see the CGPL as a tool to development of programs and policy, and the SPRG as central to the education of case managers”. • Four proposals currently in various stages of submission • Respite • Caregiver self-management • Post-discharge • Community nursing innovation

7. Projects & initiatives Horizontal integration (Practice) • Generate discussion • Knowledge transfer • Capacity-building • Facilitation of care planning across silos Patient-focused project initiatives for system redesign (Policy) • Program design and implementation • Need to ask: • “Is there a caregiver?” • “What is their role?” • “Do we have any indicators?” • To ‘profile’ caregivers using existing data to identify and begin to address gaps to change outcome for clients and families Future Research • To develop research questions • To ensure the perspective and needs of caregivers, not just clients • Evaluation

8. Benefits, challenges & tips • Successes • Easy to use as a ‘reminder’ document • Challenges • Lack of time • Many competing initiatives • Lack of awareness of the importance of caregivers • Tips • Be patient • Use concrete examples

9. Next steps • A series of webinar workshops (to be determined) • Goals of workshops: • To introduce and use three resources: • The Dementia Policy Lens (DPL), • The Seniors Mental Health Policy Lens (SMPL), and • The Caregiver Policy Lens (CGPL). • To facilitate Integrated Team’s ability to develop consistent practice standards across portfolios through horizontal integration initiatives and collaboration. • For more information: • Elisabeth AntifeauElisabeth.Antifeau@interiorhealth.ca • Marian Krawczyk mkrawczy@sfu.ca