William A. "Bill" George Extended Care Facility becomes an RNAO Best Practices Spotlight Organization

SIOUX LOOKOUT, ON — Excellent staff are key to providing the best care possible for the residents of the William A. “Bill” George Extended Care Facility which is part of Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre (SLMHC). The staff at the Bill George home will now have even more tools to aid them in providing the best care available to their residents.

On May 30, 2016, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) along with representatives for Bill George home which included management, staff and residents, celebrated the announcement of the home becoming a Long Term Care Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO).

From left: SLMHC Patient Care Manager Denise Williams, SLMHC RAI Coordinator & TL Michelle Varey, RNAO Coach Heather Woodbeck, SLMHC Director of Patient Care Services Sue Anderson.

The BPSO initiative provides support to organizations that have formally agreed to implement and evaluate multiple RNAO best practice guidelines over a three year period. A Best Practice (BP) Guideline is a set of practice recommendations based on evidence from research.

Currently the Bill George home is considered a BPSO predesignated organization. Over the next three years the Bill George home will be working closely with the RNAO to reach their full designation as a BPSO.

Of the 50 BP guidelines, the Bill George home has selected five that are applicable to their unique set of requirements. The five RNAO best practice guidelines  that will be implemented at the Bill George home are Oral Health, Promoting Continence, Assessment and Treatment of Pressure Injuries, Prevention of Falls, and Assessment and Management of Pain.

 week prior to the announcement, Irmajean Bajnok, the Director of International Affairs and Best Practices Guidelines Centre for the RNAO welcomed a team of BPSO leaders and sponsors which included, SLMHC VP Health Services Heather Lee, SLMHC Director of Patient Care Services Sue Anderson, SLMHC Patient Care Manager Denise Williams, SLMHC RAI Coordinator & TL Michelle Varey, and RNAO Coach Heather Woodbeck.  They’re helping to launch eight BPSOs including the Bill George home.

In an address to the Bill George home’s management and staff, Bajnok said, “I want to make sure you know how special you are in taking this decision to implement a set of RNAO best practice guidelines, so that you can give the best possible evidence based care to residents and their families. The choice you have made means you want to continue to grow, to give better care and to see better outcomes. It also means that through this work you will all become better leaders, clinicians and decision makers, meaning that this home will provide even better support to the community you serve.”

The BPSO designation means that the Bill George home will be implementing evidence based practices centered on residents which will promote better outcomes for those residing in the home. Eventually, best practices in place at the Bill George home will be rolled out to SLMHC to include the long term care beds that are at the hospital.

“The residents here at Bill George Extended Care receive really good care and this program is going to allow us to provide even better care,” said SLMHC VP of Health Services Heather Lee

Lee said that the Bill George home has excellent staff and that they do a great job at making sure their residents are well looked after and that their families are included in their care.

The Bill George home is a 20 bed facility with 18 staff not including support staff such as dietary and housekeeping.  Some of the things to come will include training for staff, new policies being put in place, changes in practice, and ensuring all of the staff will be empowered to provide best practice care.