Communicating with patients and their families is a crucial part of coming up with the right care plans that are tailored specifically to each case, says a registered nurse.
Communicating with patients and their families is a crucial part of coming up with the right care plans that are tailored specifically to each case, says a registered nurse.
"What I do is get to know these residents really well, and I talk with their families and I talk with the people who've given care to them over quite a few years in some instances, and we make up a care plan to make sure that their care is unique to them — it's safe, it meets all of their needs, and that their families and physicians are part of that," said Rosanne Slusar, a case manager with Alberta Health Services.
The residents she has been working with include the patients at the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre's long-term care unit as well as those at the Foothills Lodge, who were recently relocated to the brand new, state-of-the-art Mountain View Seniors' Housing campus of care.
"I'm kind of like the bridge and I'm going with the residents over to the new facility. There will be 40 residents who I will be involved with," said the case manager.
"Really what it's about is residents having a new home and their health-care needs being met in quite a lovely facility."
Care plans for patients in the new facility's 40 supportive living beds, which are funded by AHS, outline instructions that are customized specifically for each resident's unique situation, she said.
"I'm on-site to be a partner with the residents, to be a partner with the families, to be a partner with the administration and the health-care aides and the nurses," she said.
"I really appreciate the collaborative relationship between the physicians and the families I've worked with so far, and the staff over at the hospital and long-term care, and a very welcoming group in home care here as well. It's an exciting project to be a part of."
Slusar, who commutes from Innisfail, began working in the community in mid-April out of the Sundre Community Health Centre, and said she was drawn here because of the new change.
"I have a lot of experience in nursing. I've worked in a lot of different roles. I love working with seniors and I love working in a community, so this combines both of those."
She obtained her nursing education in Kamloops and later did a master's in leadership and training at Royal Roads University in Victoria. Once her children grew up and moved away, she pursued a variety of diverse positions, including teaching a live-in caregiver program for a Canadian college in China, managing a unit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, nursing in Canada's north where the only access was by air, as well as running a couple of units in the U.S.
Aside from her wide repertoire of experience, Slusar said she also brings with her the intimate knowledge of what it's like to have a parent in specialized care.
"I've also been the daughter of a mom in a dementia unit. I think that gives you a special set of eyes. I've been on the other side of the bedside, and I know what it's like to have a loved one who's vulnerable and you're not able to be there 24 hours a day."
She said the residents of Sundre have every reason to be proud of the new campus of care, which took several years of planning combined with community consultation and cost about $26 million to build.
"I think the thing that's most exciting for me about it is the philosophy of the administration, (which) is very much welcoming and wanting the community to be a part of this."
For example, there's going to be right in the facility a satellite library made available to residents through the Sundre Municipal Library, she said.
"It's a great touch."
She has never before worked in Sundre but said she has quickly become fond of the community.
"It's beautiful. I love being at the grocery store and meeting people I saw earlier that day," she said, adding, "I like the small-town atmosphere."
Slusar encourages anyone who is so inclined to drop by during regular hours for a chat at the Sundre Home Care Office, which is located across the street from the RCMP detachment and behind the hospital. Alternatively, she can be reached at 403-638-4063.
She remains passionate about her line of work because seniors, even when in supportive living and in their later years, "still have a lot of wonderful influence in their families and their communities."
