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BSO interventions improve Riverview resident’s home experience

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Reluctant about their new home at first, the resident is now enjoying life at Riverview Manor

Riverview Manor’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team recently helped a new resident transition to life at the Peterborough long-term care home after the resident faced challenges adjusting to their new environment.

The resident moved into Riverview Manor earlier this year and was experiencing agitation on their first day, explains BSO team member Sarah Plumpton.

The resident was refusing to take their medication and was upset and confused about being in a new home. Making matters more challenging, the resident had to spend their first days in isolation, due to an outbreak at the home.

Immediately, the BSO team stepped in to help the resident. Team members noticed the resident was finding it easy to open up to one BSO team member, personal support worker Karlie Phillips.

Karlie and the resident began building a rapport that was easing the resident’s anxiety.

The BSO team began creating best-care strategies for the resident on Day 1, Sarah notes.

The team found the resident required constant activities to keep preoccupied, so team members made a point of keeping the resident busy with activities they enjoy.

The resident also had a preference for being cared for by older staff members when it came to being administered medications or attending to activities of daily living.

“We also found that you really had to be conscientious of your body language; you had to be opening and welcoming, and we found your tone of voice had to be a certain way and that there were words you could not to say,” Sarah says.

The resident’s doctor also performed a medication review and changed the times of day when the resident’s medications were to be administered. This also had a positive effect on the resident, Sarah notes.

The resident’s agitation has eased since the BSO team began putting interventions in place. The resident has also become good friends with another resident, and this has also improved their experience at the home, Sarah notes.

“Everything is so much better now,” she says.

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If you have feedback on this story, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

The Riverview Manor trees that keep on giving

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Vinyl adhesive trees at the home have been used successfully by the BSO team to engage residents with cognitive impairment in meaningful activities

The Riverview Manor Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team has been using life-like vinyl adhesive trees to engage residents living with cognitive impairment in meaningful activities.

Riverview Manor bought the trees last year and recently put one up on a wall on each end of the Peterborough long-term care home for residents to decorate, explains registered practical nurse and BSO team lead Becky Dennie.

Residents and BSO team members have been spending time at the trees decorating them with paper leaves to match the seasons.

Currently, the trees have autumn leaves. When winter arrives, the trees will have winter items on them, Becky says.

The BSO team can take a couple of residents to the trees at a time and change the leaves to match the season as an activity, she adds.

Riverview Manor’s life enrichment department has also been using the trees to create resident programming, says life enrichment aide (LEA) Adam Wicklum.

During the Thanksgiving Weekend, LEA Taylor Ioannou accompanied residents from each side of the home to a tree and asked them to describe the things they were thankful for, Adam says.

Taylor wrote down residents’ words and placed them on colourful paper leaves with their initials.

The BSO team is also working with residents to decorate the trees during special holidays. For Halloween, there were pumpkins underneath the trees. Poppies were placed there for Remembrance Day. There will be a Christmas theme in December.

Most importantly, residents are enjoying their activities at the trees.

“The residents love the trees,” Becky says.

BSO is a provincial initiative that’s enhancing quality of life for seniors affected by dementia and other conditions that can cause agitation. The funding, which is provided to long-term care homes through Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks, is largely put towards staff education.

If you have a story you would like to share with The OMNIway, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

If you have feedback on this story, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

Riverview Manor’s BSO team has created a toolkit that’s preventing agitation in male residents

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When team members see that a resident is agitated, they can provide them with a familiar object that redirects their attention and has a calming effect

When Riverview Manor’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team members spot a male resident who is agitated or appears bored, they have a toolkit – quite literally – they can turn to that will prevent responsive behaviours. Read more

Frost BSO team planning to help with project to determine virtual reality’s impact on reducing depression, boredom

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Frost Manor

If the project shows favourable results, virtual reality simulators could be used to prevent agitation in residents with cognitive impairment

Frost Manor’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team is planning to embark on a pilot project to help gather measurable data for a company that offers virtual reality services to seniors to enhance their quality of life. Read more

Riverview Manor BSO team trialling innovative chair to chart its impact preventing agitation

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So far, 9 of 11 residents have experienced decreased agitation. The residents are also providing favourable feedback

The Riverview Manor Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team is in the process of trialling an innovative chair to help prevent agitation in residents affected by cognitive impairment. Read more

Rosebridge Manor PSW praises Village Green BSO program, training session

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‘It was a very informative day’

As Rosebridge Manor builds its Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team, personal support worker (PSW) Richard Barr says the best training he has received by far was during a session at Village Green. Read more

Village Green’s BSO efforts are home-wide and ‘awesome,’ says Rosebridge Manor RPN

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Trip to Selby home makes lasting impression, plants seeds

From the engagement of the entire staff to how well the home is organized, Molly Headrick stepped away from Village Green recently impressed with the long-term care home’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) efforts. Read more

Riverview BSO team shining bright this year

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Riverview Manor BSO team member Karlie Phillips holds the costume-jewel-studded lanyard she made to prompt a resident to wear her decorative WanderGuard.

Creative interventions are enhancing quality of life for residents with cognitive impairment

Riverview Manor’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team has created several successful interventions in recent months that have proven beneficial to enhancing quality of life for residents living with cognitive impairment. Read more

Turning WanderGuard into a brooch is keeping Riverview resident safe and happy

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Riverview Manor BSO team member Karlie Phillips holds the costume-jewel-studded lanyard she made to prompt a resident to wear her decorative WanderGuard.

BSO team members create an intervention that’s a win for everyone

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – When a Riverview Manor resident who exit-seeks was forgetting or refusing to keep her WanderGuard bracelet on her person, the Peterborough long-term care home’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team came up with a clever idea that has since ensured the resident not only wears the device at all times, she also wants to be seen with it. Read more

RPN says joining Riverview BSO team was a chance to make a difference

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Pictured from left to right, Riverview Manor BSO team lead Becky Dennie, PSW Nicole Munro and RPN Carly Kenny.

Carly Kenny’s many years of experience have proven valuable to the BSO team

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Riverview Manor registered practical nurse (RPN) Carly Kenny says she applied for a position on the Peterborough long-term care home’s Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team nine months ago because she saw opportunities to use her skills to enhance the quality of life for residents living with dementia.

The BSO team works with residents living with dementia who are exhibiting responsive behaviours. The goal of BSO teams in long-term care homes is to prevent the triggers that may cause residents to become agitated, largely by learning about each person’s history.

“It was a different avenue to go into,” Carly tells The OMNIway. “I’ve done lots of hands-on nursing over the years, and this was a new path to grow and to explore.”

Carly notes there is a major focus on providing person-centred care in the long-term care sector and learning about people’s history and how their history may be impacting them now that they have a cognitive impairment. This, she says, helps improve the quality of care provided to residents.

Carly says some of the key interventions she has found helpful in working to prevent agitation in residents with cognitive impairment include music therapy; environmental changes, such as room rearrangements; and one-to-one time.

“Everyone is kind of like a puzzle when they have dementia,” Carly says. “You have to figure out what is unique about them and how you can best support them.”

Indeed, Carly’s experience as an RPN has been a major asset to the BSO team since she joined, says Riverview Manor BSO team lead Becky Dennie.

“Carly brings many years of experience as an RPN to the table, so just having that experience and bringing that to the team, the four girls (on the BSO team) will focus on a task and she is very good at keeping everyone focused,” Becky says.

BSO is a provincial initiative that’s enhancing quality of life for seniors affected by dementia and other conditions that can cause agitation. The funding, which is provided to long-term care homes through the province’s 14 Local Health Integration Networks, is largely put towards staff education.

If you have a story you would like to share with The OMNIway, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

If you have feedback on this story, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.