CHA members presented at the recent ELDAC Linkages Showcase

Palliative care projects highlighted at annual showcase

Staff working in Catholic aged care homes across Australia were among more than 150 people to attend the annual ELDAC Linkages Project Showcase in Canberra.

ELDAC (End of Life Directions for Aged Care) provides information, guidance, and resources to health professionals and aged care workers to support palliative care and advance care planning to improve the care of older Australians.

The event was attended by staff from 15 Catholic Health Australia member services including Mercy Care, Mercy Community, Southern Cross Care (Qld, WA and NSW&ACT), Catholic Homes and Catholic Healthcare.

Mater Christi Home , Sawtell Catholic Care, NSW

Michael Darragh, CEO & Mercy Kurinyepa, Director of Nursing gave a great presentation on how they implemented ELDAC into their service to ensure best practice in palliative care.

Mater Christi is a 100 bed aged care service on the NSW Mid-North Coast. Staff were passionate about palliative care and supporting the elders in their care to live full lives and prepare well for their final stage in life, dying.

The project goals were to identify best practice and ensure a 360-degree engagement for residents to improve awareness of deterioration, continuum of conversations and delivery of the best outcomes for people dying. The goals also included developing a position statement entitled ‘our Palliative Care mission & model’.

The key outcomes delivered through the project included the identification of Best Practice and finalisation of a position statement which articulated their mission, purpose and approach for palliative care. They also acquired brilliant resources and toolkits to inform and equip the staff. The project allowed Mater Christi to take staff on a journey of discovery and engagement, which resulted in more clinical reviews, and more meaningful conversations with residents, families, and the team. Finally, the ELDAC project allowed for closer engagement with local PHN and LHD PallCare networks.

Emmaus Village – Catholic Healthcare NSW

Emmaus Village Residential Manager Garima Timalsina and Care Manager Taran Kaur Magon both gave an insightful presentation about their ELDAC project which was implemented at the 64 residential care bed facility that includes a dementia care unit co-located with a retirement village in far western Sydney. The skilled team has a strong focus on palliative care, but wanted to advance their knowledge and practice, especially with their younger and newer team members.

The project goal was to embrace both resident and staff needs, including anticipating these from admission to after death.

The key outcomes provided a new level of focus and awareness which recognised that palliative and end-of-life planning care are core business. Advance care plans were completed for all residents and assessment and case reviews were undertaken. There was a strong focus on staff training and use of relevant resources especially on symptom support and anticipating change. A resident survey highlighted the need for resident and family education and information to be provided about end of life. In the presenters’ words ‘the ELDAC partnership provided the team with a brilliant, highly engaging, professionally guided learning and development journey, which has equipped our staff, and our service, to provide open, well informed and meaningful conversations with elders and their family experiencing end-of-life challenges and complex needs.’

Germanus Kent House, Southern Cross Care WA

Elvira Even, Operations Manager, at Germanus Kent House provided a great video of how the facility has been caring for the local Broome community since 2008, and provides accommodation and support to 55 residents. It is the only residential aged care facility in Broome and the majority of residents are Aboriginal.

The goal of the ELDAC project was to better anticipate residents’ needs and provide support to the team after a resident has passed, allowing for reflection, honouring, and debriefing as required.

The key outcome was the introduction of a new, resourced memorial hub for staff and residents. It also included culturally relevant care talks and linking with the Aboriginal PEPA program and the local country palliative care team for training and support. A new palliative learning hub was introduced with resource folders for teams

Marcia Baird, a dedicated ELDAC Aboriginal consultant and EN will champion culturally inclusive personalised care ongoing – a great outcome for the service.