An Acute Stroke Care Collaborative event on June 26th brought together 24 health care professionals from Stroke Units at Quinte Health Care, Brockville General Hospital, and Kingston Health Sciences Centre. The one-hour event provided an opportunity to receive an update on new stroke best practices, learn about the Integrated Stroke Unit at QHC, and discuss transitions between acute care hospitals. Participants commented on what helped with smooth transitions. These included building relationships between Stroke Unit Team Leaders, Stroke Specialist Case Managers, Stroke Resource Nurse and Flow Coordinator roles. Other facilitators included making use of repatriation agreements and enabling warm handovers through one-on-one dialogue.The Collaborative Event was also an opportunity to receive an update on the following QI ideas from the first event held October 2017:QHC- Dysphagia mentorship: QHC completed their QI project of incorporating nurse mentors in dysphagia screening education. Dysphagia screening has since “skyrocketed.” Nurse mentors continue to enhance education in the Integrated Stroke Unit.KHSC- Oral care guidelines: The team developed a one-page oral health assessment tool with an oral care protocol. Currently, the team is developing complementary materials to assist with implementation. Next step includes piloting the oral care guidelines.BrGH- Interprofessional communication tool: The team developed a one-page Stroke Unit interprofessional document to be used at shift change to communicate patient mobility, nutrition and hygiene. This document will need to be incorporated into routine workflow through electronic documentation.Overall, the feedback on the event was positive with comments noting “this was a good use of time, important to know what was happening outside the hospital, and good to hear how others were dealing with similar challenges.”
Fewer strokes. Better outcomes.