PHC IGSI, Seniors Health SCN
The goal of the PHC IGSI is to enhance capacity to recognize, diagnose and provide ongoing care and support for people living with dementia or other geriatric syndromes in community.
In addition to learning from primary health teams following a 2015 scan of geriatric services in Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Alberta, care partners were consulted to understand the priorities they envisioned to enhance quality of life in community. Learnings were shared at a workshop and public forum that occurred in February 2016. View Messages from Dementia Care Partners graphic. (Source Advancing Dementia Diagnosis and Management in Alberta (ADDMA) Workshop, 2016).
Following this workshop, five Central Zone Primary Care Networks (PCNs) – Big Country, Provost, Red Deer, Wainwright, and Wolf Creek – expressed readiness to enhance their ability to recognize, diagnose and provide ongoing care and support for people living with dementia.
The Anticipating the Future framework was created to guide the teams participating in the PHC IGSI as they work collaboratively to identify priorities and action plan in their communities. This framework and the PHC IGSI approach are in alignment with the newly released Alberta Dementia Strategy and Action Plan.
A series of educational workshops were created aimed to increase capacity within primary healthcare to support people living with dementia and their care partners. The education provides practical information covering dementia and frailty from timely recognition of dementia to end-of-life care, and focuses on proactive, personalized support throughout the dementia journey.
The early adopter phase for the Primary Health Care Integrated Community Geriatric Services Initiative (PHC IGSI) is occurring January 2017 – June 2018.
