Speaker
Description
Background:
Humber Meadows is a 320-bed long-term care home in Toronto and the first home to open as a pre-designated Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) while simultaneously implementing clinical pathways. Guided by person- and family-centred care, palliative care, and pain management best practice guidelines, they sought to build a strong evidence-based culture while addressing the challenges of opening a new home, fostering staff engagement, and preventing burnout during concurrent implementation initiatives.
Purpose:
The aim was to establish a sustainable interdisciplinary culture grounded in best practices, strengthen resident and family engagement, and build staff capacity through meaningful champion development and shared leadership.
Methods:
HMLTC became a BPSO pre-designate in April 2023, opened in June 2023, and achieved designation in May 2026. BPSO and clinical pathways were embedded into onboarding for over 400 staff hired before opening. Over 100 interdisciplinary champions were recruited across nursing, PSWs, recreation, maintenance, HR, reception, leadership, and students. Leadership responsibilities were intentionally distributed to prevent burnout, with managers holding no more than one steering committee role. Resident and family councils were actively engaged in feedback, gap analysis, and education. Social media, conference presentations, and mentorship opportunities supported knowledge exchange and engagement.
Outcomes:
The initiative strengthened interdisciplinary collaboration, resulting in nearly all home committees and programs becoming fully interdisciplinary. Staff engagement and understanding of BPSO increased internally and externally through social media and conference dissemination. Humber Meadows published a manuscript on resident involvement in palliative care BPSO work and became the first home to feature a resident speaker at a BPSO launch. Challenges included sustaining staff buy-in and balancing simultaneous implementation initiatives.
Outcomes:
Embedding BPSO principles before opening a home can foster strong organizational culture, shared accountability, and meaningful resident partnerships. Distributed leadership, interdisciplinary engagement, and resident voice are critical to sustaining implementation success while minimizing burnout.
Author(s) Credentials and Title
Ashley Guay, MAG, CTRS, R/TRO
Olivia Caguioa, RPN
What RNAO BPG or tool/toolkit is your abstract related to?
Pain: Prevention, assessment and management, Fourth edition
A Palliative Approach to Care in the Last 12 Months of Life
Person- and
Family-Centred Care
| Organization Name | Humber Meadows Long-Term Care |
|---|
