Speaker
Description
Real change doesn’t start with policies - it starts with people.
Creating lasting change in long-term care (LTC) takes more than education—it takes people who are engaged, supported, and empowered to lead in their everyday practice. As part of our Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) journey, we focused on building and strengthening a Champion program to support the uptake of best practices, with an emphasis on person-centred care.
We identified champions across disciplines, including nursing and personal support staff, and supported them through education and regular touchpoints such as huddles and monthly learning sessions. Simple, visible strategies - like a Champion Board, unit-based resources, and recognition initiatives - helped keep the momentum going and made the work feel meaningful and shared.
Champions played a key role in supporting practice changes at the bedside across multiple clinical areas, including falls prevention, skin and wound care, oral care, continence, pain management, and palliative care. They helped translate best practices into everyday care by supporting individualized care planning, promoting consistent assessment practices, and strengthening documentation. Whether it was reinforcing oral care routines, supporting early identification of skin concerns, or enhancing comfort-focused approaches in palliative care, champions were a consistent presence in guiding staff. They also supported behaviour-responsive approaches and helped connect residents to additional supports when needed, contributing to more coordinated and person-centred care. We’ve seen increased staff awareness and stronger accountability in documentation. Staff have shared feeling more confident, and collaboration across the team has improved. We continue to evaluate our progress through process measures, staff feedback, and quality indicators, and we regularly share results with staff and leadership. This work highlights the impact of investing in people. When staff feel supported to lead, real and sustainable change can happen from within.
Author(s) Credentials and Title
Richelle Lucier, Director of Nursing Programs, BsN RN
What RNAO BPG or tool/toolkit is your abstract related to?
This work is guided by the RNAO Toolkit: Implementation of Best Practice Guidelines, which informed our approach to champion development, staff engagement, and the integration of evidence-based practices across programs including oral care, falls prevention, skin and wound care, continence, pain, and palliative care.
| Organization Name | Fairfield Park |
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