General Care Unit

The General Care unit has 36 beds of short term care that are divided as follows :
- 28 beds of medical / surgical
- 5 beds of Active Geriatrics
- 2 beds of Obstetrics
- 1 bed for Mental Health

Medical and surgical

Goal

Our goal is to insure complete multidisciplinary care to admitted patients based on their health needs, as to allow the patients to achieve or maintain an optimal level of health and autonomy.

Target population

The admitted patients include all persons presenting a health deficit for which an hospitalisation is required. The type, age and diagnosis of the patients admitted may vary, this being a General Care Unit.

Staff
- Nurses
- Clerk
- Ward aids / service aids
- Doctor
- Physiotherapist
- Occupational therapist
- Respiratory therapist
- Pharmacist
- Dietician

Nurse’s role :
- Initiates the nursing process (data collection and care plan) for all admitted patients.
- Administers nursing care, following nursing procedures, medical prescription and/or medical delegated acts.
- Utilizes proper communication skills adapted to the individual.
- Ensures patient teaching and family teaching whenever possible.
- Acts as a resource person for the patient, his family and other staff members.
- Assume his/her role as part of the multidisciplinary team.
- Contributes to appropriate work organisation.

Clerk’s role :
- Answers the phone and the patient call bells.
- Assumes all secretarial functions based on the needs of the department.
- Opens patient chart upon admission to the unit and turn chart for filing upon discharge.
- Ensure daily filing of all types of reports.
- Book patient appointments in hospital and with other centers.

Ward aid’s role :
- Ensure the transportation of patients between departments and services.
- Is responsible for pick up and delivery of medical products, reports for the department.
- Cooperates with the staff, to ensure patient daily care.

Physician’s role :
- Is responsible for the patient medical care during his/her hospital stay.
- Contributes and takes part in the patient care plan.

Occupational therapist’s role :
- Initiate patient assessment.
- Takes part in the patients care plan.
- Insure patient rehabilitation services.
- Ensures staff, patient and family teaching.

Physiotherapist’s role :
- Initiate patient assessment.
- Takes part in the patients care plan.
- Insure patient rehabilitation services.
- Ensures staff, patient and family teaching.

Respiratory therapist’s role :
- Initiate patient assessment.
- Takes part in the patients care plan.
- Insure patient treatments and ongoing assessments.
- Ensures staff, patient and family teaching.

Pharmacist’s role :
- Receives and fills prescriptions then dispatches medication accordingly.
- Takes part in patient care plan as needed.
- Ensure patient and family teaching as needed.
- Acts a resource person for staff and physicians.

Dietician’s role :
- Initiates nutritional needs and eating habits assessment for admitted patients and takes part in patient care plan, as needed.
- Ensure patient and family teaching.
- Ensure patient services, as per patient care plan.

Active Geriatrics Services

We have five (5) Active Geriatrics bed located on the General Care Unit.

Admission criteria :
- All patients of 65 years and older (or biological equivalent) for which the acute phase of illness is over and who presents a possibility of rehabilitation that can’t be done on an outpatient basis.
- The patient must be under the care of a treating physician.
- The patient must take active interest in his/her rehabilitation.

Goal :

The goal is to offer short term Active Geriatrics to the elderly person with problems and/or who present a loss of autonomy. The multidisciplinary team approach provides services to the patient based on his/her health needs. The services are oriented towards helping the patients obtain or maintain an optimum level of autonomy, thus allowing the person to return in his/her natural environment.

Staff :
- Physician
- Nurses
- Dietician
- Occupational therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Social worker

The coordination of the team is done by the nurse assigned to the Active Geriatrics service.

Physician’s role :
- Initiates the request for the patient be admitted to Active Geriatrics.
- Ensures medical care to his/her patient, while the patient is in hospital.
- Assesses the level of care required by the patient.
- Take part in multidisciplinary and information meetings, as needed.

Nurse’s role :
- Initiates nursing process including assessment and care plan in cooperation with the other team members.
- Administers total nursing care.
- Ensures team coordination and acts as a spokesperson for the team when communicating with patients and families.
- Ensures coordination of communication with treating physician.
- Must be present at all multidisciplinary team meetings.

Dietician’s role :
- Initiates assessment of nutritional needs and eating habits and takes part in the patients care plan.
- Takes part in patient and family teaching.
- Ensures patient care based on the care plan.
- Takes part in multidisciplinary team meetings as needed.

Occupational therapist’s role :
- Initiates patient assessment.
- Takes part in patient care plan.
- Ensures teaching to staff, patient and their family.
- Ensures patient rehabilitation services according to the care plan.
- Takes part in all multidisciplinary team meetings.

Physiotherapist’s role :
- Initiates patient assessment.
- Takes part in patient care plan.
- Ensures teaching to staff, patient and their family.
- Ensures patient rehabilitation services according to the care plan.
- Takes part in all multidisciplinary team meetings.

Social worker’s role :
- Initiates patient assessment.
- Takes part in patient care plan.
- Ensures teaching to staff, patient and their family.
- Acts as resource person for the patient and his/her family in such activities as planning temporary or permanent discharge from the Active Geriatrics services and in planning a safe return to the natural environment.
- Takes part in all multidisciplinary team meetings.