NEWSLETTER UPDATES
WINTER 2021
Hello and Happy New Year!
You are receiving this email because you’ve indicated interest in receiving updates on our work together, to enhance housing-based harm reduction supports for older people. We hope that you are keeping well in these uncertain times and extend warm wishes for a safe and renewing winter season.
Th COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased pressures in long-term care and supportive housing environments, including Peter Coyle Place. We are grateful to report that thus far there have been no cases of Covid-19 at PCP, thanks in large part to the hard work and cooperation of residents and staff in observing health and safety measures. The staff have worked tirelessly to continue providing safe opportunities for recreation and socialization among residents. This has included supporting the use of iPads for virtual communication with family and friends, as well as participation in off-site virtual programmes. The community at PCP is optimistically awaiting vaccination, with the hope of all residents and staff receiving vaccine in early 2021.
Our research team has also been working hard with residents and staff at PCP to adjust to the 'new normal' and resume virtual engagement since Alberta's spike in Covid cases in the fall. With much assistance from staff on-site at PCP, we have been able to hold virtual engagement meetings with our resident Advisory Group, "The Exchange". We have also been conducting longitudinal interviews with residents, as well as mid-point Resident Outcome Evaluation questionnaires, via videoconferencing. Staff advisory meetings have also resumed and ramped up, to further facilitate intervention co-design and troubleshoot early challenges. Despite some initial hitches, we are happy to report that these activities are moving forward smoothly at this point in time [. . .]
SUMMER 2020
Hello!
You are receiving this email because you’ve indicated interest in receiving updates on our work together, to enhance harm reduction supports for older people. We hope that you are keeping well in these uncertain times as we all attempt to settle into a "new normal".
In long-term care and supportive housing environments responses to the pandemic have been particularly strenuous. We are very thankful to report that there have been no cases of Covid-19 among residents or staff at Peter Coyle Place. Staff have been working hard on implementing and maintaining infection control measures. Despite the challenging circumstances, they have taken adaptive measures in attempt to re-introduce some recreation activities and opportunities for socialization among residents. Emily Blair, a Registered Nurse, started in her role at PCP in late April and will help to offer enhanced substance use-related supports and harm reduction information to residents as part of this intervention. We are also pleased to announce that Don Baker, a long-time peer support worker with expertise in harm reduction and mental health, has joined the team at PCP and is offering his services there 2 days/week.
On the research and evaluation front, the project team have been engaging with residents and staff remotely, and in early July resumed in-person qualitative data collection (while observing public health guidelines). February and early March were productive months for knowledge exchange with local and provincial stakeholders, despite the subsequent cancellation/postponement of several scheduled speaking engagements and learning opportunities. The research team gave a presentation to AHS's Harm Reduction and Housing Community of Practice titled "Harm Reduction Housing for Older People with Experiences of Homelessness (HR HOPEH): Expanding and Sustaining an Integrated Housing and Healthcare Model" on March 8th. During April, May, and June, while unable to be on-site at Peter Coyle Place, they moved forward an environmental scan of housing-based harm reduction services/programming accessible to older adults, and worked on mobilizing this knowledge in light of Covid-19 [. . . ]
WINTER 2020
Hello and Happy New Year to everyone on this mailing list! You are receiving this e-mail because you have indicated your interest in receiving updates from Lara Nixon (University of Calgary's Department of Family Medicine) and her team of Co-Investigators (Martina Kelly, Neil Drummond, Rita Henderson, Helen Bouman, Janet Tapper, Paula Pearce, and Jazmin Marlinga, Lawrence Braul, and Alison Loewen) regarding their Health Canada funded project to enhance harm reduction supports for older people. In the spring of 2019, Dr. Nixon was notified that her team would be awarded Health Canada* Substance Use and Addiction Program funds to conduct the following work:
Sub-study 1: Expanding and sustaining harm reduction, overdose prevention, and recreation supports at Peter Coyle Place, a permanent supportive housing site for older adults in Calgary.
Sub-study 2: Conducting a local needs assessment regarding the housing, harm reduction, and integrated care needs of older Indigenous adults in Calgary with histories of unstable housing and problematic substance use.
The latter half of 2019 was a busy and rewarding period of community engagement and project co-design for Sub-study 1 at Peter Coyle Place. Early community engagement and partnership-building is also underway to get sub-study 2 off to a strong start in 2020. Please click the image below to view a U today story outlining the background and intentions of this project [. . .]
If you are interested in keeping up-to-date with our work to enhance housing for older people with experiences of homelessness through primary care with integrated mental health and harm reduction supports, please subscribe to our newsletter.