Since celebrating its 10th anniversary in January, the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) at Cambridge Memorial Hospital (CMH) is ready to welcome back volunteers since pausing their services due to the pandemic.
“We are doing the best we can. But our volunteers are the cornerstone of who we are, and we are so excited to welcome them back,” said Hilary Ferguson, elder life specialist for the Hospital Elder Life Program, at CMH.
“Some of our volunteers have been with us since the very beginning and we want to celebrate their accomplishments.”
CMH was the first hospital in Waterloo Region to implement HELP, with Elder Life Specialist, Theresa Milani, who retired in November.
Milani worked closely with the Geriatric Medicine team at CMH to implement the ‘Yale-developed’ program to find ways to prevent delirium and allow clinical staff to improve quality of life and efficiency of healthcare for vulnerable patients.
Patients enrolled in HELP have daily interventions including orientation, early mobilization, cognitive stimulation, and meal-time assistance to encourage food intake and hydration.
According to CMH, the program has experienced great success over the last 10 years that would not have been possible without the hard work of dedicated HELP volunteers.
Milani’s hard work laid the foundation for the other hospitals within the region in implementing similar programs.
“The success of the program led to CMH supporting other hospitals. It was the work we did, and the success the program achieved thanks to Theresa. She was a maverick for others,” Ferguson said.
“It’s exciting and the program has such a good reputation. I have some really big boots to fill.”
Ferguson began her new role as the HELP elder life specialist soon after Milani retired.
“I began volunteering with the program as a student while I was completing my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo. I did my placement at CMH and volunteered with HELP for four years,” Ferguson said.
“Then COVID-19 hit, and Theresa retired. She was my supervisor. It’s amazing because it seems to have come full circle with volunteering, then doing my placement here. It’s because of HELP, that I discovered my passion for geriatrics,” Ferguson said.
In March 2020 HELP had over 35 active volunteers, providing over 90,000 interventions, and worked over 25,000 hours since the program’s inception.
Ferguson said volunteers range from students to seniors.
“It’s great experience for students entering the medical field. Normally, we would have volunteers working three shifts a day and so patients would be seen three times a day too.”
“Historically, we have about 12 patients at a time on a caseload at a time. But because it has just been me here for awhile, the design of the program has changed,” Ferguson said.
Delirium is a disturbance in mental abilities that results in confused thinking and reduced awareness of the environment.
“Studies have shown that delirium is very common in the geriatric population, and they are more susceptible to decline in hospital,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said about 30 per cent of these patients are likely to experience delirium.
“The HELP program, when running normally, can decrease the chance of delirium by about 40 per cent, so it is quite effective,” Ferguson said.
“It’s so important keep geriatric patients engaged. They need regular exercise and companionship for mental, cognitive, and emotional well-being,” Ferguson said.
“The pandemic has really shed light on how important these pieces are to those most vulnerable.”
Although the last two years of the program have looked different, HELP is excited to welcome back volunteers when it is safe to do so.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ferguson.
“But it is an exciting time to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of the program together.”
