A Day in the Life of Home and Community Care Coordinator Cynthia McQuay
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Cynthia McQuay, Home and Community Care Coordinator and System Navigator for the Behavioural Support Unit at Hogarth Riverview Manor (HRM). |
By the North West Local Health Integration Network - November 29, 2017
The work of Home and Community Care Coordinators is both varied, and essential to the delivery of home and community care in Northwestern Ontario. They focus on bringing together different services to meet the needs of patients and their families, while also ensuring patients and families are equipped to understand their care, access their care, and able to achieve improved health outcomes.
“As system navigator, my focus is mainly on eligibility and discharge,” says Cynthia McQuay, a Home and Community Care Coordinator and System Navigator for the Behavioural Support Unit at Hogarth Riverview Manor (HRM).
The Behavioural Support Unit is a unit that addresses responsive behaviors in individuals from community, hospitals, or long-term care homes. Patients who receive care demonstrate a variety of behaviours, verbal or physical aggression, wandering, exit-seeking or disruptive vocalizing, making it difficult for care givers to support them in their current setting.
“I attend weekly rounds on the unit and with the Mobile Outreach Team, collaborating with the staff on strategies and updating care plans to best support the residents in the Behavioural Support Unit,” says Cynthia. The Mobile Outreach Team is a team of trained Personal Support Workers (PSWs) who go into long-term care homes and work with individuals who are exhibiting responsive behaviors as well as mentor staff on appropriate ways to support the residents.
The work Cynthia is doing highlights why Home and Community Care Coordinators need to be resourceful, knowledgeable and adaptable. They play an important role by working with patients, their families, and care providers providing care and direction based on the needs of the individuals.
“I pursue the best quality of care possible for my patients, family and staff,” says Cynthia. Above all, patients and their families just want to be heard, says Cynthia, and that their loved one is receiving the best possible care in the right place by the right provider.
“The process is all about working with patients and their families - families who are often struggling with burnout after providing care for a loved one who might not be in the right setting based on their current needs. The most rewarding part of my work is getting to know families and patients and doing everything I can to get them the best available services that help to improve their lives”.