APO session successful at easing concerns about RAI-MDS implementation: LEC

Linda Sheppard says session reaffirmed for LECs that they're on the right track

October 29, 2009

By Deron Hamel
A session focused on implementation of the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI-MDS 2.0) held during the Activity Professionals of Ontario (APO) 25th annual conference was successful at easing concerns for activation professionals still going through the learning process of implementing the tool, says Linda Sheppard.

Sheppard, the life enrichment co-ordinator (LEC) at Maplewood in Brighton, says the session was especially helpful at providing clear explanations of the fundamentals of RAI-MDS for activation professionals, adding that by attending the session, she and other LECs felt a sense that they're on the right track, in terms of the process.

"We were anxious but waiting because we know it's a huge change, and so we know we will all get what we need to help us with (the process)," she says.

"We had the sense that we're gathering and gathering (information) and that we are going to be all right. . . . We just need to gather more information and to move at the pace they need us to move.

"(The session) took a lot of my anxieties away," says Sheppard. "The funding aspects . . . were defined more for us and it took away some of the overwhelmed feelings."

The session focused on the role RAI-MDS will play in the work lives of activity professionals in the long-term care sector, as well as examined the importance of the RAI-MDS process and all the details surrounding its implementation.

While some activity professionals attending the session have been familiar with RAI-MDS for a few years, the majority of participants were still going through the implementation process, says Sheppard. 

RAI-MDS 2.0 is an assessment tool providing a holistic view of residents in long-term care homes. As of July 1, 2010, all Ontario long-term care homes are required to begin submitting their assessment data to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

The APO conference was held Oct. 21-23 at Blue Mountain Inn in Collingwood, Ont.

What did you as an LEC learn at the APO conference? If you have a story you would like to share, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.

If you have feedback on this story, please call the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.

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