Continuing Care Services
Communication Health in Continuing Care
The majority of residents of continuing care centres (long term care facilities, nursing homes) experience communication disorders. These may be related to hearing impairments; neurological conditions such as dementia, stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, or Huntington's disease; or conditions that have been present since the individual was born such as cerebral palsy or Down syndrome.
In Nova Scotia, continuing care residents who require communication health services from a speech-language pathologist have the option of receiving onsite visits from private practitioners such as Shoreline. These services are provided by our lead on adult services, Pamela Coulter, M.Sc., SLP-Reg. Read more about Pamela here.
Continuing Care Education Series
This series is part of Shoreline's Community Service Program. It is free to continuing care staff and family members and can be provided on site at facilities in the Dartmouth area (e.g., Halifax, Eastern Passage, Dartmouth).
The purpose of these sessions is to facilitate a greater understanding of communication disorders, how they may impact residents, how to support residents, and practical strategies to implement in daily interactions.
Topics:
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Communicating with Adults with Aphasia
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Communicating with Persons with Dementia
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Speech, Voice, and Linguistic Changes in Parkinson's Disease
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Better Communication, Better Mealtimes
Sessions are 45-60 minutes long. Scheduling is flexible.
Resources
The Role of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists in Dementia Care
Speech-Language & Audiology Canada
https://www.sac-oac.ca/sites/default/files/resources/Dementia_Position-Statement_EN.pdf
The Role of Speech-Language Pathologists, Audiologists, and Communication Health Assistants in End-of-Life Care
Speech-Language & Audiology Canada
Minister's Expert Advisory Panel on Long Term Care Recommendations
Nova Scotia, 2018
https://novascotia.ca/dhw/publications/Minister-Expert-Advisory-Panel-on-Long-Term-Care.pdf