An Update from UW QSNA Winner

The Queen Silvia Nursing Award (QSNA) is an international global dementia nursing award addressing better quality of care for people living with dementia through ideas and solutions promoted by nursing students and nurses. The UW School of Nursing was elected as the first academic partner in the United States to bestow the Queen Silvia Nursing Award for dementia care and research. Michael Drake was selected as the 2021 cycle QSNA winner. Drake’s winning idea is the development of QRx, a safe and secure mobile platform that patients can use to share important information to medical providers and/or caregivers via an individualized QR code — a barcode that can be scanned by a digital device.

“With QRx, patients can manage, coordinate and transition their care to whomever they like, wherever they are and whenever they need to do so,” said Drake.

Hey everyone! My name is Michael Drake, and I wanted to write a quick update on the QRx project. Since winning the Queen Silvia Nursing Award in December, I have been hard at work finishing my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at the University of Washington’s School of Nursing. 

I have been interviewing patients, caregivers, providers, specialists, and nurses regarding their experience caring for patients with dementia, sharing healthcare information, and coordinating care. I greatly enjoy these interviews–they allow me to better understand the experience and challenges of coordinating patient care across the healthcare spectrum and help me imagine what a solution like QRx could do to solve the problems they are facing.

I have learned quite a bit over the past five months doing these interviews. I’ve learned that patients, caregivers, and even healthcare professionals have challenges in accessing the information needed to coordinate care for people with dementia. A specialist at a local multispecialty clinic here in Seattle described the struggle to get an MRI of a patient with dementia from another hospital. Even though the MRI was done just a week prior, the process of receiving it took so long that the provider was forced to order another MRI to get the information when it was needed.

Another interview I had was with a local in-home care organization manager, who discussed the struggles of coordinating care for clients with dementia due to high caregiver turnover. The manager described how difficult it was to keep and share critical patient information for care coordination and how much time had to be spent training new staff on patient care needs. 

Patients need solutions like QRx to help them share important care information with those who need that information to facilitate the best possible care. Healthcare providers and organizations also stand to benefit from a solution that is designed from the ground up to facilitate care. There are many challenges to developing such a solution; and I look forward to solving them once I graduate and become a nurse in June!

National Nurses Month: A Presentation of Self-Care

In celebration of the impact that nurses have on health care and our communities, May is designated as National Nurses Month by the American Nurses Association (ANA).

On May 4th, Dementia & Palliative Education Network (DPEN) team member Emily Ishado, in conjunction with Columbia University colleague Dr. Amelia Schlak, presented on self-care to the Public Health Seattle and King County nurses. This online seminar included information on both organizational and personal self-care strategies to enhance personal wellness. Dr. Schlak stressed the vital role of leadership and management in supporting nurses and other healthcare staff by providing appropriate infrastructure that facilitates engagement in self-care. Emily provided guidance on developing individualized self-care goals by utilizing motivational interviewing techniques and a habit-stacking approach. The recording of this presentation is available on YouTube.

Avamere Collaboration with the Cross Cultural Health Care Program

Avamere Family of Companies is excited to collaborate with Chandler Lewis, Advisor for DPEN at UW School of Nursing and Director of Equity and Inclusion at The Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP) on a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) educational series. Specifically focusing on culture and belonging, Chandler Lewis will be a guest presenter on a multi-part speaker series for administrators and executive leadership. CCHCP will also be the key contractor for an onboarding education series focusing on health equity and equality to be used enterprise wide. “I have had the privilege to work with CCHCP at a previous organization and was eager to engage them in my new role leading our DEIB efforts for senior care. We are so excited to work with them on this important project.” – Jessica Burkard, Division Director for Community and Provider Engagement.