Welcome to Our New Newsletter
Welcome to the first issue of ABI Update in our new electronic newsletter format. After 42 issues of ABI Update, our newsletter is catching up to the electronic age.
By moving to an electronic format, readers will be able to quickly go to the stories of interest to them. For those of you who prefer a paper copy, the printable newsletter option allows you to easily print the entire newsletter.
We've included an easy-to-use subscribe/unsubscribe function. We hope you'll forward this newsletter to others in your organization so they can subscribe and receive news directly to their desktop.
As always, your comments about the kind of information you like to see in our newsletter continue to guide the content.
Let us know what you think of the new format! Please send us your comments.
Judy Moir Appointed Acting Executive Director
Judy Moir of the GTA Rehab Network and Toronto ABI Network has been appointed Acting Executive Director of both Networks during Charissa Levy's maternity leave.
Judy joined the Toronto ABI Network as Assistant Executive Director and the GTA Rehab Network as Project Coordinator/Planner in January 2003. She has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Queen's University and has worked for many years in the ABI field, in various roles.
Judy is committed to the work of the Networks and their role in informing planning and improving service delivery and access. She looks forward to working with members and other stakeholders in the coming year.
Please join us in welcoming Judy to her new role for both Networks.
Judy can be reached at moir.judy@torontorehab.on.ca.
Recruitment Opportunity Available
The Toronto ABI Network and the GTA Rehab Network are accepting applications from qualified candidates for a one-year full-time contract position. This position is 1.0 FTE and is shared between both organizations: Assistant Executive Director (Acting) for the Toronto ABI Network; and Project Coordinator/Planner for the GTA Rehab Network.
See job posting for further details. Submission deadline for applications is June 15, 2007.
Brain Injury Awareness Month Concert
 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Nathan Phillips Square The Brain Injury Society of Toronto is organizing a Survivor Celebration at Nathan Phillips Square to mark June as Brain Injury Awareness Month. Performances include Samba Squad, Ariel’s Worm, DA New Addraxxion and Woodshed. These bands are going to raise the energy in the square to celebration level!! The evening will also include an Artists Display featuring art by individuals living with the effects of acquired brain injury. Visit www.biam.ca for more information about Brain Injury Awareness Month. |
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Expansion of Day Program Services
There have been several announcements made recently about expansion of community day programs in the Toronto area for individuals living with the effects of acquired brain injury.
ABI Possibilities Announces New Partnership with Etobicoke Services for Seniors
ABI Possibilities and Etobicoke Services for Seniors are pleased to be working collaboratively to provide Adult Day Services for individuals living with the effects of acquired brain injury.
ABI Possibilities offers long term residential support as well as community-based support services to individuals living with the effects of brain injury. Etobicoke Services for Seniors (ESS) is a not-for-profit agency committed to supporting seniors in their desire to remain in their own homes and community. The new collaborative program will offer further personalized activities in a motivating and engaging setting.
The Day Program – ESS is offering specialized programming at their Alderwood sitef or older adults living with the effects of a brain injury. ABI Possibilities and ESS service providers will be working together to provide enhanced programming opportunities to engage in a variety of individual and small group activities to develop and expand recreational, social, functional, and vocational interests and abilities. The Day Program is offered every Thursday and transportation can be arranged, if required.
The Learning Network – ABI Possibilities will be offering support activities on Saturdays at the ESS’s Alderwood site to younger adults living with brain injury. Activities will be meaningful, useful, and engaging programming opportunities for Members who register for the programs. The goal of the Learning Network is to provide an environment that supports and structures learning of daily living skills on-site, with a clear plan to transfer and apply the learning to community-based settings near to where individuals live. Learning Network members will choose from prescheduled programs running for 8 to 10 week blocks. Programs deal with topics such as learning to operate a computer, health and physical fitness, and expressive arts therapy.
For more information about ‘The Learning Network’, call ABI Possibilities at 416-251-9625 ext. 226 or ext. 501. For more information about The Day Program, call 416 243-0127, ext. 259.
COTA Health Adult Day Services Program Expanding
COTA Health offers specialized programs for individuals affected by acquired brain injury including Adult Day Services, ABI Professional Services and ABI Case Management.
The Adult Day Services program offers supportive and creative group environments for an individual to engage in meaningful activities, explore strengths and develop diverse skills. Participants are encouraged to define goals and help shape activities to meet goals.
Two new services are being offered at COTA ABI Adult Day Services:
- Life Worlds Therapeutic Group - Search your life world of experience and create meaning through the mediums of music, art, poetry, drama and movement. Prior exposure to the arts is not necessary. Together we enter an exploratory process that integrates discussion to gather therapeutic benefits.
- Don’t wait, Participate Recreational Group - This recreational activities-based group offers you the opportunity to participate in arts and crafts, community outings and physical exercise. You will have a chance to form friendships, increase independence and develop skills to enhance quality of life.
In addition to these new groups, the Mind Co-op program has significantly increased availability by expanding from two days to four days a week, and will expand again in September to five days a week.
ABI Adult Day Services is located at Providence Healthcare in East Toronto. Anyone aged 18 to 64 who is living with an ABI in the Greater Toronto Area is eligible for services.
To make an inquiry about COTA Health ABI Adult Day Services, please call 416-755-2239.
Applications for service may be made by completing an ABI Client Community Profile and submitting it to the Toronto ABI Network office.
Community Stakeholders Forum Held
On May 4, 2007, the Toronto ABI Network hosted a forum to bring publicly-funded community-based ABI providers together to discuss how we collectively work with clients in the community and explore if we can be doing things differently to enhance our support for individuals with an ABI and their families.
Mr. Warner Clarke, Program Consultant with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, opened the discussion by providing a historical perspective on the development of community ABI services across the province. He challenged those attending to consider whether there was a vision for how existing resources could be managed differently to allow for increased flexibility. He suggested that the following system challenges/opportunities may serve as a starting point for this discussion and future planning.
- Consider expansion of local capacity by:
- building service from bottom up, with emphasis on programs and services to support clients within natural support networks
- building on existing community support systems, rather than creating new ones
- looking at simple supports like extend-a-family programs to create in-home respite and family support.
- Manage emerging needs by targeting resources to create movement within the system.
- Consider releasing services from service models in order to better meet system needs.
- Distinguish between specialized and generic services (e.g., consider partnerships with developmental services and/or mental health programs to share expertise).
- The ABI service system in Ontario will need to fund intensive community residential support for about 6 persons each year with significant behavioural needs.
- The pressure to use funding to solve individual crises in the short term needs to be balanced by the need to develop services that will decrease crises in the long term.
- What are the key priority issues/considerations to enhance community-based ABI services and supports?
- Given the current healthcare environment and Network resources, what are some key and feasible next steps that we should pursue to enhance the ABI community services we collectively provide?
- What would we collectively like to have accomplished by the end of 2007-2008?
- Determining the basket of services available, what are the gaps - consider capacity as well as availability.
- Investigating whether resources are being used most effectively and appropriately and evaluate whether there are opportunities to reallocate resources to expand the reach of services.
- Developing a process for identifying, tracking and advocating for hard to serve individuals.
- Review current follow-up services and processes to ensure appropriate access to therapy and support at the right time.
Recent Committee Activity
This page includes highlights of some of the recent activity by committees of the Toronto ABI Network. Please note that this is not intended to be a comprehensive summary of all activities underway.
Supporting Students with Acquired Brain Injury
A small group of providers has been convened though the Toronto ABI Network to continue to work towards enhanced awareness within our school system about the needs of students with an acquired brain injury. This group represents a collaborative effort of publicly-funded and privately-funded providers with a keen interest in improving the support that students with ABI receive in school.
After an initial meeting to identify the primary issues, the group has decided to focus its attention on the education and information that teachers receive about ABI while in training as well as through ongoing education opportunities. First steps include looking for opportunities within the Ontario College of Teachers to support our efforts as well us investigating the availability of communication vehicles through the school boards.
Supporting the Exchange of Best Practices Related to Substance Use and Brain Injury
The Best Practice Committee is in the midst of planning a dissemination and implementation strategy to support the uptake of evidence-based techniques outlined in the Substance Use and Brain Injury Bridging Project (SUBI). The committee recently conducted a survey of the current practices of ABI providers in relation to substance use screening and intervention and will be developing next steps based on the findings from this investigation.
It is anticipated that the Network will host a forum to present the best practice recommendations and to solicit preliminary feedback about the benefits and potential challenges in implementation. The committee is also planning an evaluation component to the initiative to further inform the ongoing knowledge-to-practice discussion.
Visit www.subi.ca for more information about the Substance Use and Brain Injury Bridging Project.
Follow Up on Successful Workshop for Psychiatrists
Following the successful workshop for psychiatrists held on March 7, 2007, “A Road Map to Acquired Brain Injury”, the planning committee is considering options for extending the reach of this education and awareness initiative.
The feasibility and value of offering a similar workshop for family physicians in the GTA is currently being investigated.
Data on Referrals Received
The Toronto ABI Network manages referrals for acquired brain injury services in the Greater Toronto Area. Referrals for inpatient service are triaged through the Network office to the first available bed that is appropriate to the individual's needs. The Network also facilitates the process of referring to community-based ABI providers.
The following information reports only on patients/clients referred through the Network office and is not intended to reflect incidence data.
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Events Listing
The majority of events listed on this page are not being organized by the Toronto ABI Network and are provided here for your information only. If you are interested in further details about any of the events below, please contact the appropriate individual identified in the event listing.
June 13, 2007
Acquired Brain Injury Service of Ontario March of Dimes 5th Annual Conference:
Beating the Odds
Location: Army Navy Air Force Club, Barrie, Ontario
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Julie Clayton, Ontario March of Dimes
Phone: 905-773-7758 ext. 6236
Email: jclayton@dimes.on.ca
June 14, 2007
NRIO Breakfast Seminar:
Injury Prevention: An IBC Priority
Time: 9:15 am - 10:45 am
Speaker: Mark Yakabuski, Insurance Bureau of Canada
Location: NRIO Etobicoke Clinic, Etobicoke, Ontario
(Breakfast is supplied)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Christine Romanenchuk, NRIO
Phone: 416-231-4358
June 14-15, 2007
Understanding, Assessing and Treating Visual, Perceptual and Cognitive Dysfunction in Adults with Brain Injury
Presented by Barbara Zolton, MA, OTR
Location: Holiday Inn Peterborough Waterfront, Peterborough, Ontario
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact MindWorks
Phone: 705-741-3412 ext. 13
Email: info@mindworksgroup.ca
Web: www.mindworksgroup.ca
June 16-19, 2007
Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology presents four concurrent conferences:
1. Growing Older with a Disability
2. 2nd International Conference on Technology and Aging
3. Advances in Neurorehabilitation
4. Caregivers: Essential Partners in Care
Location: Toronto, Ontario
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Sheila Casemore, Provincial Assistant, Government Relations, Ontario March of Dimes
Phone: 416-425-3463 or 1-800-263-3463 ext. 388
Web: www.ficcdat.ca
June 20-22, 2007
OBIA Training Course:
Advanced Rehabilitation for Persons with ABI
Location: Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Ruth Wilcock or Debbie Spaulding
Phone: 1-800-263-5404 or 905-641-8877
Email: obia@obia.on.ca
Web: www.obia.on.ca
June 26, 2007
NRIO Breakfast Seminar:
Attendant Care: Who pays what in hospital and home?
Time: 9:15 am - 10:45 am
Speaker: David MacDonald, Thomson Rogers
Location: NRIO Etobicoke Clinic, Etobicoke, Ontario
(Breakfast is supplied)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Contact: Christine Romanenchuk, NRIO
Phone: 416-231-4358
This listing provides details of events taking place within approximately three months of the newsletter’s release date. For a more comprehensive list of events of interest to the ABI community, please see the conference listing on our website.
In Brief
COTA Health managing Collegeview Program following closure of McLeod House
McLeod House, a residential program for individuals living with acquired brain injury in Toronto ceased operations as of March 31, 2007. Individuals who were living at the McLeod House residence on Lowther Avenue have been transferred to other accommodations. Management of the Collegeview program - a residence for individuals with ABI and physical disabilities - was transferred to COTA Health as of April 1, 2007.
The Collegeview program supports 16 individuals living in an apartment building in the Yonge and College area in downtown Toronto and approximately 15 additional individuals through outreach. COTA Health’s current ABI services include case management, an adult day program and supportive housing services for individuals with complex needs. The addition of the Collegeview program will further enhance the services provided by COTA Health.
COTA Health is an accredited, not-for-profit health and social services organization serving seven of fourteen LHINs. COTA Health is a provider of community-based rehabilitation, mental health and support services, seeing over 30,000 clients in their home, school or workplace annually. Established in 1973, COTA Health delivers services through a dedicated team of over 500 service providers and 200 volunteers.
Participants wanted for study on ABI and ‘getting in shape’
Have you had a brain injury? Do you want to 'get in shape'? If so, you may be eligible to participate in a project promoting physical activity.
Participation involves doing a physical activity that you choose three times a week with a fitness partner. It also involves completing some brief questionnaires and psychology-type tests at the beginning of the project and again at 3-to-6 months after you start the physical activity. Testing will be done at Baycrest. Your physical activity will be done in your own community.
Eligible persons:
- have had a traumatic brain injury
- are not currently involved in a regular physical activity program
- are 18 years of age or older
- have an email address that is checked regularly
If you are interested, please contact Michelle Ryan, Study Coordinator at mryan@klaru-baycrest.on.ca or call 416-785-2500 ext. 3014.
Summer Creative Arts Camp for young adults
Has your life been affected by a brain injury? Are you 15 to 16 years old? Are you interested in creative arts?
Young people are needed to take part in a creative arts camp as part of a research study!
The camp is a summer creative arts camp. You will work with occupational therapists and artists to learn creative arts.
Participants will be asked to come to camp three weeks during the summer. Camp will run from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, Monday to Thursday, in July or August 2007. You will be asked to join in creative activities such as arts and crafts or theatre. You will be asked to think about how these activities help you talk to your friends and family. No experience with creative arts is necessary; just an interest in the arts, and in learning.
Participants will have the chance to be involved in the development of a play production at the end of the camp, although this is not required.
There is no cost for the camp, and you will be reimbursed for the cost of your travel to and from the camp.
For more information, please contact project coordinator Julia Gray at gray.julia@torontorehab.on.ca or by calling 416-978-8591.
This project is affiliated with Bloorview Kids Rehab, University of Toronto, and Toronto Rehab, and is approved by the Bloorview Kids Rehab and University of Toronto Ethics Boards. It is funded by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.
Network participated in Health Care Expo
The Toronto ABI Network's submission, Improving Integration through Regional Coordination, was chosen to participate in the Celebrating Innovations in Health Care Expo 2007 which was held in Toronto in late May. The Expo provides health care organizations with the opportunity to share innovative solutions and projects for health care system renewal across the province.