Having That Conversation That Counts
Getting people talking is top of mind for one woman taking up a new role .
Ellen Fisher is the Bay of Plenty District Health Board ’ s ( BOPDHB ) new Future Care Planning ( FCP ) Implementation Manager and she wants people to discuss their future healthcare needs with family and healthcare professionals .
She is already walking the talk , having just guided her 81-year-old mother Judy through the FCP process .
“ My dad , Charlie , died 13 years ago and he didn ’ t do any of this type of thinking whereas mum is really active about what she wants , she ’ s already organised her funeral for example . But the missing bit was what happens if she ’ s dying , what are her decisions around her healthcare ,” says Ellen .
“ Future care planning gives people a chance to say what ’ s important to them and what treatment they would and would not want in the future . It also helps them , their families and their healthcare teams , plan for future and end of life care ,” says Ellen who has worked in Occupational Health , Emergency Department nursing and , most recently , as Portfolio Manager Mental Health and Addictions at Tairawhiti DHB , in Gisborne .
“ It makes you think about what you need to do now for when things happen in the future . It gives you a sense of control and there is peace of mind in that . It ’ s a good feeling that people know what you want and it ’ s there on the table .
“ And they ’ re not set in stone , that ’ s the beauty of them , if you change your mind you can . It ’ s just a matter of sharing those changes with your GP and your family .”
Ellen , her mum , and sister all completed their respective FCPs last month . She says the danger with FCP is that people put it off .
“ It ’ s like making your will . We all know we ’ ve got to do it but it ’ s getting round to it . Put a date on it . I ’ m going to have this done by the end of March say . Make time for it and have
Ellen has talked with her mum , Judy about her future care plan .
those conversations with your family / whanau and GP .”
The national event profiling FCP is Conversations That Count Day , on Wednesday 5 April . Ellen says one of her primary objectives is to heighten awareness .
“ It is very important and can make a huge difference to the person making the plan and to their whānau as well . I ’ d encourage all of you to start having these conversations with your loved ones . It ’ s always too early , until it ’ s too late ,” says Ellen
For more details visit www . advancecareplanning . org . nz or download a FCP from the BOPDHB website :
Anyone with questions can contact on 07 557 5355 or email : Ellen . fisher @ bopdhb . govt . nz
Community Understanding Key to Smokefree Performance
“ We cannot say to our people that they should not smoke and then be smoking ourselves ,” says Ngā Mataapuna Oranga ’ s ( NMO ) Carliza Patuawa .
TALK TEETH
BOPDHB Oral Health Services
Coming Soon ! World Oral Health Day 2017
Live MOUTH SMART Facebook competition
TALK TEETH
BOPDHB Oral Health Services
Starting 1 of March 2017 - # nominateyourfavouritesmile competition “ Laugh through life ”, “ Chew through life ”, “ Be Healthy through life ”.
1 lucky winner drawn each week ( 4 in total ) and 1 major prize winner . 1 in 4 chances to win up to $ 300 in vouchers .
We can ’ t wait to see who your favourite smile is . Find us on Facebook – facebook . com / talkteeth-bopdhb
“ Live MOUTH SMART - be confident through life ”
The PHO ( Primary Health Organisation ) Clinical Performance Manager is talking about her organisation ’ s policy of not employing smokers , not allowing staff to smoke during business hours , and not permitting them to bring cigarettes or tobacco onto the premises .
“ We decided that it is a moral duty , as Maori providers , that if we are telling people ‘ don ’ t smoke it ’ s bad for you ’ then we should also be smokefree . We need to be leaders and role models . We have to walk the talk ourselves .”
The policy was officially taken on late last year but had been informally enforced for over a year-and-a-half beforehand . NMO has four GP clinics and seven health and social service providers in the Western Bay of Plenty and the policy is enforced in these locations as well , covering around 200 staff .
NMO has 12,000 Maori enrolled in its clinics but says that through its providers it cares for a total of around 20,000 Maori .
“ We are not separate from our community we are part of it , and that is how we operate ,” says Carliza . “ We are engaged with our people in the communities , it doesn ’ t matter if they ’ re enrolled , we use the same approach . It ’ s a total approach .
“ We know the cultural framework , what drives the smoking behaviour and we try to mitigate that . The drivers for our people include things like poverty , peer pressure , low self-esteem , stress , unemployment , relationships , lack of education and awareness .
“ We also place huge importance on working with the whanau , the smoker ’ s support network , because it is them that will help the person stay smokefree .”
It is an attitude that has seen NMO perform consistently well against the Ministry of Health ’ s Better Help for Smokers to Quit target . This stipulates that 90 % of PHO enrolled patients who smoke should be offered help to quit in the preceding 15 months . The NMO ’ s most recent quarterly result was 94 %.
Back row ( from left ): PHO Performance Manager Carliza Patuawa , Hapainga Stop Smoking Practitioner Candy Blackwell , SIA Coordinator Jaime Allen .
Front row ( from left ): Nurse Practitioner Rosemary Minto , Clinic Coordinator Priscilla Hodge .
“ With the target we began by establishing exactly what was required and then worked with our GP providers to make that happen ,” says NMO Managing Director Janice Kuka . “ We have an organic way of working , we share the same governance , we have our own clinics , and that gives us an ability to implement change quickly .
“ It is through our collaborative approach we now have a better way of tracking and analysing our data and supporting our clinics and communicating with them . We are the back office to our GPs and providers and want to recognise the great work that they do .”
For free advice on how to stop smoking call 0800 HĀPAINGA ( 427246 ) or contact :
Te Manu Toroa , Smoking Cessation Practitioner Candy Blackwell 021 722417
Te Puna Hauora ki Uta ki Tai , Smoking Cessation Practitioner Kate Warner 021 722305