South Okanagan-Similkameen project maximizes resources for geriatric care

With nearly a third of its population consisting of residents aged 65 and older, seniors’ care is a crucial health priority for the South Okanagan-Similkameen (SOS) region. As people age, they increasingly depend on medical services, with family physician and specialist visits becoming more frequent. In a region with limited access to geriatric services, team-based care and community resources play a central role in patients’ care journeys. This is a gap the SOS Division of Family Practice is hoping to improve through the Shared Care-funded Optimizing Geriatric Services in the South Okanagan-Similkameen project.

Started in 2023, following a successful expression of interest, the project helped Dr Justin Lambert—a geriatrician and the physician lead of the project—build relationships in the local community of care. Dr Lambert began practicing in Penticton last year, and as a newcomer had a unique perspective on the region. He and the project team set out to assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing geriatric services in the region and engaged community and health authority leaders to develop a plan.

“As a new health care provider in a community with no pre-existing geriatric medicine support, it would have been extremely difficult to learn what resources were available and to start building a multidisciplinary team without the help of this Shared Care project,” says Dr Lambert.

Seniors’ care that involves multiple specialists is often most effective when guided by a geriatrician, the team believes, as they are equipped to assess all conditions, create comprehensive care plans, and ensure that treatments are properly managed. Efficiently coordinated care can reduces further complications and hospitalization, improves overall quality of life, and can prolong a patient’s independence.

“Providing care to older adults living with frailty can be complex and requires a multidisciplinary team,” says Dr Lambert. “This project helped me connect patients with many resources and has already positively impacted the care provided to older adults living in the community.”

The project supports the co-management of frailty risk factors and integrate services across the continuum of care, while reducing preventable emergency care, hospitalizations, and admissions to long-term care.

The project team supports various activities including a proposal for a community-designed seniors’ health and wellness centre with comprehensive assessments and co-ordinated multidisciplinary care to seniors who are facing a potential move or hospitalization.

They’re building relationships with health care teams throughout the SOS region and are working with the Doctors of BC Facility Engagement Initiative to integrate community and acute care.

Going forward, the project steering committee—made up of specialists, family physicians, Indigenous care providers, health authority leadership and other health care professionals—plans to continue identifying, testing, and implementing collaborative processes to better meet the care needs of the elderly in the South Okanagan-Similkameen region.

This project is funded by Shared Care, a joint collaborative committee representing a partnership between Doctors of BC and the Government of BC.