Caregiver Resource Centre
Decision Aids
The following are decision aids that you may use to help you as an older adult, family member, or caregiver to make decisions for your care or the care of someone else that you help make decisions with.
Published by the Saskatoon Health Region, this informational brochure will help you decide whether the benefits of hospitalization outweigh the risks of hospitalization.
Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Resources
Published by a joint partnership between the Saskatoon Council on Aging and the University of Saskatchewan, and launched during COVID 19, this pilot research project can link you as a volunteer researcher to a service that provides telephone-linked social connection to older adults.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The following will link you to the most recent and up-to-date information about the pandemic. This information is not complete but is tailored for older adults, families of older adults, and caregivers. This information is sometimes technical and subject to change frequently, and we will try to keep the information up-to-date and the descriptions as easy to understand as possible.
Government of Canada COVID-19 Outbreak Update – includes news, the current situation Canada-wide, risk update for Canadians, monitoring, history, email updates signup, and contacts at the federal level.
From this page, we have been informed that the risks for more severe outcomes are higher for Canadians who are:
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aged 65 and over
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with compromised immune systems
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with underlying medical conditions
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who are not vaccinated
COVID-19 Resources: Older Adults and Caregivers
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This is the official Government of Canada older adults COVID-19 resources page. It includes tips on:
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How to lower your chances of getting ill
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What to do if you become ill
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Physical and mental health self-care
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Protecting yourself from fraud and elder abuse
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Links and information on COVID-19 financial supports
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Information for caregivers, indigenous older adults, and veterans
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Includes information on the vaccine delivery program, vaccination statistics, information about the available vaccines themselves, the proof of vaccination policies where applicable, and access to the proof of vaccination apps.
COVID-19 Resources for Health Care Providers
Includes information from the Government of Saskatchewan, that your health care providers need to know including infection prevention and control, testing and screening and treatment directives, clinical practice guidelines, proof of vaccination, and proper facility signage as may be required in your facility.
Who Is At High Risk For Severe Illness Pamphlet
Published by the Government of Canada, this pamphlet includes information on which chronic conditions put Canadians most at risk and which age groups are most at risk, what can be done to reduce those risks, symptoms of COVID 19 illness, and what to do if you experience symptoms.
Vulnerable Populations Pamphlet
Published by the Government of Canada, this is a guide for caregivers and businesses and facility staff and volunteers and what they can do to help those most at risk for severe COVID 19 illness.
Hand Washing Pamphlet
Published by the Government of Canada, this easy-to-read pamphlet outlines the protocol for safe washing of hands.
Putting on (Donning) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Published by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, this best practices guideline poster helps individuals and health professionals know which specific order to safely put on infection control personal protective equipment, and will be valuable for those visiting or working in hospitals and long term care facilities during COVID 19 and future pandemics
Taking off (Doffing) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Published by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, this best practices guideline poster helps individuals and health professionals know which specific order to safely take off infection control personal protective equipment, and will be valuable for those visiting or working in hospitals and long term care facilities during COVID 19 and future pandemics.
Mental health First Aid: Self-Care & Resilience Guide
Published by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, this package helps individuals create a self-care and resiliency plan essentially outlining activities that keep you grounded, coping resources at your disposal, who you can turn to for support, and additional resources to reach out to in times of stress or with mental health concerns, by province.
Caregiver Mental Health During Covid-19 Outbreak
Published by The Ontario Caregiver Organization, this pamphlet gives some guidance on what caregivers can do for themselves and their loved ones during this pandemic such as how to keep informed, prepared, connected, routine, positive, and healthy.
Individualized Meaningful Engagement through COVID-19 and Beyond
Published by DementiAbility and Behavioural Supports Ontario, this document is to provide supports to caregivers and health care providers and addresses the concerns of boredom and loneliness in a time of social isolation for people living with dementia who may not understand why they need to have their activity and social contact restricted. Includes ideas for leisure and infection control.
Video Conferences and Podcasts
Clicking the button below will bring you to a page of compiled video conferences from mostly medical professionals during the COVID 19 outbreak or audio radio podcasts that may be of some individual interest. The language in the videos may be very bio-medical in nature. Some of these videos might be quite long. No news broadcasts appear in these links. As things have changed over time, policies and procedures and recommendations have changed over time as well. If you would like to know the most recent recommendations and procedures from medical experts, you may need to do more recent searches than information provided in these videos and audio files. These may be of specific clinical value to clinicians, directors, and students viewing this web page.
Saskatchewan Facilities Assistance
Saskatchewan regularly re-evaluates its facilities visitation policy and guidelines including long-term care homes. To see the most recent iterations of the visitation documents including the decision aid rolled out to decision-makers within homes, frequently asked questions, the Saskatchewan Health Authority commitment to open family presence, and other related documents, click the buttons below. Guidance for family presence appeals due to pandemic restrictions is possible. Some facilities may require activating an appeal process to gain entry to see a loved one. The appeals process begins in the facility of your loved one through the care channels (the most directly responsible staff such as a nurse or charge nurse), then through administrative channels (the managers and directors of care at the home). You can seek an advocate along your journey after you have reached out to the home’s channels.
The following family presence directive is applied by the Saskatchewan Health Authority to guide access decisions for caregivers and family to health care settings during a pandemic. This includes a description of the tiered system of access based on current community guidelines, how to apply the restriction, and who is responsible for each activity of restriction. This document also includes an appendix of additional documents relevant for family presence decisions. This policy alone does not tell which level of restriction is currently in place. It alone is not a document that will determine the individual outcome of a dispute about access but will provide insight into the official policy decisions; we recommend a dispute resolution process such as contacting a Quality Care Coordinator.