When Vasantha Murthy’s husband Narasimha was released from the hospital after a fall, she decided to take care of him at home.
Her plan was met with apprehension.
“There was some negative reaction. People would say ‘Don’t make it too hard for yourself. It’s going to be really difficult for you’,” she said.
With the help of a full-time caregiver, Narasimha’s family doctor and the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Clinic (GEM), the Murthys were able to make the transition back home a smooth one.
The GEM clinic is a specialized seniors clinic run through the St. Albert and Sturgeon Primary Care Network one day per week. Referred to the clinic through a family doctor or home care, patients have access to a geriatrician, geriatric nurse and pharmacist.
A clinic-day appointment can be a long and grueling one, especially for older people, noted Lisa Tate, the GEM clinic pharmacist. Many patients have dementia and dementia-related diseases, like Narasimha.
“There is a lot of testing that’s done, there is a lot of interviewing. It’s a long visit. My role is typically to see those people in advance of their visit,” said Tate.
Tate sees three new patients per week, typically visiting two of them at home and a phone consultation for the other.
“What the patient is taking isn’t always easy to figure out because what the prescription bottle says isn’t necessarily what they are doing at home,” she said. “There are so many pieces of the puzzle you can get from a direct interaction that you cannot get from paper.”
In the patient’s home, or the assisted living facility where they live, Tate will sometimes come across medications not being taken properly (wrong dose or wrong timing), mislabelled medications, or alternative therapies or over-the-counter products being used that weren’t disclosed to health care providers earlier.
“We can get a good picture of what medications they are taking, what is working for them, what isn’t working for them. Are they tolerating those medications? Are those medications necessary?”
In the Murthys’ case, Tate also acted as a liaison between the couple and the geriatrician as they worked to adjust the dosage of one of Narasimha’s medications.
“Now he’s calm, pleasant and at night he’s sleeping good. I think now we are managing pretty good,” said Vasantha.
“It’s a pleasure to spend time with people who have so much wisdom,” said Tate of the patient population she cares for. “I get a little bit of wisdom from every patient and reap the benefit of their experiences. I always take something away.”
Vasantha said she is comfortable calling up Tate with any problems that pop up because she understands why the Murthys wish to stay at home.
“I can’t think of being apart from him all day. He would be with strangers, they won’t know what he is talking about, but I know,” said Vasantha.
“This is my gift for him. As long as I can manage at home, I’m going to keep him at home.”
