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Residential Aged Care Integration Programme | Waitematā

Public Service, Older People's Health

Description

Residential Aged Care Integration Programme (RACIP) 
The Residential Aged Care Integration Programme supports integrated care for older people living in aged care facilities and provides clinical advice and education for Residential Aged Care staff. The programme employs a team of Gerontology Nurse Practitioners, Gerontology Nurse Specialists and Wound Care Nurse Specialists. We also have a dedicated Gerontology Nurse Specialist for Māori.

The RACIP team works closely with aged care providers in the following ways: 

  • Outreach services to aged care facilities in the Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand - Waitematā region. These include comprehensive gerontology assessments and where required care co-ordination across primary and secondary care.
  • Wound care consultancy for complex wounds.
  • Education and clinical coaching for residential aged care staff that targets the needs of residents in aged care. Education occurs in aged care facilities and at locations across the Te Whatu Ora - Waitematā district region.
A collaborative workgroup of clinicians from Te Whatu Ora - Waitemata and aged care facilities has developed several resources for staff in residential aged care.
  • The Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care provide evidence based guidance on medication administration and management. This resource was developed in partnership with the University of Auckland and the Ministry of Health. They are also available on the Ministry of Health web site.
  • The Advanced Dementia booklet is for families of people living in residential aged care who have advanced dementia. It gives the opportunity to understand common problems that people with advance dementia may experience and supports the development of Advance Care Plans to guide care for the person with dementia in a way that respects their individual preferences and beliefs.
  • Advanced Lung Disease and Advanced Heart Failure These booklets are written for people with advanced lung disease or advanced heart failure living in residential aged care and also for their family/whānau and friends. They provide information about what to expect so that preferences for care can be thought about and planned for.

The following resource, although not written for residential aged care, provides useful information to support residents and their family/whānau.

  • Delirium (acute confusion) Delirium can be alarming for the person with delirium and their family/whānau. This booklet helps people to understand the condition and what staff and family can do that is helpful. It was primarily written for people in acute care but most of the information is relevant for aged residential care as well. 

Contact   for further information.

History of the Residential Aged Care Integration Programme: The initial implementation began in 2007 and was led by Dr Michal Boyd, Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, Associate Professor with the School of Nursing University of Auckland and the Freemasons' Department of Geriatric Medicine Te Whatu Ora Health - Waitematā . The results of the randomised experimental/controlled evaluation showed that adults in the control group were twice as likely to have an acute admission compared with those in the intervention group. (Boyd, M., Armstrong, D., Parker, et al. (2014) Do Gerontology Nurse Specialists Make a Difference in Hospitalization of Long-term care Residents? Results of a Randomized Comparison Trial. J Am Geriatric Society 2014 Oct; 62(10):1962-7)

Contact Details

This page was last updated at 10:26AM on June 12, 2024. This information is reviewed and edited by Residential Aged Care Integration Programme | Waitematā.