Shaping community services with the help of BCITS members

This summer three members of BCITS’s PROP team visited Robb, a PROP client who is living at home while on 24 hours of ventilation.

Home visits are part of the core services provided by PROP and in the last year, over 750 home visits across the province were provided by the respiratory team. The home visits are being delivered with the support of 1 registered nurse and 5 respiratory therapists.

On this particular visit, the team was trialling the EO 150, a home ventilator that is relatively new on the Canadian market. The EO 150 Ventilator is suitable for ventilating both the adult and pediatric population and is portable at approximately 10 lbs.

PROP clients have always provided feedback on ventilators and respiratory supplies over the years. The result is a well-rounded selection of respiratory equipment specific for the independent user living in the community. With that in mind PROP was seeking Robb’s feedback about this new ventilator. Over the years PROP has received a lot of crucial suggestions from users regards respiratory equipment that is compatible in the home setting.

During this visit the PROP team exchanged Robb’s ventilators, adjusted settings and monitored the rise of his chest with each breath. At times Robb was manually bagged while his caregiver arranged the wiring of the equipment. During the process, Robb remained calm and provided ongoing valuable comments.

The final outcome of this test showed that due to irregularities with the Bluetooth connection the ventilator does not yet work smoothly: the EO 150 ventilator has gone back into the biomeds’ workshop for further testing.

But while the ventilator did not work out as hoped, Robb’s patient comments (interspersed with laughter) throughout the 2-hour visit demonstrated clearly how interactions with PROP and TIL clients have direct impact on the improvements of services afforded by BCITS. Client feedback is crucial to further the ultimate goal: helping clients to live independently. Robb and the many members of BCITS shape the landscape of community services with their input. Thank you, Robb!