A joint education initiative, Facilitating the Transition from Acute Care to Inpatient Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation . . . the Development of an Education Session, was showcased as a poster presentation at Health Quality Transformation 2014, an annual conference hosted by Health Quality Ontario that supports quality improvement by fostering a sharing of ideas. The poster reflected a joint initiative by Zia Poonjiaji and Sandra Yue from St. Michael’s Hospital, Miranda Hong and Carmen Volpe from Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (UHN) and Linda Ngan from the Toronto ABI Network.

The team conducted a needs assessment survey among facilities that generate ABI referrals to identify challenges and barriers faced by acute care facilities in transitioning patients with ABI to inpatient rehabilitation. The results of that survey were used to develop a collaborative education session earlier this year for health care professionals representing both acute and ABI rehabilitation. The session addressed several themes identified by facilities in the survey including reviewing admission criteria for ABI rehabilitation, identifying GTA ABI rehabilitation facilities and the programs they offer, and determining when a patient is ready for rehabilitation. Participants attended the session in person or via teleconference.

A post-education session survey was sent to participants followed by a three-month follow-up survey. The results will help determine long-term impacts of the session and identify if any change in practice in the management of ABI patients occurred as a result of the session. The poster was well received at the HQO conference which attracted more than 2,000 participants from across the province.