Building better care for older adults

As Canada's population ages, every older adult deserves care that helps them stay healthy and independent. This is the goal that has guided Dr. Sheri-Lynn Kane throughout her career for nearly three decades. 

As Medical Director of the Regional Geriatric Program of Southwest Ontario at St. Joseph's Health Care London, Kane is helping improve how older adults receive care for complex health conditions including frailty, dementia and chronic illnesses. She is also helping address falls which can have a major impact on an older person’s health and independence.

Her work brings together hospitals, primary care, community organizations and other health care providers to help create a more connected system. This means older adults and their families can experience smoother care and better support, whether they live in a city or a rural community. As well through Provincial Geriatrics Leadership Ontario, a Ministry of Health-funded initiative, she works with health care leaders from across the province to improve services for older adults and promote high-quality, person-centred care.

One of her key areas of focus is preventing falls. Falls are one of the leading reasons older adults are injured or admitted to hospital. Kane is helping lead a $1.6 million Ministry of Health-funded project to create better care pathways for people at risk of falls in Grey-Bruce and Middlesex-London. By connecting emergency services, hospitals and community care, the Falls Prevention and Management: Integrating Health Services in Urban and Rural Settings project aims to help older adults receive more coordinated care in order to reduce injuries and hospital visits.

“It is so frequent and no one thinks it is going to happen to them - until it does,” she says. “An injurious fall can change the trajectory of someone’s life. Not only is there is a change in the person’s sense of confidence but also in their family’s sense of confidence in their ability and you see their activities start to be limited.”

Falls should not simply be written off as tripping over a carpet or missing the last step. Kane says there are several risk factors that can be identified and addressed including vision problems, the effects of certain medication, low blood pressure and improper footwear.

Supporting the next generation

Mentoring the next generation of geriatricians is also important to Kane. Many physicians she has trained have gone on to become geriatric specialists and now care for older adults in communities across Ontario and Canada. Her leadership is helping build the workforce needed to care for Canada's aging population.

In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Kane received the B. Lynn Beattie Clinical Leadership Award from the Canadian Geriatric Society for her lasting impact on geriatric medicine across the region, Ontario and Canada. Described in her nomination letter by Dr. Michael Borrie, Medical Director of the Aging Brain and Memory Clinic at Parkwood Institute, as a ‘quintessential triple threat as a superb clinician, educator and academic administrator’, Kane is improving care for older adults today, while helping ensure future generations have access to the specialized care they will need. 

“The people who are in geriatrics - love it,” says Kane. “All geriatricians want to encourage other practitioners, whether they are in geriatrics or not, to see what a difference people can make and not just write people off as they are getting old.”