Continuing the Conversation: Medical Cannabis in Long-Term Care

I wanted to continue the conversation about cannabinoid therapy in long term care this week by sharing some insights from my colleague Kim Van Dam, Administrator at Steeves & Rozema’s Trillium Villa. 

Here she talks about the outcomes we’ve seen in successfully reducing narcotic and antipsychotic use amongst residents living with chronic pain and dementia.

Trillium Villa is one of Ontario’s first LTC residences to introduce cannabinoid therapy and the first home that I worked in several years ago. I continue to work with Kim and the forward-thinking & dedicated S&R team to this day and have been excited by the number of like-minded long term care organizations and in-house physicians who have reached out to learn more about whether it could benefit their residents/patients.

Medical Cannabis and Long-Term Care

When assessing under what circumstances the Government and private insurers should #CoverCannabis, residents living in long term care facilities would be a great place to start. These people have been through so much over the last year--particularly those living with dementia, as the prolonged isolation and disruption to their routines can lead to increased behavioural and psychological symptoms. 

Medical cannabis offers a safe & effective multimodal medication that can improve quality of life amongst LTC residents in a range of medical scenarios, including dementia, chronic pain, insomnia and mental health--but the cost is precluding too many seniors from accessing this treatment. We must do better for our most vulnerable citizens.

Special thanks to my colleague Kelly Batson, Manager, Resident Care, Education and Operations at Steeves & Rozema’s Trillium Villa for her vision, leadership and sharing her experience.