Grant: Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant: PHSI

Early recognition and prompt, aggressive resuscitation of critically ill patients reduces mortality, morbidity, irreversible organ dysfunction, and cost of care. This is especially well-evidenced in the case of sepsis. Given the proportion of critically ill patients who present to community settings, it is community practitioners who are best placed to capitalize on this window of opportunity even if transfer to tertiary care is eventually necessary. The REACHout project will involve identifying community hospitals in the Champlain (Local Health Integrated Network) LHIN to collaborate with our team of decision-makers, educators and researchers. Our intervention involves conducting a focussed critical care needs assessment, practice context review, customized curriculum development and interprofessional educational delivery using best practices in knowledge translation, including high-fidelity simulation. Expected measurable outcomes of the project include increased quality and safety of care for critically ill patients, improved health outcomes, enhanced community-tertiary communication, reduced lengths of ICU and hospital stays, and reduced cost of care. We plan to evaluate the intervention in terms of changes in patient care practices, patient health outcomes and system function, likely focussing on patients with sepsis. Results will inform LHIN decision-making and will be applicable to other provincial LHINs, nationally and internationally. The execution of this multi-faceted and complex project will require many collaborators. The Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant will allow us to develop a detailed plan for the REACHout project and its rigorous evaluation and to ensure commitment from the team members, enabling a full PHSI project submission.