News

NS Researchers first team to win Lerners Research Grant from TAC

An Evaluation of the Nova Scotia Paramedic Fall Referral Program: a Retrospective Observational Study

Project Team Members: Tom Dobson ACP, Judah Goldstein PCP PhD (TAC Member), Suzanne
Baker, Francine Butts ACP, Scott McCulloch PT NSHA, Jan Jensen ACP, Andrew Travers MD, Alix
Carter MPH MD

 Emergency Health Services’ Falls referral project was awarded the new “Lerners Trauma Research Grant” in March 2020 by the Trauma Association of Canada.

TAC recently announced a new partnership with Lerners Lawyers in Ontario. Lerners LLP has agreed to provide an annual research grant of $5,000 each year for the next five years to be awarded to a new group of researchers each year in the form of an annual research competition.  This competition is open to Members and Affiliates of TAC only.

The research project, initiated by the late Tom Dobson, Manager of Integrated Health Programs at EHS Operations, will evaluate the EHS Falls referral service that was launched in February 2014 in partnership with the former Colchester, Annapolis Valley, and South Shore Health Authorities.

EHS, Emergency Medical Care Inc., and the Dalhousie Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of EMS are collaborative partners in emergency medical services research in Nova Scotia. The research team is undertaking a research study to examine the implementation of the program and barriers to referral with a goal to develop recommendations to optimize its use.

The Lerners grant is for one year and the results of the study are due for presentation in April 2021.

Since its launch, the aim of the Falls initiative has been two-fold: to identify patients who have fallen and are at risk of a subsequent fall, and to help reduce falls and injuries in older adults.

As part of the program, paramedics identify and enroll older adults who are 65 or older and complained of a fall but were not being transported to hospital, and these patients are then followed-up by Nova Scotia Health Authority community based Falls Prevention teams. The initiative encompasses several catchment areas, including Truro, the South Shore, and the Annapolis Valley.

The initiative is one of several Integrated Health Programs offered by Emergency Health Services.

To read more on the full research initiative click here:  2020 Lerners Grant Winning Submission

  
Judah Goldstein PCP, PhD                        Tom Dobson ACP

Applications will be received for the 2021 competition until January 15, 2021. To read more and to submit go to:  2021 Lerners Grant Application