New OC National FLS Implementation Lead
/dans News/par FLSOsteoporosis Canada is pleased to announce that effective November 1, 2023 Dr. Sonia Singh will be joining the organization as the new OC National FLS Implementation Lead, previously known as the FLS Chief Scientific Officer.
Dr. Singh is a hospitalist physician and osteoporosis consultant based at Peace Arch Hospital (PAH) in White Rock, as well as the medical lead for British Columbia’s first FLS and Fraser Health’s Healthy Bones Clinic at PAH.
She worked for 25 years as an Emergency Room physician and frequently cared for patients presenting with repeated fractures related to osteoporosis. Dr. Singh has been a champion for FLS (Fracture Liaison Service) since 2012.
Dr. Singh has been successful with a number of research grant awards in the area of osteoporosis and fall prevention, including an Implementation Science Team grant from Michael Smith Health Research BC for “Breaking the cycle of recurrent fracture: Scaling up a secondary fracture prevention program in Fraser Health to inform spread across British Columbia”. She is the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation Health Research Champion and holds academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC and Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU.
In addition, she is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Osteoporosis Canada, the co-chair of the Fragility Fracture Network Special Interest Group in Secondary Fracture Prevention, and the co-chair of the BC Coalition of Osteoporosis Physicians FLS Special Interest Group.
In 2015, Dr. Singh was awarded a Fraser Health Above and Beyond Award for Evidence Based Practice and in 2022 was presented with the Osteoporosis Canada’s Community Backbone Award.
Canada has now surpassed 50 FLSs!
/dans News/par FLSWith the recent new additions to Osteoporosis Canada’s FLS Registry, we now have 52 FLSs in Canada.
Fracture Liaison Services (FLSs) began to be established in Canada in 2002 at St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. There has been slow progress since with the establishment of FLSs in 6 provinces at this point, including one province with universal access (Prince Edward Island). PEI is currently the only province in Canada where FLS is available for every resident who suffers a fragility fracture of the hip, wrist, shoulder or pelvis.
A Canadian FLS First in the Province of Prince Edward Island
/dans News/par FLSWith the recent implementation of a combined inpatient/outpatient FLS (Fracture Liaison Service) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Charlottetown, PEI becomes the very first province in Canada where FLS is available for every resident who suffers a fragility fracture of the hip, wrist, shoulder or pelvis.
The Fracture Liaison Service (FLS) at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto to celebrate its 20th year
/dans News/par FLSThis quality improvement program focuses on secondary fracture prevention by identifying patients at risk for future fracture and initiating appropriate evaluation, risk assessment, education, and therapeutic intervention. From inception, data collection and analysis have been central to the program, and approval by the Research Ethics Board was obtained to permit the publication of quality assurance data. The program undergoes regular iterative program modifications based on evolving risk assessment tools and treatment guidelines, performance outcomes, and qualitative study results.
Registered Nurse (RN) or a Nurse Practitioner (NP)? Guidance for new FLSs
/dans News/par FLSIt is important to spend the time needed to determine the most appropriate professional background for your new FLS coordinator and this will largely depend on your local individual context. Nursing offers by far the best fit in terms of scope of practice. But should you hire an RN or an NP? This article aims to cover some of the important considerations.
Dr. Earl Bogoch Appointed the Inaugural Holder of the Brookfield Chair in Fracture Prevention
/dans News/par FLSDr. Famida Jiwa, President & CEO, Osteoporosis Canada is pleased to announce that Dr. Earl Bogoch has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Brookfield Chair in Fracture Prevention. This University of Toronto chair, a global first of its type, has been established at the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Foundation through the generosity of Brookfield Partners Foundation, which provided a $3 million grant. Dr. Bogoch was appointed after a Faculty search process.
Fractured families
/dans News/par FLSMy grandmother’s broken hip was never repaired thus her last 7 years of life consisted of lying in her bed in a long-term care home. Her life was fractured as well as her family’s as they supported her through her final years. For Grammie, her fracture meant leaving the family home with its wide veranda next door to her kids and entering “the Mount”. Now family visits consisted of cramming into a dim, shared room with interruptions by staff and other residents all while trying to avert your eyes from Grammie’s misaligned leg under the covers, her increasing dementia and her institutional existence.
Overcoming barriers to improve patient outcomes in an FLS
/dans News/par FLSFLS Coordinators are no strangers to finding innovative methods to improve care for their patients. With the goal of ensuring that every fragility fracture patient is provided appropriate osteoporosis care, FLS Coordinators have often been successful at finding creative solutions when they identify significant barriers in care.