Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the 3rd leading cause of death worldwide. It affects an estimated 1 in 7 residents in long term care (LTC) and continues to be the leading cause for emergency hospital transfers.The COPD program is designed to optimize treatment and management of LTC residents living with COPD. Targeted outcomes include reduction in hospital transfers related to AECOPD, optimization of COPD therapies, increased quality of care and an overall improvement in resident health outcomes. Healthcare providers will utilize a protocol to effectively identify, assess and manage LTC residents. Desired outcomes are achieved through facility staff and healthcare provider education, standardized symptom & risk assessment, and appropriate selection of pharmacotherapy.The long term objective of this initiative is to develop a program that is scalable and sustainable, and to implement an interdisciplinary approach to shift COPD management from the perspective of acute rescue to one of proactive maintenance.
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