Statistics of IFS Program

The Program

The Individual and Family Services Team continues to provide ongoing clinical work with individuals, couples, and families; refer clients to community resources, advocate on behalf of clients to assist in accessing resources; provide education and consultation with professionals; in-service training; clinic work; group work; provide mutual support linking clients to others as well as to resources; and provide social and recreational opportunities through day activity program, support groups and camps.

Our Clients

• In the past 6 months, the IFS team has received 177 new referrals. This represents an increase of 46% in new referrals in the past 6 months
• The demand for our services is growing
• Across the country a total of 3,571 open cases are noted.

Snapshot of Our Services in the month of November (statistics are completed twice per year in the months of November and May

Our clients received the following services in November 2004:

• Number of contacts made - 1,902 contacts
• Number of in-service training sessions - 37 sessions
• Contacts with clients - 731 contacts to clients
• Contacts made to professionals - 563 contacts to professionals
• Contact made during clinics - 87 contact made during clinics
• Contacts made during in-service training - 243
• Contacts made during support groups - 103
• Number of clinics offered - 10 clinics
• Number of groups offered - 14 groups

Support Groups

Both the Resource Centre Directors and support workers offer support groups on a monthly or bi-monthly basis.

• During the last six months 192 support groups have been offered: for persons with HD, Caregivers and Couples. This represents an increase of 137% in the number of groups that have been offered over the past 6 months.

In-Service Training

In-service training continues to be a valuable resource in teaching the medical community about HD. The demand for in-service training appears to be increasing in major urban areas.

• The Services team has presented a total of 99 in-service training sessions over the past six months (this represents an increase of 62% in the last 6 months)

Clinic

Our Resource Centre Directors work closely with clinical teams across the country. The clinics consist of multi-disciplinary teams that focus on genetic clinics, medical clinics and movement disorder clinics. The clinics offer an opportunity to work with other professionals working in the field of Huntington disease as well as providing a vehicle to meet with several clients a day in a therapeutic setting. The clinics offer genetic information to those clients who are being tested for the gene and the HD medical clinics offer a host of skilled professionals working in the field of HD; these include neurology, psychology, speech pathology, occupational therapy and social work.

Day Activity Programs

Day activity programs are a valuable resource and are now offered through various Resource Centres throughout the country.

Camp Programs

Camp programs are offered in three locations across the country. Each camp offers a variety of opportunities to enjoy that may include activities such as yoga, boat rides, camp fires, music therapy, art classes, swimming, massage, wall climbing, rope course, mini golf, hikes, movie nights and a banquet and dance. Camp provides a therapeutic atmosphere and group opportunities by introducing and offering workshops. Camp also provides a respite break for family caregivers from the day-to-day duties encountered in coping with the disease.

• The British Columbia camp is offered in May as an annual retreat for 15 people with Huntington disease.
• The Ontario Camp is offered in June and is held at the CNIB camp on Lake Joseph outside of MacTier. The camp serves 27 campers.
• The Alberta Camp is held at Health Hope and Happiness located 95km west of Edmonton on the shores of Lake Isle. The camp serves a total of 16 campers.