Pat Ford, a seasoned Geriatric Advanced Practice Nurse (NP) and Assistant Clinical Professor in Nursing at McMaster University, is deeply dedicated to improving and enhancing the health and overall well-being of older adults.

“I want to make sure that we can optimize the health and wellbeing of individuals to improve their quality of life and give families the time to enjoy life with them,” says Ford about her motivation behind working with older adults and their families. “I think sometimes our job on the geriatric assessment is also being the detective and sorting out what’s really going on with this person and what can we do to improve things or support families during times of crisis.” 

Ford’s steadfast commitment to the care of older adults, mentorship of countless students and clinical colleagues and her advocacy work in geriatric care, has been instrumental in advancing geriatric medicine and education. This commitment recently earned her prestigious recognition from colleagues at St. Joe’s and McMaster University.

Ford was the recipient of the 2023 Clinical Excellence Award from the Division of Geriatric Medicine at McMaster University, The Regional Geriatric Program Central (RGPc), affiliated with McMaster University, and the GERAS Centre for Aging Research.

Ford was recognized for her “exceptional contributions to the field of geriatric medicine and nursing education.”

An excerpt from her nomination reads:

“The number, depth, quality and duration of Pat Ford’s contributions are truly remarkable. She has and continues to be so relentless and tireless in her advocacy and work for older adults. She enhances the professional lives of all of the colleagues around her as well as the personal experiences of the patients and families that she serves. Her life has truly been one of selfless dedication, leadership, advocacy, lifelong learning and education, and the building of a more senior-friendly world.”

Ford said that she was “truly overwhelmed” at the recognition of her work with seniors.

She says that working alongside the geriatric consultation team and interprofessional teams at St. Joe’s has been a valuable learning experience that has helped enriched her career.

“It has been said that geriatrics is a team sport,” Ford says. “I learned that very early on when I realized I did not have all the answers, was not sure who did but I continue to witness the benefits of the healthcare team’s collaboration to optimize our frail older adults. I have learned so much from their expertise.”

Ford’s nursing career spans several decades, beginning with her work as a nurse in Montreal before moving to Hamilton. Since 1988, she’s worked as an Advanced Practice Nurse in the Geriatric Medicine Services department at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. She’s also an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University’s School of Nursing.

St. Joe’s provides specialized Geriatric Medicine Services to meet the unique medical needs of older adults. Key focus areas include neurocognitive disorders, memory issues, dementia, mobility changes, gait disorders and falls. The department also addresses complex geriatric issues including patients with frequent ER visits and polypharmacy, ensuring tailored assessments and care for age-related health disorders.

Ford’s role as an Advanced Practice Nurse on the Geriatric Consultation team is to help assess and support the health of older adults. She collaborates with an interprofessional team to provide comprehensive care to them.

In addition to providing direct patient care, Ford educates families about their loved one’s health needs. She acts as a liaison between families and healthcare teams, facilitating communication between families and healthcare teams to enhance understanding and support. Her focus extends beyond individual patient care, as she consistently explores opportunities to improve the capabilities of healthcare teams and promote older adult-friendly practices in everyday care.

Ford says that her passion for helping older adults arises from a desire to help identify challenges with each patient and find effective ways to improve their quality of life and support families.

Although people are living healthier, more active lives longer, there is a rising number of older adults living with dementia and other complex conditions and diseases that affect the brain, according to Ford. While treatments exist, there are no cures. Although disability management has improved, ongoing support and research remains vital.

Ford says that the geriatric consultation team aims to identify and treat illnesses that could be treated, reducing the burden of illness and avoiding unnecessary treatments and procedures that do not improve the quality of life or add years to a patient's life.

“I think we need to make sure that we give life back to the older adult and not contribute to any unnecessary burden of illness,” she says. “This is important for families, as supporting their health allows them to maintain their independence for as long as possible. Most older adults don’t want added years, they want added years of quality of life, not added years of disability and illness.”

Since joining St. Joe’s, Ford has played a crucial role in promoting interprofessional geriatric care. This type of care ensures that older adult patients receive comprehensive support from a diverse group of healthcare professionals, such as a Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist, Dietitian, Social Worker, Psychotherapist, and others.

“We need everyone's input to enrich the patient experience,” Ford explains. “We’re really the sum of the parts and each one brings a unique body of knowledge to the care of the person so that as a group, we can come up with better stronger solutions and recommendations.”

Ford is also actively involved in various quality improvement, advocacy and leadership initiatives in geriatric medicine at local, provincial and national levels. She serves on working groups and committees aimed at advancing senior-friendly care, prevention of delirium and deconditioning, falls prevention, aimed at restraint minimization, managing Responsive Behaviors (which has seen a significant increase among the older adult population), supporting and educating families of dementia patients and more.

Ford also co-leads a Seniors Mobile Assess and Restore Program at St. Joe’s, a rehabilitation program to help frail and at-risk seniors transition successfully back from the hospital to their everyday lives. Ford is also currently collaborating with her team to implement a frailty assessment tool to better identify the at-risk senior to help mitigate risks of falls, disability, and mortality in older adults.

Ford advocates for senior-friendly care in an article she wrote for Perspectives, the e-Journal of the Canadian Gerontological Nursing Association, titled “A Post-COVID-19 Reflection: An Open Letter to Gerontological Nurses.”  

She highlights the urgent need for hospitals to restore person-centered practices for seniors, which declined during the COVID-19 pandemic as healthcare workers solely focused on basic care. This shift negatively affected seniors' physical activity and social interaction, harming their quality of life. To address this, Ford and her team are educating families and healthcare professionals on senior-friendly care practices.

As Ford looks back on her extensive career in geriatric medicine services at St. Joe’s, she shares her thoughts.

“Discovering, building and witnessing the evolution of specialized geriatric services has been the most exciting and rewarding opportunity anyone could ever expect from their career,” she says. “This has afforded me the privilege of working with patients and their families at vulnerable times in their lives. Every day I strive to do the best for each of the patients and their families that I am involved with.”