People of Perley - Daniela Acosta

Developing innovative pilots that produce shareable results is second-nature for Daniela Acosta. Her commitment to improving quality of life for Seniors and Veterans colours her career at Perley Health. She started in 2013, as a nurse providing care at the bedside. Daniela embraced every chance to learn and grow on the job. She is now Perley Health's Manager of Education and Knowledge Translation.

Respect is the genesis of her commitment to Perley Health, and to Seniors' and Veterans' long-term care. “I feel heard at Perley Health,” Daniela says. “My ideas matter.”

Daniela has filled several roles at Perley Health. From the start, she said yes to as many professional development opportunities as she could, with a focus on quality improvement and best practices. Those studies sparked an enduring interest in knowledge translation and collaboration.

“Seeing the impact of all that work, on changing processes, improving care, decreasing falls, decreasing wounds, really showed me how knowledge translation has improved the lives of seniors,” Daniela says. “That was what motivated me to keep going.”

Established in 2019, Perley Health Centre of Excellence in Frailty-Informed Care™ aims to set a new benchmark in seniors' care, facilitating applied research that fuels innovation in education, best practices, and knowledge translation. Frailty in seniors is increasing every year. When a frail person falls, they're at particular risk for injury and decreased quality of life.

Daniela's attendance at a week-long simulation certification training program was the catalyst for an educational offering from the Centre of Excellence. She created a simulation for a specialized Falls Team, tailored for Perley Health's Senior and Veteran residents. Daniela's simulation was ready to be translated into real life. It also held potential to realize Daniela's commitment to knowledge-sharing, by allowing other long term facilities to add Perley Health's simulation training to their own frailty-informed strategies.

Simulation training is an approach to preventing falls. In a simulation, an actor lies on the floor and lets nurses go through a routine assessment. Key to this virtual training is the dynamic discussions and exchange of perspectives that follow.. Those reviews and assessments afford opportunities to improve techniques, and work on best-practice procedures.

 

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"I love Perley Health! I started here 12 years ago and I haven't left. It was my first job out of school as a nurse and I have had the amazing opportunity to work in different roles.” - Daniela Acosta, Manager, Education & Knowledge Translation