TAPESTRY puts students on the front line of home healthcare

Have you ever wanted to be part of something that could impact someone’s life?

McMaster students Joyce Chan (Arts & Science) and Brandon Tang (Biology and Psychology) are part of a volunteer team that can say they’ve found a way to have that impact. Chan and Tang are both volunteers with the research project TAPESTRY, being run out of the Department of Family Medicine.

“TAPESTRY could someday be a part of every community,” said Tang. “It could be a household name.”

TAPESTRY, short for Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality, is a program with the goal of keeping Canadians, primarily older adults, healthy at home and out of hospital. This is being done by having trained volunteers such as Chan and Tang go into patients’ homes to ask questions and engage in a general discussion of the patient’s self-identified health goals. The information collected is relayed back to the family doctor and primary care team to allow for better preventative care.

“Volunteers are at the heart of TAPESTRY,” said Dr. Doug Oliver, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and co-principal investigator of TAPESTRY. Oliver, who is also a family doctor at McMaster Family Practice, sees the direct impact volunteers have on patient care.

“I learn about and can work to prevent potential health problems before a patient ends up in the emergency room,” added Oliver.

Both Chan and Tang are seeing the medical benefits to patients from the project too, but have also seen many personal benefits for themselves that weren’t entirely expected when they signed up.

“The whole experience is so enriching,” Chan said when reflecting on her conversations with patients.

Many people answer volunteer questions with stories and it leads to larger conversations. Chan and Tang were surprised by just how much they are getting to know the patient participants. Often they feel the patients could happily continue talking even after all the questions have been asked.

“We’re trained to listen. People seem to really enjoy that,” said Tang.

When asked if other McMaster students should volunteer with TAPESTRY, the response was a resounding yes. Why?

“TAPESTRY is great for anyone looking for meaningful community engagement,” explained Chan.

Student volunteers can, and do, come from all faculties at McMaster. Aspiring health care professionals gain relevant real-world experience and interact with current practitioners in the health care field. Students without a specific interest in health care gain a variety of other valuable transferable skills for their future careers.

In addition to the skills, Chan feels being a volunteer in the project strongly contributes to a sense of belonging in Hamilton.

“We don’t mean to, but Mac students can get into a bit of a bubble. This experience with TAPESTRY really helps you break out of that,” she said.

All volunteers receive training to make sure they are comfortable before going out into the community. The training continues through regular meetings and check-ins to ensure all volunteers are properly supported. Volunteers are also paired into groups when visiting patients.

The true impact of TAPESTRY is still being discovered. Currently in its pilot project phase, the program will be expanding across Canada in future phases. Chan and Tang, along with future volunteers, are part of the team building an effective template to be used in other parts of Canada.

Through a desire to give back to Hamilton and contribute to their own personal growth, student volunteers like Chan and Tang are already starting to see TAPESTRY’s impact.

“I can see a lot of future value, through TAPESTRY, for my own parents and family,” said Tang. “It’s amazing to be a part of that.”

The volunteer portion of TAPESTRY is run by community partner Shalom Village. Any students wanting more information about volunteering with TAPESTRY can contact Shalom’s coordinator of volunteers, Katharine May at 905.529.1613 extension 308 or katharine.may@shalomvillage.ca.

More information about TAPESTRY can be found at healthtapestry.ca