Aging results in a lot of changes to the body: as we get older bone density decreases, we don’t think as fast as we used to, and our immune system can become compromised. Thankfully, there is often something that can be done about it! Through Sage’s DRAGONFLY (Building Resilience and Responding to Seniors Frailty) project, we identify older adults with moderate frailty and reduced function, and support them as they work towards improving their wellness and health.
What is Frailty?
Frailty is generally understood as a medical or social condition of reduced function. It affects older individuals more than younger people. Getting older doesn’t necessarily mean someone is frail, but it does increase the odds of developing frailty. Things like inactivity, poor nutrition, social isolation or loneliness, and multiple medications contribute to frailty. When you are frail, your body and / or mind does not have the ability to cope with minor illnesses that would normally have minimal impact if you were healthy.
Frailty-related screening is slowly being phased out at Sage in preparation for the end of the DRAGONFLY program in the coming months. Referrals for DRAGONFLY are no longer being accepted at this time. Interested individuals are encouraged to check back in the future for related services, or connect with our social work team at 587-773-1764 if you require services. Our team is currently in the early stages of planning next steps, with tentative plans to leverage the success of DRAGONFLY towards new frailty identification and intervention programming at Sage in 2022. Please check back for updates and announcements.
Currently, we are looking for community partners/agencies interested in training their staff on the topic of frailty and incorporating frailty screening in client-facing programs. There will be a team of nurse practitioners and public health professionals leading a project from Sage in the spring of 2022 focused on the rollout of frailty screening in different community settings.
Please contact dragonfly@mysage.ca for more information or to get involved.
