Background to the Residential Aged Care Integration Programme (RACIP) 
RACIP is an innovative system to integrate care for older people living in aged care facilities and to support Residential Aged Care (RAC) staff. The programme employs a team of Gerontology Nurse Specialists (GNSs) and wound care specialists led by the Gerontology Nurse Consultant.

About the programme
The RACIP team work closely with aged care providers in the following ways:

• GNSs provide outreach services to aged care facilities in the Waitemata DHB region. These include comprehensive gerontology assessments and care co-ordination across primary and secondary care
• GNSs provide proactive education and clinical coaching for RAC staff at individual facilities. Topics to date include cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal and urinary issues to name a few
• GNSs and other specialty Waitemata DHB staff provide ongoing quarterly education sessions specifically targeting the needs of residents in aged care facilities
• Wound care specialist nurses provide wound care intervention and coaching aimed at preventing the complications of chronic wounds
• A collaborative workgroup (involving clinical and managerial staff from WDHB and RAC facilities) developed the highly acclaimed RN Care Guides for Residential Aged Care. These Care Guides provide information on common gerontology care issues.
  The work group has also developed the Care Giver Guides for Residential Aged Care; a set of six A3 posters that prompt caregivers to observe for early warning signs of deterioration and report this to the registered nurse.
  The work group in partnership with the Universityof Auckland and the Ministry of Health has now developed the Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care. All of these resources are available by clicking on the following link:-

Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care

Participation and education
We welcome all interested parties within the Waitemata DHB area to actively participate in this programme which has the potential to significantly support the integration of care of older adults in RAC facilities. For more information about the programme please email us.

Implementation
The initial programme implementation was staged during 2007/2008 with half the facilities enrolled, and the remainder began the programme in March 2009.The initial programme development and implementation was led by Dr Michal Boyd, gerontology nurse practitioner and clinical leader in Waitemata DHB's Community Services for Older Adults. Dr Boyd also holds an academic position with the University of Auckland.