Investing in Home Care Science

PSW Donnabelle Lasban Drives Positive Change as One of VHA's Research Fellows

VHA is committed to making care better for clients and providers by investing in home care science. VHA’s researchers work closely with academic partners on projects to advance a more connected health and community care system and to support safer teams, including recent studies on the impact of COVID-19 on frontline home care workers. VHA’s investments also include annual programs to support graduate student researchers and to provide VHA therapists, nurses and personal support workers (PSWs) with fellowship opportunities to develop their quality improvement and evaluation skills to position them as practice leaders.

Donnabelle Lasban is one of VHA’s current fellows. A PSW at VHA since 2017 with a background in nursing before moving to Canada, Donnabelle takes pride in continuously learning how to improve the care she provides. As a part of VHA’s Champions of Change Interprofessional Fellowship program, Donnabelle is working with other point-of-care nurses and PSWs to design and lead a quality improvement project focused on the use of technology to support clients and families living with dementia to manage their medications. By developing, implementing and evaluating this initiative, Donnabelle is helping to drive positive change within her clinical team.

“I believe that if you’re open to new ideas, are willing to embrace change and think critically, you can provide even higher quality care,” Donnabelle shared. “I'm excited about the fellowship opportunity and to be involved in this quality improvement project. I look forward to sharing it with my team.”

Research & Innovation Annual Report 2021

In 2021, VHA elevated its commitment to home care science with the creation of the inaugural Vice President, Research & Innovation position at VHA. This role is focused on bringing to life VHA’s transformational vision to advance and inspire improvements in home care through research and innovation. Learn more about our vision and recent work in VHA's 2021 Research & Innovation Annual Report.

View Research & Innovation Annual Report 2021

Research By the Numbers