Category: How you can help!

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#ChangeLTCNow

The residents, families, and staff of Ontario’s long-term care homes need your help.
An urgent update on our work re: Ontario’s Long-term Care Home System.

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We have joined the CARP Advocacy Project whose goal is to strengthen Ontario’s Long-term Care Home system through a transformative culture change.

The government has announced that an Independent Commission will be set up in July to review Ontario’s long-term care home system and propose improvements. CARP Ottawa has submitted a request to be involved in the Commission and has recommended a transformative culture change for long-term care homes.

A transformative culture change includes: a relationship-based approach to care; person and family-centred care; small home-like environments; higher staff to resident ratios; full time staff who are well-trained in empathy and culture change; and an environment where residents, staff and families feel a part of a community.  The Eden Alternative, Green House Project, Hogewey Villages and Butterfly Homes are examples that have been implemented in Europe, Australia, the U.S. and recently a few in Canada.

HELP US CREATE A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT – #ChangeLTCNow

We want organizations and individuals to provide input that will encourage the Commission to consider recommendations for transformative culture change. Awareness of the need for major reforms in LTC has never been so evident. This is a unique opportunity.

We need to act – NOW.

Support this grassroots movement. Get involved.

Email – changeltcnow@gmail.com
Be a part of #ChangeLTCNow.

 

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Tell your candidates that Canada needs a fully funded Dementia Strategy

On June 17, 2019, the Government of Canada released the country’s first-ever national dementia strategy: A Dementia Strategy for Canada: Together We Aspire

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  Relationship-based model of care

A fully-funded strategy will allow Canada to meet the challenges of dementia with a coordinated, focused approach to care and research. The strategy will address the overwhelming scale, impact and cost of dementia in Canada through three key objectives:

• Prevent dementia,
• Advance therapies and find a cure, and
• Improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and caregivers.

Within the report, it states that: “integrated, person-centered quality care based on best practices will be available across all care settings and people living with dementia will feel welcomed and well-cared for”. In this blog, you have read that we need to create person-centered, relationship-based long-term care homes. This is just one of the ways that we can improve quality care.

Today 90% of residents in long-term care homes have some form of cognitive impairment with over 65% having a diagnosis of dementia. The opportunities for change are now.

The federal election is October 21st, 2019. Attend All-Candidates Meetings in your Riding or write to your local MP candidates, and ask for a fully-funded national dementia strategy.

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You Can Bring Joy to Life in Long-Term Care

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes an existing model obsolete”

 R. Buckminster Fuller.  

Blog post #6

Barely a week goes by, when we hear yet another bad news story about our long-term care homes in Ontario. (See recent articles in the Ottawa Citizen and Toronto Star).

Despite the many millions of dollars injected into the system over the last 30 years, we seem to have fallen into an abyss from which we cannot escape.  Throwing good money after bad has not worked.  We need to transform our system!

The Ontario government has promised 5,000 new long-term care beds by 2021/22.  Models exist now such as Hogewey Villages (Netherlands), Eden Alternative models (in Canada and U.S.) and other innovative models which help to reduce aggressive incidents and promote quality of life.  Currently Langley, B.C. and Tasmania are building new homes designed after Hogewey Villages – 25 years after this model was created.

We cannot wait another 25 years for progress in Ontario. We need a willingness to act for significant change to our long-term care home system.  With new beds coming on stream, now is our opportunity to demand our government consider a new model of care!  Our residents deserve it.

The Ontario election is in June.  Please personalize the information in this post and send to your MPP urging them to address this situation!  Click here for MPP information.

And you can help to promote change by sharing this with all your contacts, posting on your Facebook page or on your Twitter account.  And FOLLOW US!

 

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The opportunity to act is now!

Did you know …

… that renovating an existing facility or increasing funding for education for staff has been going on for decades in Ontario and it just won’t do the trick?  We do know that there are many innovative models used in long term care that increase quality of life and decrease the need for medication (some examples in previous posts).

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If you agree, please ask your MPP to urge the Ministry of Health to restrict funding for these new beds to those who will commit to an innovative environment and not the same old Ontario model!  For a list of all the Ontario MPPs and their contact information click here. 

Follow us by clicking on the button to the right side of this post and link to your  Facebook or twitter account if you have one. 

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes an existing model obsolete.”  R. Buchminster Fuller

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