Recording: Re-Designing Long-Term Care for a day well lived

Providence Living at the Views opened their doors in July 2024 in Comox, B.C. Since then, they have welcomed 156 residents who live in 13 households. Providence Living is a public, non-profit LTC based on the Hogeweyk villages model of care. It sits on 13 acres and includes supportive housing, assisted living, primary care and retail spaces. Participants learned that this is an efficient model of care, staff enjoy working there, and residents have a day well lived.

For full recording, click here

Hurrah for Elliott Community!

Image by the Elliott Community

As reported in GuelphToday in June, the ‘Elliott Community becomes the first accredited Butterfly Home in Guelph’.    This represents ‘a significant milestone in the organization’s journey toward delivering truly person-centred and emotion-focused care’.  Click here to read 

 

 

Wise Leadership is the key to meaningful, lasting change!


Sherbrooke Village in Saskatoon

In 2023, The Eden Alternative published a “White Paper” entitled: “What is the return on investment for implementing the Eden Alternative Approach to person-directed care”.

The findings:
Nursing Turnover
Registered Nurse turnover was 5.9% lower and total nursing staff turnover was 5.2% lower for Eden Alternative member homes.
Staffing Data
An additional 2.6 hours/day of resident care  is provided relative to non Eden Alternative homes. This means that there are higher employee-resident ratios providing more person-directed care.
Complaints
Lower complaints with 1.63 average complaints as compared to 6.0 complaints per non-member home.
Occupancy and Satisfaction
Occupancy rates  85% versus 75% in non Eden Alternative homes.   RN turnover  42% versus 50.5%;  staff turnover  42.7% versus 54.1% demonstrating higher staff satisfaction.

Conclusion
This White paper demonstrates  relationship-based care models foster a supportive work environment where employees feel valued, leading  to increased job satisfaction and lower staff turnover.

To read the full Paper click here.

Webinar: Re-designing Long-Term Care for a day well-lived

Join us on June 11th as Mark Blandford and Sharon Parkes share what is happening in Comox, B.C.  at ‘Providence Living at the Views’ LTC.   This is Canada’s first public, non-profit long-term care village inspired by the Hogeway dementia village concept in the Netherlands that has been serving residents since July 2024.

To register click here    

Recording: William Osler Health System: First Acute-Care Hospital Worldwide to Implement the Butterfly Approach to Dementia Care

Until 2023, the Butterfly Approach had only been adopted in long-term care homes. Dr. Nadkarni  shared Osler’s journey towards implementing the Butterfly Approach – a significant effort that involved not only a change to the model of care at Osler but also involved modifications to the physical space on the ACE Unit at the Brampton Civic Hospital.

For full recording, click here

Hurrah for Bankwood at the Glebe Centre in Ottawa!

In April 2025 Bankwood at the Glebe Centre received its third successful accreditation from Meaningful Care Matters.  As noted in the Centre’s recent Family and Friends newsletter, the approach is centered on “delivering emotion-based focused care that connects with people in a dignified human way.  It addresses the holistic needs of individuals and supports quality of life for  each  person living with dementia across the whole of lived experience.”  Kudos to Glebe Centre and their Bankwood Care Team!

 

 

 

 

 

‘Your voice can make a difference to wellness in Long Term Care!’

 

Thank you to RTOERO District 16 Toronto for promoting the need to change long term care homes in Ontario from ‘institutions to homes’.  In the RTOERO District 16 Spring 2025 Newsletter, Carol Dueck’s insightful article points out that – “Retired Teachers of Ontario: Your voice can make a difference to wellness in Long Term Care”.  Carol is a member of CARP’s Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care, and Chair of Advocacy Family Council Network Four.

The article captures the challenges that the long-term care system in Ontario faces, and brings encouragement as there has been very positive results in the few homes where the implementation of an innovative approach to care has happened. Retired teachers can play an instrumental role in influencing changes in social policy by adding their collective and vibrant voice to ‘get the job done’. 

Click here to read the article: Your Voice Can Make a Difference to Wellness in Long Term Care

“Putting Dignity at the Centre of Long-term Care”

 

On Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, on CBC radio, The Current with Matt Galloway had a feature on “Putting Dignity at the Centre of Long-term Care”.

The broadcast includes interviews with a resident at Glebe Centre in Ottawa, Ontario and the resident’s daughter.  Listen to this inspiring account of the importance of finding a residence that truly feels like home.    Click here  to listen to this broadcast (24 minutes).

Election 2025: Support Long-Term Care!

The Hover Green House, copied with permission

CARP Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care continues to advocate to greatly improve the life of residents living in Long Term Care by changing long-term care homes from ‘institutions to homes’.   We invite your support by calling or emailing your Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) to seek their position on the urgently needed change in Long Term Care and ask, if they are elected on February 27th, 2025, will the candidate work to make this a reality.

The Question:

Whereas:         Ontario’s Long-term Care COVID-19 Commission recommended that the Ontario government promote and fund long-term care homes that change to recognized, emotion-based models of care;

Whereas:         Ontario’s Long-term Care COVID-19 Commission recommended creating smaller-self-contained home-like units within existing and new homes;

Whereas:         The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is calling on all levels of government to invest in small care homes;

Whereas:         The Ontario Ministry is embarking on a pilot project to fund emotion-based training in 15 LTC homes.

Will you promote the transformation of LTC homes from institutions to homes, and provide the necessary funding for small care homes that embrace warm, compassionate places where residents can truly live, and staff are valued?

For more information or questions please see our webpage www.changeltcnow.ca

or contact one of the members of the CARP Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care:
Carol Dueck: carol.dueck@gmail.com;
Vicki Iler: victoriailer96@gmail.com;
Barbara Schulman: bschulman@rogers.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

‘Turn Institutions Into Real Homes’

 

A Green House Dining Room (copied with permission)

In late January 2025,  CARP Ottawa submitted a letter to the editor, the Ottawa Citizen on the need to fix Ontario’s long-term care home system.  Below is the letter to the editor, published on February 1st, 2025.

“I would like to commend Lise Cloutier-Steele for her article on Ontario’s long-neglected long-term care home system. The CARP Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care has long advocated for transforming long-term care homes from “institutions to homes.” We cannot emphasize enough that the time to change long-term care is now.

There are innovative models of care in Ontario and around the world that have transitioned from “institutions to homes” with reported better outcomes, including significant improvement in staff recruitment and retention. Yes, we need more long-term care beds, but they must come with the essential ingredient common to these innovative models: an emotion-based approach to care that fosters warm, compassionate, homelike places where residents can truly live, and staff are truly valued.

Please add CARP’S Advocacy Working Group to Ms. Cloutier-Steele’s list of organizations advocating to fix the long-term care system. Visit www. changeltcnow.ca, become a follower, and join us in our quest to see this change become a reality. It cannot happen soon enough.