Rebuilding communities through the Reflection Room®

Presented by: Family Councils Ontario and SE Research Centre

Long-term care homes (LTCHs) have been heavily affected by the pandemic. Residents, families, and staff of LTCHs are still working through the emotions of their pandemic-related losses.

The Reflection Room® (RR) is a simple but impactful community initiative that can be reproduced and adapted to a variety of settings. The RR is an immersive, evidence-based art installation that is being offered at no cost to LTCH communities, with the goal of supporting residents, caregivers, and staff in processing grief and loss experienced throughout the pandemic.

Since June 2021, 47 LTCHs have chosen the Reflection Room as a resource to help support their community to reflect on their grief and loss and heal from the pandemic together.

In this webinar, the SE Research Centre will share preliminary results of the use of the Reflection Room, and representatives of LTCHs will explain how and why the Reflection Room is a simple but meaningful resource for LTCHs during this time.

Speakers:

Neeliya Paripooranam is the Project and Communications Manager for the Reflection Room® project at the SE Research Centre.

Celina Carter is a nurse with a PhD in public health. She is a senior research associate at SE Health and specializes in how to communicate about the end of life and implement person-centred care

Heather Climenhage and Frances Thielen are social workers at Sheridan Villa, one of the Region of Peel’s Long Term Care Centres. Along with another creative colleague, they implemented a successful Reflection Room this year.

Jason Jakobs is a graduate student at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, where he is completing a MTS degree with a concentration in Thanatology which includes end-of-life care and grief counselling. He served as the Reflection Room Liaison at Parkwood Mennonite Home and LTC.