Walk with Me as we explore culture change
Par Family Councils Ontario
By Samantha Peck, FCO Director of Communications & Education
At this week’s Walk with Me conference in Niagara Falls, I had the privilege of both attending and speaking at the event. Walk with Me is an event that aims to challenge current thinking and practices to change the culture of aging in Canada. Culture change, as defined by the conference hosts, is “an ongoing, holistic journey that includes re-examining values, beliefs, attitudes, language, practices and policies and working to implement the full range of efforts needed to transform the culture into a community where everyone thrives.”1 Every aspect of the conference was infused with and reflected culture change, from the plenary presentations to the breakout sessions, and from the networking events to the social activities. Older adults were included and honoured in every aspect of the event and it was such a wonderful experience for everyone who attended.
FCO’s presentation, Walking together: Walking with your families on the culture change journey, had a packed room full of people interested in and passionate about including older adults’ families in care communities, including long-term care and other settings. In this session, we explored how to truly partner with families and friends of older adults to create communities where everyone thrives. We discussed the essential aspects of partnership and engagement strategies that care community staff and others can use to develop strong, authentic relationships that support and advance culture change. Through case study discussions, we explored ways to move from challenge to opportunity in working with older adults’ families and we all left the session equipped with ideas for working with families to advance culture change and excited about opportunities within our own realms of influence. It was an incredible opportunity to share FCO’s work and message and we are thankful to the conference organizers for the experience.
Sessions I attended included the fantastic plenary presentations by Ashton Applewhite, Anti-ageism Activist and Author of This Chair Rocks: A manifesto against ageism; Dr. Emi Kiyota, Founder and President of IBASHO; and Neil Pasricha, Happiness Expert and Bestselling Author of The Book of Awesome. These sessions were the ideal balance of inspiration and practical ideas for advancing culture change. The concurrent session Symposium on Intergenerational Initiatives provided ideas and strategies for strengthening intergenerational ties in care communities. Improving Stakeholder Engagement for Successful Practice Change in Residential Care Homes provided useful and concrete ideas on how to work with home stakeholders to create change which I am eager to share in future FCO trainings. The Power of Storytelling in Culture Change was a fantastic overview of the importance of telling stories to create change and will be helpful as FCO explores storytelling to promote knowledge exchange. I left the conference energized and with new ideas to share with families, LTC home staff, and other stakeholders as we work to achieve our vision that people in Long-Term Care have a vibrant experience and the best care.
Throughout the rest of March, we’ll be taking deeper dives into various aspects of the culture change movement in Canada. Join us as we explore this important movement!
1: WWM 2018 General Overview. http://www.the-ria.ca/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/WWM-2018-General-Overview1.pdf