Intersections of mental health in long-term care: conference day one recap!
by Family Councils Ontario
It’s hard to believe that our 2018 Conference: Intersections of mental health in long-term care has come and gone! It was two incredible days filled with learning, networking, sharing, and supporting each other. While a written recap can’t do full justice to the experience, but I’m going to try to share with you the highlights of day 1 of the conference (stay tuned next week for a day 2 recap!).
We started the day with an Indigenous land acknowledgment read by FCO Executive Director Lorraine Purdon. What is a land acknowledgement? “A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still do call it home. “1 This land acknowledgement included a description of the Dish With One Spoon treaty. This treaty holds as a primary principle that we are to share the resources of the land peacefully.2 It is essential to acknowledge and respect the land on which we are privileged to live, work, learn, and play.
As part of the opening remarks, each of the FCO staff members- Lorraine, Sam, Tiffany, and Natacha- shared what they are working on and looking forward to in the months to come. Not only was this an opportunity for us to share our thoughts, but also to recognize just how amazing it is to now have four incredible staff at FCO.
After the opening remarks, Dr. Carol Cohen presented an overview of Geriatric mental health services in long-term care homes in Ontario. Dr. Cohen provided a fantastic overview of LTC in Ontatio, the resident profile, mental health services throughout the years, partnership opportunities within LTC homes, and her caregiver triad (education, caregiver health, and caregiver support). Her presentation provided us with knowledge on just how far the system has come in recognizing and supporting mental health, and how we can work together to continue this important work. It really set the stage for the rest of the conference! Thank you so much, Dr. Cohen!
Next up was Aging and Mental Health- Current Challenges in Long-Term Care by Stephanie Saur & Christina Pacheco. Stephanie and Christina provided an overview of current challenges within the intersections of aging and mental health. They also led us through activities designed to illustrate the complexities and nuances of what good mental health and aging look like, and how individual they can be. It was a great session and we are so thankful to Stephanie and Christina for sharing their expertise and experience with us!
After a delicious lunch, Sam presented Supporting the caregiver experience: the role of Social Workers & Social Service Workers. This presentation is based on our Supporting Families through Social Work project that was launched in 2017. The session provided an overview of the project, key findings from the research, and small group discussions on those key findings. We then had an opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas as a large group on how we can improve the system for family members and social workers/social service workers. Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas and suggestions!
We then moved into breakout sessions where attendees broke into smaller groups to do deep dives into:
- Peer Support & Wellbeing of Members - Samantha Peck (Family Councils Ontario)
- Alzheimer’s Society – Alzheimer Society of Toronto (Erin Hawker)
- Elder Abuse & Mental Health – Christine Chan (Elder Abuse Ontario)
These breakout sessions were great opportunities to learn and exchange ideas on topics related to mental health of residents and families. We heard great things about each of these sessions!
In the evening, we had the chance for more connection and celebration! At the evening reception, we connected over delicious hors d'oeuvres before sitting down for the banquet dinner & Family Council Member Award Ceremony featuring a performance of “No Longer Relevant” by Act 2 Studio Works Play. Along with incredible food, we were entertained, educated, and moved by the performance of “No Longer Relevant:” an evidence-informed play on aging and ageism. The play was thought provoking and inspired discussion during the debrief session following the performance. Following dessert, we were pleased and honoured to present the winner of the 2018 Outstanding Family Council Member award to Richard Kruse. Richard was nominated by his home’s staff for his incredible work to support families and residents. His acceptance speech talked about him as the flag bearer (similar to the Olympics) for all Council members. Richard’s words moved all of us and we are so pleased to name him this year’s award winner. It was a wonderful end to a great first day of the conference.
Day two of the conference was just as wonderful as the first! Stay tuned for the day two recap next week!
Sources:
1: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/territorial-acknowledgements-indigenous-1.4175136
2: https://www.wampumbear.com/W_Dish%20With%20One%20Spoon%20Belt.html