Windsor Family Council Spring Education & Networking Day Recap!
by Family Councils Ontario
On May 4th Family Councils from the Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN) area of Erie St. Clair gathered at The Village of Aspen Lake in Windsor for a day of education and networking. The day was graciously hosted by the Family Council at Aspen Lake. This gathering was a great opportunity for Family Councils Ontario to meet Council members from different Homes and make connections.
The first speaker was Kate Ducak, Culture change Project Officer, Schlegel Center for Learning, Research and Innovation (CLRI) in Long Term Care. Kate’s presentation was “Changing the Culture of Aging in Long Term Care.” The presentation tracked the process that is needed to shift Long-Term Care from a medical model of care into a resident and family centered community where all residents and staff members are considered part of the health care team and family members have an important role.
The second speakers were Mary Nestor, Senior Manager, Compliance and Enforcement, and Peggy Skipper, Manager Compliance Inspection, in the London region. The presentation “Clarifying Compliance” gave a thorough overview of the compliance process and how compliance fits into the Long-Term Care picture.
The last presentation was Mike O’Connor, Windsor Family Services and the Windsor Elder Abuse Network, who gave the group information on how to identify elder abuse and clarified the process of reporting the types of abuse.
Between the presentations the group was able to network, get to know each other, and share what their Councils are currently working on.
During the day The Village of Aspen Lake had healing touch practitioners on hand for anyone who was interested in exploring this healing modality. Rev Bruce Jackson, the Chaplin, led several tours of the Home for participants. The Family Council at Aspen Lake went to great efforts to graciously host the meeting, warmly welcoming participants, preparing participant packages, serving wonderful food, and having a very lovely gift basket that was the prize in a raffle.
The day was full of conversations, sharing ideas and challenges, and much laughter and passion. Everyone in the room was very involved and at the end of the day there were many comments from people wanting to stay in touch with each other to continue the dialogue.
There were 35 attendees at the gathering representing 11 Long-Term Care Home Family Councils. Everyone walked away having learned something and, even better, had made new friends who understand the journey of being a caregiver and being on a Family Council. The group requested that we do this again which is a great indicator that the day was a big success!
Networking meetings are a good opportunity for Family Council members from different Homes to come together for education, networking, and support. Family Councils Ontario encourages Council members to try to attend networking meetings when possible, or host a meeting for the Homes in your community or region. We can help! Just connect with Lorraine at lpurdon@fco.ngo for more information.