TLC for LTC

About TLC for LTC

TLC for LTC is a collaborative campaign designed to thank long-term care (LTC) team members for their efforts throughout the COVID-19 response and raise awareness of the importance of their mental health and well-being. Research demonstrates the connection between cultivating and giving gratitude to one’s mental health and wellness: improved mental health for both those who give gratitude and for those who receive it.

The act of receiving gratitude has also been shown to address and reduce staff burnout in long-term care. This past year has been incredibly difficult for team members and we want to take the opportunity to remind them of how grateful and appreciative we are for what they do. Along with your messages of appreciation, we will also ask team members to take care of themselves offering them mental health supports and resources.

Check out the videos from families and residents on the campaign YouTube channel.

TLC for LTC is a collaborative campaign designed to thank Long-term Care (LTC) team members for their efforts throughout the COVID-19 response and raise awareness of the importance of their mental health and well-being. The campaign was developed by a collaborative Committee including the Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils (OARC), Family Councils Ontario (FCO), Ontario Centres for Learning Research & Innovation in Long-term Care (CLRI), Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA), AdvantAge Ontario, William Osler Health System, and Ontario Health- Central Region (OH).

Gratitude Hacks- Mental Health Awareness Week (2021)

To help us connect to LTC team members, we are reaching out to families and residents to ask you to participate in TLC for LTC during Mental Health Week, May 3 to 9, 2021. Mental Health Week is an initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) designed to celebrate, protect and promote mental health.

We’re calling this effort a “Gratitude Hack” – meaning we want to show some gratitude – some TLC for our LTC team members. We are asking you to consider recording and collecting videos (similar to those we shared earlier this year and shared on YouTube), or try other methods (suggestions are in the posters below) to share with team members why you are so thankful for them and encouraging them to take care of themselves.

Gratitude hacks materials

Activity kit

Printable poster

Digital poster

Additional Gratitude Hacks

Play music where appropriate in the home to boost morale and/or consider musical interludes over the intercom
Explore the possibility of a local gym/fitness studio that might honour a discount code for team members to participate in virtual fitness classes
Seek out a discount code from a healthy meal delivery company for team members and their families to use
Create a space and protect windows of time for team members on every shift to drop in for quiet meditation or yoga (5-10 minute blocks)
Work with your home’s Physio/Restorative team to create drop-in stretch classes (5-10 minutes) for team members
Provide links for team members to trial apps like Headspace, Calm, Insight Timer for guided meditation and enhanced sleep quality
Families may be able to tap on the shoulders of local businesses to help support/sponsor wellness initiatives