Since 2020, a community of over 1,500 long-term care and retirement homes across the country have worked together to strengthen healthcare quality and safety through HEC’s program: Reimagining LTC (previously LTC+).
The program is a multi-year initiative that started in response to the pandemic, and it’s delivered significant improvements for residents, families and healthcare providers.
The program's next iteration focuses on enabling a healthy workforce to provide person-centred care. And the call for applications is open to partners like you, who may want to join and contribute to a more resilient long-term care sector.
Why join Reimagining LTC
LTC homes are both homes and workplaces, and making sure providers are healthy is key to safe, high-quality, person-centred care.
But after more than two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing challenges (e.g. staffing shortfalls, low morale, mental health issues, burnout), ensuring a healthy working environment has become harder – yet more important – than ever.
Through this program, homes are supported to develop and implement improvement work that builds better care with – and for – people living and working in LTC. Participating homes can receive up to $10,000 in funding and access to implementation and capacity-building supports (i.e. coaching, webinars).
Previous participants have seen improvement in several areas, with:
- 79 percent reporting improvement in at least one of four outcomes: “resident and/or family experience of care, the health of residents, the work-life of healthcare providers and the efficiency of care,” and 33 percent of respondents reporting improvements in all four
- 84 percent reporting “increased awareness of promising practices aimed at strengthening pandemic preparedness and response” and 86 percent “increased capacity to implement those promising practices”
- 63 percent “[planning] to make changes to policies, standards, or guidelines using the information provided by LTC+”
Is Reimagining LTC right for your organization?
Participating homes are unique in characteristics, but they all share a common goal of strengthening healthcare. If you want to provide your staff with a healthy work environment to deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred care, this program could be right for you.
Here are some participant stories from our previous program, including the challenges they faced and some approaches they developed with the program’s support.
- A home in British Columbia wanted to address workplace violence by promoting components of person-centred care through a compassionate, team-based approach. They aimed to respond by increasing clinical education support and individualizing assessments and care plans.
- Another in Ontario wanted to deliver high-quality dementia care based on individual experiences, needs and preferences, enabling a higher quality of life for residents. They looked to best practices and invited all homes in their network to learn together through a community of practice approach.
- A home in a northern community sought to enable a healthy and competent workforce that could provide high-quality care, even in challenging times. Their plan included regularly checking in, measuring and responding to working conditions in real-time through solutions co-designed with staff.
Apply to Reimagining LTC
Join us to build safer, more equitable and higher quality care with – and for – people living and working in long-term care in Canada.
Apply on the application portal by November 14, 2022 to join Reimagining LTC: Enabling a Healthy Workforce to Provide Person-Centred Care.
