The Advisory Committee on Long-Term Care Homes and Services recommended to the Community Development and Recreation Committee that:

 

1.         City Council appoint Jan Nowakowski to membership on the Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Homes and Services, for a period of four years, with the provision for an extension of an additional term, as outlined in the terms of reference.

 

2.         City Council authorize and direct the appropriate City officials to take the necessary action to give effect thereto.

The terms of reference for the Advisory Committee on Long-Term Care Homes and Services requires a maximum of 12 members, including six interested citizens whose past and professional and community involvements demonstrate an interest and concern in long-term care of the elderly, plus designated members representing organizations such as Inter-Home Volunteers, Inter-Home Advisory Committee, the Homemakers and Nurses Services Program and Residents’ Councils.

 

Beth Morum has recently resigned from the Seven Oaks Home Advisory Committee and Inter‑Home Advisory Committee, which she chaired.  The Chairperson of the Inter-Home Advisory Committee is a designated member of the Advisory Committee on Long-Term Care Homes and Services, in order to ensure communication and linkage across the various levels of advisory committees within the division.  At the May 2009 meeting of the Inter-Home Advisory Committee, the Committee elected a new Chairperson, Jan Nowakowski.  Mr. Nowakowski is also Chairperson of the Carefree Lodge Home Advisory Committee.

 

Mr. Nowakowski is retired, having lived and worked as a Country Manager in many communities globally, including Denmark and Canada.  His background is in trading and shipping.  He also owned his own business in timber for some time.  Since retiring, he has become selectively involved in a variety of community volunteer activities, including the Carefree Lodge Home Advisory Committee.  He is married with two children and a new grandchild.

The Advisory Committee on Long-Term Care Homes and Services endorsed the request for up to $3,700.00 expenditure from the General Donations Account to provide on-site shows and practicum for the Caring Clown pilot project.

 

(Additional costs associated with this course are the responsibility of The Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.)

One of the proposed actions in the strategic planning objective of enhanced involvement of the 55+ volunteer group was to pilot with Ryerson University for a mature student program with residents.

 

The Caring Clown Program, offered to students at The Chang School of Continuing Education, Programs for the 50+, will allow students to perform, within a supervised practicum, a clown show which they have created at each of four selected sites within Toronto Long-Term Care Homes and Services.  Students will practice their skills by clowning with individual and small groups of residents in common area rooms.

The Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Homes and Services confirmed the action taken by the Advisory Committee via telephone conference call meeting on July 17, 2009, endorsing the requested $15,858.17 expenditure from the 2008 Toronto Challenge Donations Account at Kipling Acres.

Each home has a variety of donations accounts and Toronto Long‑Term Care Homes and Services has an overarching policy that requires any expenditure request from a donations account to have the support and endorsement of both the Home Advisory Committee and the General Manager.  Further, expenditure requests over the amount of $7,500.00 also require the endorsement of the Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Homes and Services.

 

The policy related to designated uses of the donations account states that expenditures shall not be made for the ordinary operation and maintenance of the home.  The policy further states that the purpose of the donations accounts is to enrich or enhance the quality of life for residents.

 

The Kipling Acres Home Advisory Committee reviewed and unanimously approved this expenditure request in the amount of $15,858.17 at their meeting of January 27, 2009.  This request is now referred to the Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Services and Homes for the committee's further consideration.

The Advisory Committee on Long-Term Care Homes and Services:

 

1.         congratulated and thanked Management, Staff, Residents and front-line staff involved in the preparation for the Accreditation for their outstanding work; and

 

2.         received the item for information.

Accreditation Canada is a not‑for‑profit, independent organization.  Previously known as the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation, Accreditation Canada provides national and international healthcare organizations with voluntary, external peer reviews to assess the quality of the organization’s services based on pre-determined standards of excellence.  Accreditation Canada's programs and guidance have been helping organizations strive for excellence for over 50 years.  Accreditation Canada provides accreditation programs for all types of healthcare organizations, including regional health authorities, hospitals, long‑term care homes, community care and specialized healthcare services, from both private and public sectors, in Canada and around the world.

 

The Long‑Term Care Homes and Services Division has participated in the accreditation program since 1985.  However, in the past, each long‑term care home was surveyed as a single entity.  In 2009, the division applied to be accredited at the divisional level, with all ten (10) long‑term care homes, four (4) adult day programs, supportive housing and homemakers and nurses services being surveyed as an integrated healthcare organization.  As a result, the division was able to plan and receive feedback related to operation as an integrated division, with relationships and linkages to other corporate divisions, community partners, individual homes and community programs.

 

The division was surveyed May 24 – 29, 2009 and received an exceptionally strong forecast report.  This report summarizes the findings, strengths and leading practices identified during the survey visit and the division’s quality improvement plan to respond.

In March 2009, staff provided a report to the Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Homes and Services advising of the new initiatives announced by Mayor Miller to assist citizens in the current times of economic uncertainty, particularly seniors, youth and people looking for work.

 

The report provided summary of the key initiatives being undertaken by the Long‑Term Care Homes and Services Division.  At the meeting, staff provided a commitment to report back on status and progress related to the initiatives at the September meeting of the Advisory Committee on Long‑Term Care Homes and Services.

 

This report summarizes the status, progress and next steps related to the expansion of homemaking services and the initiation of noon‑hour cafeteria service and day‑time drop in services.

The Ontario Health Quality Council (OHQC) was established in September 2005, under the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act, 2004, as an operational service agency, to report to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care on the quality of the provincial healthcare system and to encourage/support the principles of quality improvement in healthcare organizations.  Section 4 of the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act sets out the mandate of OHQC as follows:

 

(a)        To monitor and report to the people of Ontario on: (i) access to publicly funded health services;  (ii) health human resources in publicly funded health services; (iii) consumer and population health status; and (iv) health system outcomes; and

 

(b)        To support continuous quality improvement in Ontario’s healthcare organizations.

 

Section 5 of the Commitment to the Future of Medicare Actrequires OHQC to deliver an annual report on the state of healthcare in Ontario and any other reports required by the Minister.  Since inception in 2005, OHQC has published three reports on Ontario’s healthcare system.  In June 2008, the government asked OHQC to extend its reach, measuring and reporting on the quality of long-term care and resident satisfaction.

 

OHQC began to work with the provincial long-term care associations to determine the best ways to measure, promote and improve quality.  As a pilot project, OHQC proposed to introduce LEAN methodology and KAIZEN events into long-term care homes and assess their practicality and success in the long-term care homes system.

 

Castleview Wychwood Towers was the first long-term care home in the province to be invited by OHQC to pilot LEAN and KAIZEN and complete a Value Stream Map.  This report summarizes the work to date and the plans for the future.

Overall participation in the 2009 Toronto Challenge presented by MonsterMortgage.ca was up 32 percent over the previous year, with more runners and walkers than ever before; surpassing the 2002 event by 14 registrations.

 

Fifty-five fundraising partners worked together in a celebration of physical activity and community spirit, raising funds to help improve the quality of life for Toronto seniors and are on track to bring in $425,000.

The Residents’ Interest Reserve Fund is used for the general benefit of the residents in the ten Long‑Term Care Homes to enhance their quality of life through social and recreational activities.  Annual expenditures are based on 90 percent of all interest recorded in the fund in the previous year.  The fund balance as at June 30, 2009 is $1,879,747.84.

The purpose of the following reports are to provide members of the Long-Term Care Homes and Services Advisory Committee with copies of minutes of the following meetings for their information:

 

1.         (June 2, 2009) Minutes of Carefree Lodge Home Advisory Committee (April 28, 2009)

 

2.         (September 8, 2009) Minutes of Carefree Lodge Home Advisory Committee (May 26, 2009)

 

3.         (September 8, 2009) Minutes of Carefree Lodge Home Advisory Committee (June 23, 2009)

 

4.         (September 4, 2009) Minutes of Castleview Wychood Towers Home Advisory Committee (April 16, 2009)

 

5.         (September 4, 2009) Minutes of Castleview Wychood Towers Home Advisory Committee (May 14, 2009)

 

6.         (June 4, 2009) Minutes of Cummer Lodge Home Advisory Committee (May 4, 2009)

 

7.         (June 2, 2009) Minutes of Fudger House Home Advisory Committee (April 8, 2009)

 

8.         (June 2, 2009) Minutes of Kipling Acres Home Advisory Committee (April 28, 2009)

 

9.         (June 9, 2009) Minutes of Kipling Acres Home Advisory Committee (May 26, 2009)

 

10.       (September 2, 2009) Minutes of Kipling Acres Home Advisory Committee (June 23, 2009)

 

11.       (July 13, 2009) Minutes of Lakeshore Lodge Home Advisory Committee (May 21, 2009)

 

12.       (August 24, 2009) Minutes of Lakeshore Lodge Home Advisory Committee (June 18, 2009)

 

13.       (June 11, 2009) Minutes of Seven Oaks Home Advisory Committee (May 12, 2009)

 

14.       (September 2, 2009) Minutes of Seven Oaks Home Advisory Committee (June 9, 2009)

 

15.       (June 4, 2009) Minutes of True Davidson Acres Home Advisory Committee (May 21, 2009)

 

16.       (June 11, 2009) Minutes of Wesburn Manor Home Advisory Committee (April 28, 2009)

 

17.       (June 11, 2009) Minutes of Wesburn Manor Home Advisory Committee (May 26, 2009)