The Website: www.changeltcnow.ca
C.A.R.P. OTTAWA:
In 2018, CARP (i.e. Canadian Association for Retired Persons) Ottawa’s Board established its priority as being “to improve the way care is delivered in Ontario’s long-term care homes.” With this common goal in mind, in 2019, we began to work with CARP Ottawa’s Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care. This Working Group is a small group of 7-8 persons who meet twice a month, offer monthly webinars, focus on getting the message out, and encourage the general public to take action (in whatever way they can) to persuade the Ontario Government to change long-term care homes from institutions to homes.
Our common goal at the time became “to bring about transformative culture change to Ontario’s Long-term Care Homes”. This was our “ask” to the Ontario Government’s Independent Long-term Care COVID-19 Commission in October, 2020. In March 2022, we began to use the terminology ‘emotion-based care’ instead of transformative culture change. It reflected the essence of transformative care and was more user friendly. More recently, the terminology shifted again to a more specific user-friendly way to “being champions for changing Ontario’s long-term care homes from Institutions to Homes.”
CARP – A New Vision for Aging – is one of the largest advocacy organizations in Canada with approximately 300,000 members. Its mission is to uphold the rights and improve the lives of Canadians as we age. There are 26 local CARP chapters in Canada, the majority of which are located in Ontario. Each chapter is managed entirely by volunteers. Ottawa is one of the largest chapters in Canada with about 10,000 members.
We would like to thank CARP Ottawa for providing financial support for the enhancement of our website/blog and the integration of our social media platforms.
The Blog: Who We Are
The owners of this blog are Marg Eisner, Barbara Schulman and Kathy Wright. For three decades, we have worked together and separately, primarily in the fields of dementia, education and long-term care. In 2017 we created the blog Talking Transformation Long-Term Care Homes (becoming ChangeLTCNow in 2021), to motivate caregivers and concerned citizens to take action and champion transformative culture change in Ontario’s long-term care homes.
Marg Eisner
- 20 years as a Professor and Manager of Continuing Education Health Sciences, Algonquin College.
- 11 years as Program Director at the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa (8 years) and the Alzheimer Society of Hamilton Halton, Brant, Haldimand Norfolk, (3 years) providing education and developing programs to assist those affected by dementia.
- 10 years as a dementia care consultant in project management and program development
- for the Alzheimer Society of Canada, Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Dementia Network of Ontario as well as local Alzheimer Societies.
- Recipient Regional Geriatric Program of Eastern Ontario Award for exemplary leadership and commitment to the development of geriatric services (2008).
- Years of volunteering included: The Alzheimer Society at all levels, including as the President of both the Alzheimer Society of Canada and the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County; First Baptist Church in Ottawa, assisted in development of Discovery University which brought together community partners and social agencies to provide university-level education to persons experiencing homelessness or living on low incomes; volunteering at First Baptist Brantford Food Cupboard and more….
- 2019 – member CARP Ottawa’s Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care and Chair, CFUW Brantford Ad Hoc Advocacy Committee on Long-term Care.
Barbara Schulman
-
- 10 years in a variety of management positions (including the Continuing Education Program, Master in Health Administration Program, University of Ottawa; Ottawa-Carleton Regional Laboratory Program; and the former Ottawa-Carleton Regional District Health Council where she was responsible for planning for care of the elderly and the disabled
- 20 years in a variety of senior management positions first at Saint Vincent Hospital and subsequently with Bruyere Continuing Care (formerly the SCO – Sisters of Charity of Ottawa – Health Service which included Saint Vincent Hospital); during this time, she co-founded the Champlain Dementia Network and was co-chair during its formative years
- 8 years as project manager (part-time) for the Champlain Dementia Network
- Years of volunteering included: 20 years and on-going with several organizations including the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County (now the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County) – published a book of caregiver stories called Dancing in the Elevator raising $18,000; co-founding member of Minds in Song, the first social program for the Society; supporting the Arts and Minds program; and the Canadian Museum of Nature (school workshops and discovery cart activities).
- 2019 – member CARP Ottawa’s Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care
Barbara’s mother had dementia for 11 years, 3 or those living in a long-term care home in Montreal.
Kathy Wright
- 7 years as Managing Editor of Eden Press, a small specialized medical publishing company in Montreal.
- 30 years as E.D. for the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County (now the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County). Under her leadership, partnerships were created that led to the establishment of the Bungalows at the Peter D. Clark Long-term Care Home, the First Link Program, the Guest House and Minds in Song. She also co-chaired the Champlain Dementia Network for over 10 years.
- Recipient of the Regional Geriatric Program of Eastern Ontario’s Award for Exemplary Leadership and Commitment to the Development of Geriatric Services (2016) and the Order of Ottawa. (2018)
- Years of volunteering included: President for the Family Association at Island Lodge Long-term Care Home; 10 years (and on-going) as a “Big Sister”; The Dementia Society as co-founder of the Arts and Minds program (2019).
- 2018 as a member of CARP Ottawa’s Board and currently Vice-President and Chair of CARP Ottawa’s Advocacy Working Group on Long-term Care.
Kathy’s mother had dementia for 15 years, 5 of those living in a long-term care home in Ottawa.
This is a personal blog. Any of the views in this blog are strictly personal. The blog is intended for informational purposes. The owners of this blog will not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.