Reports – Recommendations for Long-Term Care Homes in the Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario Regions

Access to French Language Services in Long-Term Care Homes

Since 2016, the Réseau du mieux-être francophone du Nord de l’Ontario (Réseau) has been more focused on access to French language services in long-term care homes. This project consists of implementating recommendations stemming from a study conducted by the Réseau. Actions include, among others, the identification of homes for the offer of French language services; homes requiring support for the offer of French language services and; development of strategies to implement culturally appropriate care.

Update on Recommendations (2022)

The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the recommendations from a study completed by the Réseau in 2017. The actions include identifying homes where French-language services could be offered, accompanying those homes where French-language services could be improved and developing strategies to implement culturally appropriate care.

We appreciate the support and collaboration from our partners in this study. We are equally cognizant of the impact of COVID-19 on long-term care homes and wish to highlight the dedication and courage of the residents and front-line workers in long-term care homes, as well as the caregivers and families who have faced numerous challenges during the last 18 months. We wish to recognize the collaboration and support of Ontario Health North for the realization of this project, as well as Health Canada for the project funding.

Needs Assessment and Recommandations (2017)

Early in 2016, the Réseau received funding to conduct a needs study regarding long-term care homes in the Northeastern and Northwestern Ontario Regions. This report summarizes the results for the North East and North West Regions, based on the data collected on Francophones and long-term care homes in Northern Ontario that was provided by the long-term care home administrators as well as data from Statistic Canada according to the inclusive definition of Francophone. This study was developed and implemented in partnership with the North East and North West LHIN as long term-term care homes.

This report covers the challenges faced by Francophones in minority situations who reside in long-term care homes. As well, we touch on culturally appropriate care, and provide examples of best practices gathered from long-term care homes across the province. Finally, we make recommendations regarding long-term care homes in the North East and North West. These recommendations address identification and designation under the French Language Services Act, the linguistic variable, as well as culturally appropriate care.