This newsletter is designed to create connections across the Long-Term Care and Assisted Living sector at Vancouver Coastal Health. It is an opportunity to share best practice and innovations, celebrate successes and get to know what our colleagues are doing at VCH, and beyond, to bring to reality our vision of Living meaningfully in community with Dignity, Connection and Well-Being. We want to build our COMMUNITY, so please share this newsletter widely and send us your stories! 

We live in a society in which conversations around inclusivity and belonging are increasingly at the forefront. This month's Pride parade in Vancouver was a wonderful celebration of the Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQIA+) community. But what happens outside of these large celebrations? While great strides have been made in LTC, Philippa's perspective as a resident, in the story below, highlights the gap that still exists and challenges the sector to think about ways to create an inclusive environment every single day.

I have been living in long-term care for 10 years now. I have many gay friends and am very comfortable around gay people though I wouldn't say that I have come out myself. I would rather call myself an advocate for the community. I think it is very difficult to be gay in LTC. It's scary to come out - there aren't very many people who are out here. People are still very closeted because it is still ultimately a very conservative environment. It's not that the home doesn't try. We used to go out with our bus in the pride parade, and we recently held a drag show which was wonderful, but long-term care needs to do more. Why save it to one week or special events? How can we make it more of an everyday thing? I'm fortunate to be a part of Qmunity where I get to meet online with a group of gay people across the province once a week over Zoom. I enjoy having that opportunity to connect but I’m sure there are many others in my home or just in this health authority who could benefit from such connections. The people are here, LTC just needs to make it comfortable for them to come out and come together.

~Philippa Ward, Resident, Haro Park Centre

Educating to Create Safer Spaces

To celebrate Pride month, the VCH Long-Term Care and Assisted Living Professional Practice Team provided in-person and Zoom education sessions on how to create safer spaces for gender diversity in long- term care and why this is important. These education sessions reached over 200 people across 15 care homes. This included 25 residents at Haro Park Centre. This educational offering will continue into the fall at more LTC homes as well as the VCH New Grad Forum in December.  Homes interested in learning more can email LTCPractice@vch.ca.

Partnering to Create Safer Spaces

Little Mountain Place and Louis Brier Home and Hospital are currently collaborating with the BC SUPPORT (Support for People & Patient-Oriented Research & Trials) Unit to start a conversation about the inclusion of LGBTQ2S+ folks in LTC settings. This project, led by researchers Dr. Erin Michalak and Dr. Steven Barnes, aims to promote diversity within LTC homes in the Vancouver area. Most recently, project members joined staff and residents at Little Mountain Place for a Pride Dance Party Celebration that occurred during pride week in Vancouver. There was dancing, singing, and rainbows galore, with the main event being a drag performance from a non-binary resident of the care home.

In the near future, members of the BC SUPPORT Unit, along with speakers from Vancouver Coastal Health, will be delivering workshops on 2SLGBTQIA+ related topics at these care homes and sharing information and resources on how to create an inclusive environment for residents of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

These workshops and pride events are part of a larger project using a new platform called the Tapestry Tool. The Tapestry Tool is used to provide health researchers with resources to increase diversity in patient engagement research. As part of their research, Drs Michalak and Barnes developed a set of interactive educational modules with helpful information and resources on how to engage with diverse communities. A Tapestry module has already been developed for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, and the development of a module relating to LTC populations is underway.

To learn more about this project or view the interactive modules visit this link: https://www.crestbd.ca/2022/07/11/educational-modules-about-patientengagement/

Resource | QMUNITY Seniors and Older Adult Programs

QMUNITY - BC's queer, trans and two-spirit resource centre - offers a number of programs specifically for older adults and seniors.  These programs offer opportunities for community connection, social support, and personal development for folks fifty-five and older.  The program mentioned in the resident story above is the QMUNITY Gathers: ONLINE! Across BC - a drop-in program for 55+ 2SLGBTQIA+ folks via Zoom. The Friendly Visitors Program is another offering that matches 2SLGBTQAI+ volunteers with members of the community for weekly chats. To learn more about these programs, you can visit: https://www.qmunity.ca/get-support/olderadults/

Resource | Prism Services

Prism is VCH's education, information and referral service for the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.  They can help to refer individuals to 2SLGBTQIA+ groups, counselling, resources, information and services in the community. Prism also provides workshops and training for healthcare and social services providers, students and service users on inclusion, diversity and promoting health and wellness for the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. To contact Prism, you can email prism@vch.ca.

Tool | How to be an Ally to 2SLGBTQIA+ People Living with Dementia

Egale (Canada's leading organization for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and issues), partnered with the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) to conduct research focused on better understanding the experiences and perspectives of 2SLGBTQIA+ people living with dementia as well as primary unpaid carers for this population. The research report provides specific action oriented recommendations. One of the resources coming out of this work is this simple guide on how to be an ally to 2SLGBTQIA+ People Living with Dementia. 

https://egale.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/2SLGBTQI-Identity-and-Dementia-How-to-be-an-Ally-to-2SLGBTQI-People-Living-with-Dementia-2.0.pdf

Education | 2SLGBTQIA+ Identity and Dementia

This e-module (coming out of the research referenced above) is designed for healthcare providers, social work professionals, and other support personnel specializing in the care of people living with dementia.  It may also be of interest to anyone working in homecare, community care, or long-term care settings. The e-module is free and takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete. To read the research report or access the e-modules, visit this page (scroll down to see the registration for the e-modules).

https://egale.ca/egale-in-action/2slgbtqi-dementia-care/#about

Inspiration | Rainbow Wing

"Seniors are part of society, they have contributed, they have paid taxes and they should be able to enjoy their lives...They should not have to go back into the closet at their retirement age."

The Rekai Centre, a long-term care home in downtown Toronto, has unveiled a "Rainbow Wing" for 2SLGBTQIA+ residents in its home.  This space is believed to be the first in North America dedicated to the 2SLGBTQIA+ senior community. Rekai Centres says the new wing will have staff who are "culturally competent" in providing care for residents, curated programming catered towards the needs of the residents and a gender sexuality alliance that will provide a platform for residents, families, staff and community partners. To learn more about this new unit, visit: 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rainbow-wing-rekai-centres-opening-1.6493737