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Council

The main purpose of a Resident and Family Council is to improve the quality of life for Residents and to give families and friends a forum for sharing their experiences, learning and exchanging information. The appointed Resident Council Assistant will ensure that the minutes of each meeting are approved by the Resident’s Council and posted in a location easily accessible to Residents and families. The Administrator, Michael Fiddick, as a delegate will respond within 10 days to all concerns and questions raised by the Council(s).

Resident Council

A Residents’ Council is an independent, self-determining group made up of only Residents in the Home. The Council is intended and designed to form the collective voice of all Residents who reside in the LTC home, whether or not they attend meetings. All Residents have the right to participate in the Residents’ Council.

The Residents’ Council, perhaps with an elected team members from the Home, meets regularly to provide advice and recommendations to the Administrator regarding what the Residents would like to see done to improve care or the quality of life in the home, and to provide peer to peer support.

Residents’ Councils also meet to exercise several powers including, but not limited to sponsoring and planning activities, collaborating with community groups, reviewing the financial documents and operations of the LTC home, and attempting to resolve disputes.

Through the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, every licensee of a long-term care home must ensure that a Residents’ Council is established at the home. Every licensee of a long-term care home must also appoint a Residents’ Council Assistant who is acceptable to that council to assist the Residents’ Council.

When: First Tuesday of the Month @ 11am
Where: Fiddicks Nursing Home (Barclay Lane Lounge)
Who is present? Residents and the Residents’ Council Assistant

Resident Councils in the Retirement Home follow the terms as set out in the Retirement Homes Act, 2010.

Every licensee of a LTC home must ensure that a Residents’ Council is established at the home. Every licensee of a LTC home must also appoint a Residents’ Council Assistant who is acceptable to that council to assist the Residents’ Council.

Family Council

A Family Council is an organized, self-led, self-determining, democratic group composed of family and friends of the Residents of the Home. The main purposes of a Family Council is to provide a voice in decisions that affect their loved ones and strives to develop a better understanding between families and management/staff of a LTC Home.

The Family Council works with Residents’ family members or friends and the Home to identify and resolve issues that affect Residents’ quality of life, plan activities for Residents, families and staff, and support each other. Most Family Councils work with a Family Council Staff Assistant. This is a person that the Home appoints at the request of the Family Council to assist the Council and attend meetings on request.

While each Family Council is unique, Family Councils in general focus on improving the quality of life and assuring quality of care for all Residents and supporting each other. This includes activities that:

  • Promote mutual support among Council members and other families and friends involved with the Home’s Residents often through sharing information and experiences as well as educating Council members on issues affecting Residents and families – sometimes by engaging guest speakers
  • Facilitate communication and promote partnerships with Home staff and Residents as well as Residents’ families and friends who are not involved directly on the Council
  • Advocate regarding collective concerns. Advocacy can focus on issues within the Home or occasionally broader concerns

Family Councils are included in the Long-Term Care Homes Act, sections 59-68. The Act outlines the Long Term Care Home’s obligations to support the establishment of a Council, the powers of a Council, who may and may not be a member of the Council and more.

At present, there is no specific terms as set out in the Retirement Homes Act for family Council, however the Administrator believes it should continue to be incorporated within the current Family Council.

A note from Fiddick’s Family Council:

A family Council is a group of family members and friends of the residents of a Long-Term Care home (LTC) who gather together for peer support, education, and to improve the experiences of all people in long-term care.

For many years, family members and friends of LTC Residents have gathered together to help each other as caregivers, to identify and resolve issues that affect Residents’ quality of life, work to improve their loved one’s LTC home, plan activities for Residents, families and staff, provide support to each other and seek to create positive changes in the LTC system.

Fiddick’s Family Council (FFC) has the following characteristics:

  • Has structure, rules, and methods of operation that organize the group’s work and processes.
  • FFC are led by the members of FC, not home staff.
  • FFC determine their own processes, goals and activities (within the parameters of the Long-Term Care Homes Act) without interference by home staff.
  • FFC abide by the principles of democracy by favoring social equality and giving every member a voice in decisions.
  • FFC Members come together regularly, share a sense of purpose, and have common goals and objectives.

Fiddick’s Family Council (FFC) seeks to create a safe, vibrant, and supportive home for Residents, families, and staff.  Our four main goals are:

  • Support: FFC can be a great source of mutual support to family members and offer guidance to new families during their transition to LTC.  No one knows what a family member is going through like another family member!  By being involved in Family Council, you can give and receive emotional, informational, and practical support.
  • Education: FFC provide a mechanism for family members to learn and gain an understanding of the home and how it operates.  Several times a year, we invite guest speakers from the community and from within the long-term care home to present information/resources on various topics of interest.
  • Problem-solving: Also called advocacy, FFC members advocate regarding collective concerns to improve residents’ quality of life.  FFC can bring concerns to the administration of the home and make suggestions for improvements, suggestions for new programs and activities for residents, collective concerns about menus, laundry service, or staff levels, and ways to connect the home to the broader community.
  • Communication: FFC provides an opportunity for families to be informed about what is happening in the home.  FFC can use their meetings and other communication tools to share information from the home to family members.  FFC can also solicit ideas, feedback, and suggestions from members and share that with the home.

Due to the pandemic, Fiddick’s Family Council (FFC) meetings are held online using ZOOM.  In-person meetings will resume once it is safe to do so.

For more information or to become a member of Fiddick’s Family Council, please contact Tami Langstaff at 519-864-4503 or email fiddicksfamilycouncil@gmail.com.