Are you ready to debate? The votes have been tabulated and we now have our 3 finalists!
As outlined last month in an April 11th news release, the BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA) had earlier selected the top five motions or finalists that will compete to win the inaugural Care to Debate event taking place on May 30th at the 40th Annual Conference in Whistler.
In April, BCCPA members and conference delegates were also given the opportunity vote and narrow the field down to three finalists. Following the voting process, which included nearly 100 respondents and closed at the end last month, the BCCPA is pleased to announce that three finalists have been selected, including:
- Motion by Daniel Wanis-Ruiz (UBC Masters of Health Leadership Candidate) on Facilitating Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Caregiver Burden;
- Motion by Jennifer Lyle (Executive Director of SafeCare BC) on Workplace Health and Safety as Core Competencies for Health Care Workers; and
- Motion by Anne Marie Leijen (Executive Director at Valley Care) on Expanding Responsibility for Quality of Life Programming in Seniors Care.
The other two motions which also had good support but that were not selected among the top three by those who voted included a motion on Emergency Management Planning in Continuing Care and another on Integrating Standardized Electronic Medical Records into BC’s Continuing Care Sector.
The top three contenders as chosen and outlined above will now be invited on the main stage at the Conference to make their case directly to the delegates as to why their motion should be chosen as the top pick this year. Along with the three top contenders, the Care to Debate event will be facilitated by moderator Daniel Fontaine, CEO BCCPA, as well as two expert panel judges from the continuing care sector and members of BCCPA’s Emerging Issues and Policy Committee (EIPC) Sue Emmons and Gavin McIntosh.
“Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) are generally associated with constructing buildings or roads,” says Daniel Wanis-Ruiz. “I want to expand that focus to include policy in the work place in an effort to engage employers. However, as hubris is very real, I am thankful to share, critique, and discuss my idea alongside people who are truly invested in the lives of caregivers and seniors alike.”
At the conference, delegates attending the Care to Debate will also have the opportunity to vote on which of the three they believe should be selected as the top motion. Along with winning the inaugural BCCPA Care to Debate event the selected motion will also go forward as a potential area that the association could advocate to advance over the coming years.
We encourage delegates attending the conference to read up on the three motions prior to this exciting event, which is also being sponsored by PointClickCare. Further details on the three finalists are provided below.
Listed below are the top three finalists and their motions:
Topic: Facilitating Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Caregiver Burden
Submitted by Daniel Wanis-Ruiz, Masters of Health Leadership Candidate, University of British Columbia
Motion:
Resolved that, a major city municipality create a management level position, entitled the Chief Policy Officer, to facilitate public private partnerships (PPP’s) that would be focused on reducing caregiver burden with the creation of Carers’ Policy within the workplace, or as a law at a city level.
Background:
The uncompensated work hours for informal caregivers could be one of the greatest economic opportunities to improve lives and create wealth across Canada. Keeping caregivers in the workplace decreases risk of caregiver burden, indirectly supports older adults in an aging population, and can increase the amount of economic taxation in British Columbia and Canada. The purpose of this brief is to mandate the creation of a municipal level government position, that has the authority to create public-private partnerships (PPP’s), policy, and networks with the one goal of implementation of carers’ policy in the workplace.
To review the submission in full, click here.
Topic: Workplace Health and Safety as Core Competencies for Health Care Workers
Submitted by Jennifer Lyle, Executive Director of SafeCare BC
Motion:
Resolved that, clinical continuing care staff and operational leaders’ core competencies and knowledge in workplace health and safety be considered an integral part of their training, education, and evaluation as it pertains to their role in the continuing care sector.
Background:
The dominant strategy put forward to address this staffing crunch is to recruit more workers. However, this approach misses a critical fact: nearly a third of the Ministry’s 5-year target for care aides (265 full-time equivalents (FTEs) and 57 nursing positions in the continuing care sector are already filled by trained, experienced staff – but these staff are unavailable to work due to workplace injuries. If strategies were in place to effectively reduce time-loss workplace injuries in the continuing care sector, the sector could stand to gain the equivalent of 420 FTEs – in one year. SafeCare BC is proposing the following:
Clinical continuing care staff and operational leaders’ core competencies and knowledge in workplace health and safety be considered an integral part of their training, education, and evaluation as it pertains to their role in the continuing care sector. (Motion outlines six specific actions).
To review the submission in full, click here.
Topic: Expanding Responsibility for Quality of Life Programming in Seniors Care
Submitted by Anne Marie Leijen, Chair of the BCCPA Quality Improvement Committee
Motion:
Be it resolved that quality of life programming for BC seniors accessing publicly funded residential care or home care should not be the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Health;
Be it further resolved that the BCCPA should advocate that other BC Ministries become actively engaged in funding quality of life programs.
Background:
Quality of life programming and services available to BC seniors accessing publicly funded residential care or home care is generally the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. Quality of life programming is competing with direct care delivery for limited Health Authority dollars. As a result, it tends to fall behind in terms as an overall investment of funds – as it is not seen as the actual provision of health care by the Ministry of Health tasked with supporting it. While improving staffing levels, including Direct Care Hours, improves seniors care over the long term, further initiatives need to be undertaken to improve the overall quality of life for seniors including those living in residential care, assisted living and receiving home care. We know that many of the chronic conditions of our elders cannot be cured and that quality of life, rather than the medical condition of seniors living in residential care, may have a greater impact on their overall level of satisfaction.
To review the submission in full, click here.
