BCCPA CEO Daniel Fontaine is just past the halfway mark of his 4-day Listening Tour in the B.C. Interior. His trip includes several visits to member long-term care homes and independent living residences, a meeting with a room full of care providers from the region (at the inaugural “IAN” meeting), individual meetings with local MLAs and MPs, a meeting with senior staff at Interior Health, in addition to several media interviews.
The trip began bright and early in Kamloops, BC, with a stop at the popular Shane Woodford talk show on Radio NL. As Woodford’s opening guest for the program, Daniel explained the challenges the seniors care sector faces—particularly around staff shortages. You can listen to the full interview on the player below.
After departing Kamloops, Fontaine traveled to nearby Salmon Arm, BC where he was able to make several stops at member sites, and to sit down with Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo.
BCCPA CEO Daniel Fontaine met with care providers from Kamloops and Salmon Arm, and MLA @KylloGreg on Day 1 of his Interior Listening Tour. pic.twitter.com/UXaUQB2FTg
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) April 16, 2019
Upon arrival in Kelowna on Tuesday, Daniel’s agenda included attending the first-ever meeting of the Interior Administrator’s Network or “IAN”. About 20 representatives of long-term care, assisted living and home care organizations met with Fontaine and other BCCPA representatives. The meeting was a great opportunity to share experiences of some of the opportunities and challenges facing care providers in the Interior.
Daniel Fontaine addresses service providers at the inaugural meeting of the Interior Administrators' Nework (IAN) in Kelowna. IAN will serve as a forum for providers in @Interior_Health to exchange ideas, discuss common issues & generate solutions to advance seniors care. pic.twitter.com/BZVsIROu64
— BC Care Providers (@BCCareProviders) April 16, 2019
Global News Okanagan has done a lot of coverage of the challenges around seniors care in the region, and they were eager to hear from BCCPA and our members on the topic. Global News Reporter Jules Knox captured the “silent crisis” seniors face when the services they need are increasingly hard to access. View the report below.
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday Fontaine’s Listening Tour continues with meetings scheduled in Summerland and Penticton.
