The BC Care Providers Association, along with the Ontario Long Term Care Association and the Alberta Continuing Care Association, has partnered with Mitacs, a national, not-for-profit organization, on a project that aims to determine best practices for recreational programs in residential care.
With the support of the Mitacs Accelerate program, two postdoctoral fellows, Dr. Yijian Yang and Dr. Kimberly van Schooten from Simon Fraser University, will undertake research on customized recreational programs. Their research will be supervised by Dr. Stephen Robinovitch, of SFU’s Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology department. The project partners will be investing up to $30,000 to help develop the best practice guide which will be exclusively available to their members for use in residential care settings.
Studies indicate that residents who participated in recreational therapies had positive outcomes; however, caregivers may be unsure of which therapies to provide to residents, each of whom may have unique and often complex medical needs.
The first aim of the eight-month research project will be to identify effective recreational therapies and compile this information into a guide. The second aim is to build a web-based decision-making tool that assists caregivers to identify customized recreational therapies for residents.
“This project demonstrates BC Care Providers Association’s commitment to providing care that is informed by evidence-based research,” said Daniel Fontaine, CEO for the BC Care Providers Association. “Our members are continually seeking new insights from the research community, and we look forward to collaborating with Drs. Robinovitch, Yang, and van Schooten.”
“Mitacs is proud to support the research collaboration between the BCCPA and researchers at SFU,” said Dr. Alejandro Adem, CEO and Scientific Director of Mitacs. “In addition to bringing health benefits to residents in care, this research project will help inform caretakers’ decision making for each of their clients using academic research.”
“We’re confident this partnership will have an extremely positive impact on the quality of life for seniors in long-term care,” said Candace Chartier, CEO of the Ontario Long Term Care Association. “It’s why we’ve all chosen to make the necessary investments to create this one-of-a-kind tool.”
All three associations are a part of the Canadian Alliance for Long Term Care (CALTC).
“This is a groundbreaking and exciting partnership that we are proud to be a part of,” said Tammy Leach, CEO for the Alberta Continuing Care Association. “Sharing and providing resources for the benefit of our members is an effective way to ensure that we are providing the best care possible for our seniors.”
About Mitacs
Mitacs has designed and delivered research and training programs in Canada for 15 years. Mitacs’ Accelerate program connects graduate students with industry partners for research internships supervised by faculty. In 2014–15, Mitacs supported almost 3,200 Accelerate internships with 700 companies.
About the BC Care Providers Association
The BC Care Providers Association is the leading industry association for B.C.’s long term care sector. We are a non-profit society that has been serving independent continuing care providers for over 35 years. Our growing membership base includes over 140 residential care, assisted living and home care members, as well as over 135 commercial members across British Columbia.
About the Ontario Long Term Care Association
The Ontario Long Term Care Association is the largest association of long-term care providers in Ontario and the only association that represents the full mix of long-term care operators – private, not-for-profit, charitable, and municipal. Our members provide care and accommodation services to more than 70,000 residents annually in nearly 440 long-term care homes in communities throughout Ontario.
About the Alberta Continuing Care Association
The Alberta Continuing Care Association (ACCA) is a non-profit, voluntary organization representing the providers of continuing care services in Alberta. We provide a unified voice for our members, a unique alliance of owners and operators of continuing care facilities and home care and support services, private and non-profit sector providers and providers of quality products and services that support the continuing care sector.
