MEMBER ONLY: In early June, the Board of Directors held a special two-day strategy meeting in North Vancouver to discuss the future direction of the BC Care Providers Association. Emerging from the meeting was the decision to draft a three year strategic plan for the organization.
The 2013-16 Strategic Plan, finalized in September, sets out a future road map for the organization with a detailed set of goals and objectives.
The plan is composed of the following six strategic goals:
- #1 Strengthen Value Proposition for Members
- #2 Effectively Manage our Brand and Reputation
- #3 Maintain and Focus on Quality
- #4 Enhance and Build New Relationships
- #5 Safeguard Member Viability and Sustainability
- #6 Improve Internal Operations
“The strategy will help us move forward with our renewal process and ensure we remain actively engaged with our members moving forward,” says CEO Daniel Fontaine. “Although we are only a few months into the plan, I’m pleased to say we have already made significant progress on some of the goals we set out to achieve.”
Below we touch on a few key objectives from each goal:
Goal #1 Strengthen Value Proposition for Members
Among the objectives for goal one is increasing access to useful tools and resources for members. New additions such as the members only portion of the website have offered our members valuable resources and insight pertaining to the continuing care sector. The ongoing focus of the plan is to continuously increase the quantity and quality of resources available exclusively to our members.
In addition to our new Anti-Psychotic Best Practice Guide which we released earlier this year, the Association is also working in partnership with the Ontario Long-Term Care Association (OLTCA) on a new resource for recreational therapists. In November, we also launched our special F.L.U.E. campaign and provided free window stickers for all of our members.
Initiatives such as our new Care to Chat speaker’s series have also created a unique platform for engagement where our members can bring current and emerging issues of importance to the table. Within three years, the plan sets out a target to host a minimum of 10 speaker sessions with at least 25% being held outside the Lower Mainland.
Goal #2 Effectively Manage our Brand and Reputation
Ensuring we remain a well-respected thought-leader and policy resource for the continuing care sector in BC is a key focus of the plan. “We are continuously building relationships with various media outlets and news sources,” says Fontaine. “When there is an issue in the media pertaining to the continuing care sector, we are now one of the first organizations to receive a call asking for our perspective.”
Furthermore, leading the industry in research is an identified priority in the Strategic Plan and was reflected in the hiring of Director of Research and Policy, Heather Campbell. “I am thrilled with the in-depth research we are carrying out,” says Campbell. “Our red-tape review of the sector is well underway and it is uncovering a number of common themes that should be of interest to the government and various health authorities.”
With a number of opinion pieces already published in newspapers like the Vancouver Sun, we are working to continuously raise our profile with decision-makers, media, and the public. There is a lot more to come!
Goal #3 Maintain and Focus on Quality
A highlight of this past year has been the strong focus on quality. A pivotal undertaking has been to promote workplace injury prevention within the long-term care sector. The development of SafeCare BC reflects a great opportunity to achieve this goal. With a new Executive Director scheduled to be in place by early 2014 and the unveiling of the official website in January, SafeCare BC will be soon be ready to take an active role in workplace injury prevention.
A key area of focus in the Strategic Plan is to remove obstacles faced by care providers that prevent them from delivering the best care and service possible. During the two-day board meeting, the Board came to the consensus that the over burden of red-tape and overlapping regulation meant staff were spending more time hugging computers than residents.
That’s why in parallel with the provincial wide Core Review implemented by the BC Government, the BCCPA announced it would be conducting its own red-tape review of the continuing care sector. BC’s Core Review is scheduled to wrap up in December 2014. The BCCPA will be submitting its recommendations to the province in early 2014 regarding how to reduce red tape and unnecessary paperwork in our sector.
Goal #4 Enhance and Build New Relationships
An area of high priority cited in the plan is the continued growth of sector- wide relationships. Just this year, working in partnership with the Denominational Health Association (DHA) and the BC Seniors Living Association (BCSLA), the BCCPA hosted its inaugural Minister’s Luncheon with the Honourable Terry Lake. The sold-out event was a tremendous success with almost 350 people in attendance. There are plans for a similar event next fall.
The BCCPA is also a proud member of the Canadian Alliance for Long-Term Care (CALTC) and is working to strengthen the national organization. BC will play host to the CALTC annual meeting being held next summer. As mentioned previously, we are also working with the OLTCA on a new recreational therapy resource that will be made available to member front-line employees and managers.
In November, the BC Government invited the BCCPA to sit on a new Council to Reduce Elder Abuse. Fontaine attended the inaugural meeting earlier this month.
Working with other key industry organizations will allow BCCPA to represent a more unified voice for the sector to government. Doing so will allow for increased capacity and more effective advocacy on behalf of our members.
Goal #5 Safeguard Member Viability and Sustainability
A key objective for viability and sustainability is to provide direct influence regarding HEABC negotiating mandate. Included in our three-year target is the hope to have more influence into the collective bargaining process and help to reduce inflationary pressures related to increased costs for human resources.[quote name=”Daniel Fontaine, CEO” pull=”left”]When there is an issue in the media pertaining to the continuing care sector, we are now one of the first organizations to receive a call asking for our perspective[/quote]
In that regard, we partnered with the Denominational Health Association and submitted a joint letter to the Health Employers Association of BC outlining a number of key issues we felt needed to be addressed during the current collective bargaining process.
The BCCPA has also established a new BC Care Aide Registry Review Committee which will be submitting its recommendations to the Board in early 2014. The BCCPA then plans to work with the Minister of Health to implement those recommendations in order to improve the effectiveness of the Registry and prevent seniors from being abused.
Goal #6 Improve Internal Operations
The Strategic Plan also sets out a road map to improve BCCPA internal operations. From this stemmed a new Governance Committee which is already providing recommendations to the Board regarding how to modernize our by-laws, policies and procedures. A number of those recommendations have been adopted by the Board and will be discussed at the Annual General Meeting held in Whistler in May 2014. The Committee is also tasked with reviewing all of our policies and by-laws on an annual basis to ensure they remain relevant.
The Strategic Plan also calls for the development of a new annual Operating Plan which incorporates an in-depth communications strategy. Both will continue to drive the focused vision for the future.
With the year coming to an end, the BCCPA is proud to reflect on how far we have come in 2013, and we are excited for the growth in store for the future. “We are very optimistic about the direction and future of this organization,” says Fontaine. “Our members are committed to a code of ethics and are passionate about the seniors they work with each day. It is an honour to be leading the BCCPA during this period of renewal.”
With the Strategic Plan mapping out a clear blue print of the future, the next few years are bound to be an exciting time for the organization! Please keep the feedback coming…and be sure to continue sharing your great ideas at our upcoming Annual Conference in May 2014.
