Forum on Partnering for Innovative and Collaborative Long-Term Care Solutions for Francophones

Access to French Language Services, more specifically to long term care beds and specialized dementia care units are not equitable and accessible across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and do not meet the specific needs of the Francophones in terms of location and language needs. Based on the goals of laying the foundation for action-oriented public / private / not-for-profit partnerships (social enterprise), better defining the needs of the Francophone community for specialized long-term care, and exploring innovative models that can be adapted to the different needs of the community, Fondation Hélène Tremblay Lavoie Foundation organized a one-day Forum to engage with different stakeholders on November 23, 2018 in Toronto. The one-day Forum ensured that key stakeholders, namely private/public sector, seniors, caregivers, health and social service providers, long-term care homes, retirement homes, financial institutions, developers and governments (LHINs, ministries, GTA municipalities), French Language Services Planning Entities (Reflet Salvéo and Entité 4) and post-secondary educational institutions such as Collège Boréal, Glendon, UOIT, York and Schulich and University of Toronto) came together to discuss on opportunities to - create an awareness of different programs and care models within the French community - facilitate access to and expansion of French health care services and programs for Francophone adults experiencing loss of autonomy - raise funds to support the improvement of long-term care and for an eventual capital project to support building the first bilingual long-term care facility dedicated to serving Francophone adults experiencing loss of autonomy within the GTA. This one-day engagement provided an opportunity for stakeholders the opportunity to make recommendations on moving forward. As such, 13 recommendations have developed for different stakeholders including the Francophone community.