When Vulnerability Creates Opportunity
he new Alberta Continuing Care Facility Directory will be launched on June 11th. The intent of the directory is to assist Albertans in making informed decisions about publicly funded continuing care living options for themselves or others.
The directory will provide important information about the care and services available at long-term care (LTC) and designated supportive living (DSL) facilities in our province. This information includes site photographs, type(s) of programming and status of our Resident and Family Councils as well as a list of unique services and amenities such as music therapy, a tropical atrium and/or bistro.
It will also include information on the performance of the facility. The Accommodation and Continuing Care Health Services (CCHS) Standards audit results will be posted; as well as the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) survey ranking results for food services and overall satisfaction. In addition, there will be a link to each site’s Public 9 Quality Indicators as provided by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Having all of this information publicly available and easily accessible has the potential to make us feel a bit vulnerable. We may wonder how the public will interpret the “numbers”. Will they understand the context or story behind them? How will they influence their decision to choose a Bethany facility as their new home? How will we compare to other organizations’ facilities?
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” – Brene Brown
In spite of feeling somewhat vulnerable, I believe this directory presents us with great opportunity. It allows us to showcase our beautiful care centers and the excellent work being done by our staff, volunteers and community partners to provide high-quality care and services through ongoing continuous improvement. When prospective residents or families visit the website and ask us questions, we can engage them in a conversation about our many quality improvement initiatives and invite them to provide feedback and share their ideas for innovative service improvements.
On June 11th, I invite you to visit the Alberta Health Services website and view the new directory under the Continuing Care page: www.albertahealthservices.ca. Becoming familiar with the information provided about your site will help prepare you to tell our Bethany story behind the numbers!
If you have any feedback, questions or ideas you would like to share, I welcome you to send them to me at dana.penner@bethanyseniors.com
Regards,
—Dana
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