The Institute for Continuing Care Education and Research (ICCER) and the Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) are working together to examine continuing care issues in the Lac La Biche area (including Smoky Lake, Vilna, Athabasca, Boyle, and neighbouring communities) and discuss how education and research can help address them.
Continuing care is an integrated range of services that support the health and well-being of individuals living in their own homes, in supportive living, or in long-term care. Continuing care is not defined by age, diagnosis, or length of required services, but by need for care. However, seniors make up the majority of the continuing care system and the senior population in Alberta is increasing; this increases the need for continuing care services.
The primary purpose of this networking event is to identify, discuss, and assess continuing care issues. The event will use a cafe conversation technique and each participant will be randomly assigned to a table for the first round. Each table will have an assigned table host. After each round of discussion, each individual will move to a different table to converse with a new group. The discussion will focus on six questions:
1. What continuing care services are available in the Lac La Biche area?
2. Who are the providers of continuing care? What are the roles and responsibilities of each provider group?
3. What is working well for continuing care in the region - and why?
4. What are the gaps, issues, barriers, and realities for continuing care in the region - and why?
5. How can the post-secondary institutions contribute to enhancing continuing care services?
6. What research or initiatives could support best practices in continuing care and contribute to improved outcomes?
To help with the discussion, we have prepared a background document on continuing care specific to the area of Lac La Biche. This document, as well as additional information on past community consultation events across AB can be found at www.iccer.ca.
Agenda
10:00 - 10:30 AM Getting started (coffee and snacks will be served)
a) Welcome and Housekeeping
b) Introductions
c) Project Overview
d) Overview of the day
10:30 AM - 2:30 PM Consultations:
10:30 - 11:15 AM Round ONE: a) What continuing care is available here? What services, programs, and supports are people receiving here currently?
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM Round TWO: b) Who is providing continuing care? Who is doing what?
c) What is working now for continuing care here - and why?
12:00 - 1:00 PM LUNCH
1:00 - 1:45 PM Round THREE: d) What are the gaps, issues, barriers, and realities for continuing care in our region?
1:45 - 2:30 PM Round FOUR (coffee and snacks will be served):
e) How can the post-secondary institutions contribute to enhancing continuing care?
f) What research or innovative initiatives could support best practices in continuing care?
2:30 - 3:00 PM Wrap-up
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