What We Do
ACR is dedicated to improving the quality of care and
the quality of life for residents in long-term care. We do this through
working with families, friends and facility staff to establish family
councils at residential care facilities across the province. We also take
on advocacy and provide education and information related to quality of
life and care issues in long-term care facilities.
Developing and Supporting Family Councils
We work collaboratively with families, friends and care facility staff
to help establish family councils as a mechanism for dialogue, support,
education and processing concerns. Our experience is that a family council
can provide information and mutual support to family and friends of residents
in care to help them better understand and cope with their loved one’s
experience of living in care, and the care facility environment. It is
our belief that a well-functioning family council supports not only the
residents and their families and friends, but also helps care staff in
delivering high-quality care.
To help facilitate the development of family councils, we provide training
workshops across the province and resources, such as our Family
Council Handbook, to provide advice and step-by-step guidance in setting
up a family council. We also have a telephone information line and email
address available to answer any questions that may arise along the way.
Our ongoing work with family councils includes providing information and
resources to family members and friends, as well as care facility staff,
to help them recognize the important role an active family council can
play in improving the quality of the care environment. Resources such
as our newsletter and the
Library section
of this website contain up-to-date information about care issues for both
families and professional care staff.
ACR helped develop some of the first family councils in British Columbia
in Vancouver. We are pleased that the network of family councils now includes
close to 50 family council organizations across the province. Please visit
the Family Councils section
of our website to learn more about our work with family councils.
Advocacy and Education
ACR is the only organization in British Columbia that specifically advocates
for people living in residential care facilities. Working on a province-wide
basis, we advocate for safer, more informed and dignified care for those
living in residential care homes.
Our advocacy and education work focuses on enhancing the quality of life
and care for residents of long-term care facilities. This includes:
• Ongoing contact with BC’s five
regional health authorities and the Ministry of Health, including the
Director of Licensing for licensed residential care homes in the province
• Liaising with disease-focused organizations
to help facilitate the delivery of information about how to effectively
care for residents with specific conditions
• Publishing a regular newsletter
to address current issues in care, and distributing this broadly across
the province
• Pursuing opportunities to speak about
issues related to residents in long-term care, such as by participating
in the regional focus groups aimed at gathering input to the regulations
governing residential care facilities in British Columbia under the Community
Care and Assisted Living Act
• Liaising with organizations that
represent residential care facilities in the province
Our ongoing work includes identifying and addressing important issues
in residential care, with the goal of working towards solutions such as:
• Improved staffing levels to safely
and effectively handle the increasingly complex needs of residents in
long-term care
• Greater respect for residents’
rights and dignity
• Positive alternatives to the use
of physical and chemical restraints
• Family engagement in care
• Uniform standards in training for
care-providers and residential care facility professionals
• Informed consumers engaged in advocacy,
both at an individual and systemic level
