ACCOUNTABILITY TO FAMILIES AND THE PUBLIC

NEW GOVERNMENT WEBSITE: The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) recently launched its public website containing statistical information on 'unmet standards' and 'verified concerns' for each long term care home as well as provincial averages.

SPECIALTY CARE SUPPORT FOR IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY: Specialty Care managed homes welcome and support this initiative. As a leader in the field of senior's health care, we have long been advocates of improving public access to relevant information consumers need to make informed decisions and to enhance public confidence in long term care services. You should know that the information on the Ministry website has been available for years. The information is posted on the family bulletin board in our home along with an action plan to address any unmet standards. What is new today is that the information is now centralized, with comparisons to provincial averages and is conveniently available through the internet.

While a good first step, we are concerned that the government's website, taken on its own, may not provide consumers with enough information. For example, we feel that the website should explain the nature of the 'unmet standards' and any 'verified concerns' so that consumers are able to ascertain the level of associated risk. We also feel that the website should be updated more often than once a year (as is currently planned) so that consumers have access to the most recent information and know what we have done to resolve any concerns.

Our provincial association, the Ontario Long Term Care Association (OLTCA)), is working with the Ministry and other stakeholders to address some of these concerns. In the interim, MOHLTC has agreed to provide links to the websites of individual homes such as ours ( www.specialty-care.com) where additional information is available. We welcome your suggestions about other information which may be helpful to be included on our website.

COMMITMENT TO QUALITY STANDARDS: Your peace of mind about the care we provide is very important to us. We have always been dedicated to meeting the changing needs of residents and their families and this commitment continues today. We regularly monitor key indicators of resident care and safety and, if we are not satisfied with results, we actively target improvements to meet acceptable standards and benchmarks. Our approach to quality and risk management is open and transparent. Eligible homes are reviewed externally to meet Accreditation standards for Quality Care from the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation. The MOHLTC visits each long term care home at least annually for a thorough review of our resident care and compliance with rigid standards. Complaints may be made to the MOHLTC through their hotline at: 1-866-434-0144 and are followed up confidentiality by the Ministry. Any verified complaints are listed on our bulletin boards and also posted on the MOHLTC website and are resolved promptly with an approved action plan.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP FOR QUALITY CARE: We take pride in involving our staff, residents and families in the life of our home. And provide numerous opportunities to share your suggestions for improvement. The results of the most recent satisfaction survey are posted on our family bulletin board and are discussed at annual resident/ family and staff meetings with Paula Jourdain, the president of Specialty Care. We work closely with the Resident's Council and Family Council to share our efforts to meet and even exceed your expectations for quality care. We provide We're Listening suggestion forms and You Have A Voice pamphlets available in the lobby to record any specific concerns so that we can follow up promptly to ensure excellent customer service.

We hope that this assists you in understanding our commitment to quality and the new enhanced public accountability process and Public Reports web site. We welcome any questions or suggestions you may have on our quality improvement and accountability processes.