Updates and Information for VHA’s Valued Clients and Families
Issue 55, June 2023
Arts-Based Engagement Project Builds Meaningful Connections Between VHA PSWs and 2SLGBTQIA+ Older Adults
Integrating art into the research process is becoming an increasingly popular way to explore, understand, represent and challenge human experiences. Fostering Dialogues—a research project conducted at Egale Canada, co-facilitated by social artist Melanie Schambach, supported by VHA Home HealthCare (VHA) and funded by a Catalyst Grant through the Canadian Institute of Health Research—combined art and connection to explore the possibilities for the future of home and community care.
In the fall of 2022, the research team worked with 2SLGBTQIA+ older adults and personal support workers (PSWs) from VHA to reflect on their experiences, both shared and different, as two marginalized groups within the care system.
“Art-based approaches are an engaging way to draw out and reflect on sensitive experiences. This facilitates empathy, transformative learning and validates experiences, which are crucial for shifting deeply held beliefs and values,” said Sonia Nizzer, Senior Research Associate at VHA.
Upcoming RAIN Drop Event: Fostering Dialogue with LGBTQ+ Older Adults and PSWs through Art on July 5
The Research and Innovation Network invites the VHA community to our next virtual event!
The Research and Innovation Network (RAIN) is committed to integrating client and provider engagement in all aspects of research and reflects this commitment through the creation of a collaborative system of clients, carers, staff, and point-of-care providers who want to stay connected to the latest VHA Research and Innovation activity and interested in partnering to participate, advise and/or collaborate on projects.
In this RAIN Drop, we will welcome Dr. Celeste Pang, Assistant Professor at Mount Royal University. Dr. Pang worked closely with other team members at Egale to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ older adults and VHA PSWs to come together and foster dialogue through creating art. Dr. Pang's work explored the meaning of home and care through participants’ experiences, as well as their hopes for the future of home and community care. Dr. Pang will also share the art created during the dialogue sessions combined into one beautiful mural.
Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Time: 2:00PM – 2:45PM
Venue: MS Teams (Click to join)
Please feel free to forward this invitation! All are welcome and encouraged to attend.
If you have any questions about the event, please email VHA's Research Associate Nicole Moreira at nmoreira@vha.ca.
Research Opportunity for Clients: Post-Stroke Experiences in South Asian and Chinese Communities
Researchers from the University of Toronto are exploring the needs of individuals and their families after experiencing a stroke. They would like to invite individuals to share their experiences and investigate potential improvements for stroke supports and services.
Eligibility:
- Members of the South Asian or Chinese* communities
- Have experienced a stroke or have family members who experienced a stroke
Participants would attend three 1-hour individual meetings and one 2-hour group meeting by either phone or Zoom and will receive a $20 gift card per meeting for their time.
*Mandarin and Cantonese speaking interviewers are available.
If you would like to participant, please contact their Research Assistant Meera Premnazeer at meera.premnazeer@mail.utoronto.ca or (416) 946-372
VHA's In-House Pharmacy brings a team of pharmacists to you. They are dedicated to keeping you safe at home.
VHA's In-House Pharmacy is a new program geared towards bringing pharmacists into client's homes to keep them safe.
VHA clients can receive a free consultation with a registered pharmacist, right in your home, to help with:
- Counselling and medication review
- Tips on medication management and regular follow-up
- Knowledge about multiple medications and how they may react with each other
- Unused medication disposal
VHA Client Partner Sonya Lockhart helps select VHA’s new board members
Involving the client voice to help design new services or make quality improvements has been key to VHA’s success in providing spectacular client-centred care. Client partners bring a wealth of experience and expertise, and their unique healthcare journeys offer invaluable insights.
This year, Client Partner and new Co-Chair of VHA’s Client and Carer Advisory Council, Sonya Lockhart, helped select VHA’s newest Board members.
Having completed the maximum term of nine years on the Board, Sheree Davis, Joseph Mayer, and Catherine Wiley retired from their duties creating openings for three new Board members. Following a thorough recruitment process involving Sonya, these vacancies were filled by Sarah Downey, President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Bryan Dinh, Chief Commercial Officer for Switch Health, and Rob Lee, Vice President Digital Health and Chief Information Officer at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
“If I’m struggling, others must be”: How one Personal Support Worker rose above a challenge for her community
For many, Personal Support Workers are a lifeline. This is especially true for those living independently in the community who need assistance with daily tasks due to age, illness, injury or disability. The challenges of these vulnerable Ontarians are often invisible to others because they happen behind closed doors.
Personal Support Workers like VHA Home HealthCare’s Kaila Jonsen and many other home and community care workers know all too well and recognize when their clients are struggling. The ripple effects from the pandemic and rising costs of inflation have added to the challenges, leaving many struggling to make ends meet.
“What people don’t realize”, says Kaila, “is that the same frontline heroes who put on a brave face to show up for their community have also met new and complex challenges of their own.”
New OHT Navigation Resource for Clients in GTA: Toronto Health and Social Services Directory
VHA Home HealthCare has been working with our Ontario Health Team (OHT) partners to develop a new online resource for those in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) - The Toronto Health and Social Services Directory.
The Toronto Health and Social Services Directory is a website that helps people more easily find health, social and community services in Toronto, including the former municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and York. The directory also lists some services in Durham, Peel and York regions. These services may serve people who live outside these regions.
If you live and/or get care in these areas, the directory is your guide to finding care close to home. We hope this directory will be helpful for Toronto area clients. We encourage you to take a look by clicking the button below.
Are you happy with your service from VHA? Please consider leaving us a review on Google to help others find us. Thanks for your support.
