b'MENTAL HEALTHfor measures to address and supportfrom trauma within the context of PROMISING PRACTICES the psychosocial and mental healthcommunity. In long-term care, this The Ontario Association of needs of residents as a result of thesemeans residents, family caregiversSocial Workers (OASW) offers experiences. The role of the socialand staff. worker in proactively monitoring five promising practices that residents for signs of distress will beWe encourage leaders to take risks, you can implement right now tokey to accomplishing this. adopting brave new ways to break future-proof the mental health ofdown silos and work collectively to Promising practices: staff unpack events, evolving practices, and your staff: Significant recommendations havetheir impacts on our communities. We Mental health huddles: Holdbeen made that call upon leaders inare at an inflection point, an ideal timeinformal mental health check- long-term care to develop policiesto discuss which of those practices ins with your team. Trainingand procedures to support the mentalworked, and which did not. in Mental Health First Aidhealth and well-being of staff, via bothAs vital members of the (mhfa.ca) can help build yourOntarios Long-Term Care COVID-19interdisciplinary team, social workers confidence in doing this. IfCommissions final report and theare committed to helping shape a someone is struggling, be sureHealth Standards Organizations bold vision for the future of long-term draft National Long-Term Care to reach out to offer resourcesServices Standard. care. The time is now to ensure that to support.all long-term care homes have access A healthy and thriving long-termto comprehensive psychosocial and Overcommunicate: Doublecare workforce has never been moremental health care provided by down on your communicationimportant. New international researchsocial workers.LTCTby using regular email blasts,is pointing to the fact that health care messages from the CEO and/ workers dealing with the pandemic or leadership team, and Townare likely to experience acute, chronic,Susan Steels MSW, RSW, is Halls focused on mentaland often unpredictable occupationalCo-Chair of the OASW LTC health to encourage uptakestressors that may lead to symptomsSubcommittee; Rebekah of resources. As championsof post-traumatic stress and post- Peterson, MSW, RSW, is Clinical for mental health within yourtraumatic stress disorder.Lead with Age-Wise Solutions facilities, social workers areMoving forward Inc.; Tanya Andrews, MSW, ideal partners to support The COVID-19 pandemic createdRSW, is a social worker at these discussions. considerable trauma that we willExtendicare Southwood Lakes; not soon forget. Moving forward,and Vanessa Rankin, MSW, focusing on promising practices andRSW, is a Senior Policy Advisor Psychological safety in the workplace: Cultivate a culturepossibilities to improve mental healthat OASW.that normalizes discussionswill pave the way to healing. We heal about mental health and incorporates a meaningful focus on diversity, equityand inclusion.Benefit plans: Consider theinclusion of a separate stand-alone mental health benefit that includes a wide range of regulated mental health providers, including social workers, to increase access to timely and needed mental health care for staff.Continuing education: Provide staff education on dealing with grief, loss and building resiliency. Social workers are ideally situated within long-term care homes to act as a consultant and educator to the interdisciplinary team onthese topics. www.oltca.com LONG TERM CARE TODAY 27'