b'EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSIONAdvancing EDI in your LTC homeStart where you are and use what you haveBy Michelle Fleming & Doneath StewartL eadership plays a crucial role inand three Special Care Homes in Newteams about inclusiveness and advancing equity and inclusionBrunswick. Omni understands thatunconscious bias. strategies and supporting ateam members are the reason Omni culture of belonging and safety. Incan deliver exceptional care with heartA number of efforts have since long-term care, to provide care thatand humanity and endeavours daily tobeen taken, including staff surveys, is truly person- and family-centred,empower and protect them.education and the development supporting culture and identity isof policies around inclusiveness. non-negotiable. Mounting evidenceDuring the COVID-19 pandemic,Education and training plans were highlights the disparities and negativeOmnis corporate team identified ainformed by survey responses and health outcomes experienced bysignificant rise in the reports of staff-to- focused on meeting the team where equity deserving populations. Asstaff incidents, and discrimination thatthey were in their EDI journey.the diversity of the workforce andstaff were experiencing from residents, resident population in long-termfamily members, and colleagues.Omni recently hosted a three-day care continues to grow, the need forCollectively, the team recognizedleadership educational team building thoughtful, intentional efforts towardthat they needed to do something.forum with sessions focused on equity, diversity and inclusion will onlyOmnis leadership stands fiercelydiversity in the workplace, 2SLGBTQI+ become more important.behind their mantra People are Ourinclusion, and resilience. The learning Passion, and in response to the risefrom the Leadership Forum was Over the last six years, the Ontarioin discrimination, they decided to takeauthentic and transformational and will Centres for Learning, Research andfocused, immediate action across support moving forward on the next Innovation in Long-Term Care (Ontariothe organization.stages of the road map.CLRI) has been deeply engaged with a passionate Equity, Diversity andIn 2022, Omni developed newDoneath Stewart, Director of Inclusion (EDI) Advisory Committee,mission and value statements,Operations at Omni, reflects on the collaboratively developing resourcesadding inclusiveness as a core valuejourney thus far: There is a lot to be tailored to the long-term care context,statement. A focused working groupdone/to unpack on this EDI journey and hosting learning opportunities toformed, and a targeted action plan andand I feel as if we havent done support homes in their EDI journeys,road map were developed.enough. When we started our strategic culminating this year in the creation plan in 2022, in our workgroup, we of an EDI in LTC Community of The team brought in support fromhad what I thought was a clear-cut Practice (CoP). Develop Consulting to help guide theplan to realize inclusiveness in our process with a focus on supportingorganization. However I quickly Since its inception, Omni Qualityeducation and capacity building duringrealized that the more I learned there Living has been an active participantthe initial phase. Seeing the videowas still so much I did not know. I had in the EDI in LTC CoP, learning fromInclusion Starts with I at the to be kind to myself. to stop focusing the rich presentations and utilizingTogether We Care Conference helpedon the destination and appreciate the the resources shared. Omni Qualityshape the vision of early education.journey. It takes a team; you cannot do Living is a seniors housing operatorThat video, along with a video entitledthis alone. Invite others to join you that operates 19 long-term care homesAll of Us, opened up conversationsseek out resources, communities, and two retirement homes in Ontario,and awareness raising among theand work together. This journey is 34 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2023'