b'CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE CARE"My dream is that EDI is not a flavour ofof us. That we treat each other with the respect that everyone deserves. the moment, but instead its embeddedAnd we behave in ways that honour the individual and their needswithin each and every one of us." and preferences.SUPPORTING CULTURALLY- Dr. San Ng DIVERSE STAFFfamily and resident councils, rules that we have, but looking atADIL KHALFAN: We have a very the community organizations wehow we are wiping out those rules toculturally diverse population of staff. work with.create opportunities for all walks ofMany of the staff are new Canadians. life for those who live and work in ourWere trying to connect with At Kensington, we\'re taking a threehomes. Were actively looking at wayscommunity agencies and community level approach to EDI. of building our senior team to reflectorganizations to help new Canadians the cultural and gender diversity of theand new residents, foreign trained, to One is having clinical championspeople we serve. be able to settle their lives.really looking at how are our medical staff and clinical staff are providingDR. SAN NG: I think we also have toThis is not only to their benefitwhen equitable care for people withhave humility. Its about having thattheir lives are settled, they\'ll be able to different needs and from various walksability to look at yourself and say,deliver better care. I don\'t think we\'ve of life.You know what, maybe we\'re not asdone enough to help with that as an diverse, equitable or inclusive as weorganization. I think there are many A second area is we\'re looking atthought we were.agencies out there that are set up to is staff awareness and educationsupport them and we, as employers, and creating a safe and inclusiveIn fact, maybe we need to unlearn. Atneed to help connect those agencies work environment for them. EquallyYee Hong, we provide the care thatto our foreign trained staff.important is encouraging people towe do because many individuals came speak up and safely express whenfrom the same cultural background.I used to work in the Middle East, and they dont know something.But not everybody wants that. Notwhen we were bringing in foreign everybody prefers that. And to assumetrained workers, there was more of a I myself, as a leader, don\'t knowis something that is not helpful,focus on, here\'s how we\'re going to everything about equity, diversity andactually, for advancing EDI. help you stay here. In North America, inclusion. Im saying publicly that Iit\'s a bit more of an independent dont know it. I\'m nervous sometimesWhat don\'t we know? What are ourculture. You\'re here, go figure it out.but I\'m learning. And when staff andunconscious biases? How do weI think that\'s an important element. I people see me say that aloud, I think itgo about asking those really toughdon\'t think we\'ve sorted it out yet and creates an environment where it\'s safequestions, about racism and aboutit\'s an area that we need to look at to express your learning needs andreally different political ideologies,seriously as leaders and as long-term that we\'re going to learn throughoutabout different ways of beingcare operators.our lives. and acting? And are we making assumptions about how people are? DR. SAN NG: It weighs heavily on my The other part is really trying to bemind. At the same time though, there courageous and fearless in advancingMy dream is that EDI is not a flavourare individuals who do want to make this journey towards equity andof the moment, but instead itsa life in Canada and we need to think justice, not just accommodating theembedded within each and every oneabout how we can support them to 46 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2024'