A Unique Approach to Culture Change
The Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance (PiDC) is a collaborative research network and project focused on improving the dementia care experience for persons with dementia, family members, and staff in both long-term care and community settings.
The Huron County Culture Change Coalition (CCC) is one of four research sites undertaking a culture change guided by the authentic partnership model, appreciative inquiry (AI), and the ADRD Planning Framework.
The Huron County CCC is a diverse group comprised of several community care organizations and their clients. The sole community-based CCC in the project, this group includes representatives from the South West Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), Saint Elizabeth Health Care, the Alzheimer Society of Huron County, One Care Home and Community Support Services, the University of Windsor, and the Murray Alzheimer Research and Education Program at the University of Waterloo.
Discovering the Best of What is
Consistent with an Appreciative Inquiry approach, the CCC is currently planning activities to discover what is positive about their current home and community care services. With this in mind, they will begin to imagine even better possibilities for the future. The group will then work to develop an action plan which will turn those possibilities into realities. Authentic partnerships with all key stakeholders will be fundamental to achieving these new realities.
If you live or work in the Huron County region, we welcome you to join our Culture Change Coalition which meets for two hours once a month. For more information, contact Zara Rafferty at zeraffer@uwaterloo.ca or (519) 888-4567 x. 35280.
PiDC Alliance in the News
· Jim and Linda Finkbeiner, partners at our Huron County Culture Change Coalition, shared tips for alleviating anxiety during the holidays in this Globe and Mail article
· Zara Rafferty, the PiDC Alliance Knowledge Broker, shares her experience at the 2012 Walk for Memories on the MAREP blog
· Yee Hong Geriatric Care, one of our Culture Change Coalition sites, was profiled in this article in the Globe and Mail last month
· The Huron County Culture Change Coalition was featured in this article in the Exeter Times Advocate which ran during Alzheimer’s Awareness Month