Call for Expressions of Interest
Workplace Mental Health in LTC:
Training and Support Program for Implementation Teams
The Ontario CLRI at the RIA invites leaders in long-term care to take your workplace mental health strategy to the next level. Learn how to build an organizational culture that promotes and protects the mental health of all team members, and improves workforce productivity, recruitment and retention. Apply by September 29.
About the Workplace Mental Health in LTC Program
This Workplace Mental Health in LTC program provides free training and coaching support to help long-term care (LTC) homes across Ontario adopt the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. The Standard was published in 2013 and defines a systematic approach to creating and sustaining a psychologically safe and healthy work environment.
Learn how to build an organizational culture that promotes and protects the mental health of all team members, and improves workforce productivity, recruitment and retention. Our goal is to foster a happier, healthier, more resilient workforce in long-term care.
Have been working in healthcare for almost 30 years now (started very young) but have been leading for the better part of 25 years in many sectors across the world and the spectrum of care. This was one of the more valuable courses I have taken for many reasons, but one of them was the timeliness of the information. It is a time of tremendous strain and stress in the system of healthcare: having resources and the opportunity to take small chunks away and start to deploy information to spark sustainable change was great. Thanks for the opportunity to be part of the learning! This is a journey not a destination… it starts with a first step.” — Participant (2021-2022)
Why now?
Working in LTC is psychologically demanding. Frontline workers experience physical and emotional stress, time pressures, bullying, violence, racism, and a societal culture that often devalues the role of care providers.
Emerging research shows that frontline workers in LTC are experiencing high levels of depression, anxiety, grief and post-traumatic stress. These conditions contribute to rising disability claims, absenteeism, presenteeism, high staff turnover and ongoing recruitment challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has only magnified these issues and highlighted the need for change in Ontario’s LTC system.
According to the Ontario government’s Long-Term Care Staffing Study (July 2020), team members in LTC are “feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, and unrecognized.” The study recommends adopting the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Now is the time for recovery and renewal
The Ontario CLRI is collaborating with mental health experts, occupational health and safety organizations, unions, researchers, educators, provincial LTC associations and other stakeholders to co-design an effective and sustainable support system for LTC homes. The Workplace Mental Health in LTC program promotes evidence-based resources, offers training programs tailored for the LTC sector, and provides coaching and support for psychological health and safety champions. By creating a workplace culture that promotes and protects mental health, leaders in LTC can build and retain a resilient workforce that is well equipped to provide quality care for residents and support for families.
A Psychological Health and Safety in Long-Term Care Advisory Committee (see below) and other experts contribute to the work of this initiative.
Program Partners
National Standard of Canada
CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013
Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace: Prevention, Promotion, and Guidance to Staged Implementation.
Have THAT Talk: For Workplaces
A series of short, animated videos explaining the 13 psychosocial factors identified in the National Standard, plus activity guides.
The ROI in Workplace Mental Health Programs
A Deloitte study examining the typical annual return on investment (ROI) of workplace mental health programs, based on data analysis and interviews with seven Canadian companies.
Mental Health Commission of Canada videos about the National Standard
Assembling the Pieces
A step-by-step guide that offers practical advice for implementing key elements of the National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Caring for Healthcare Toolkit
This resource describes the successes and challenges of four healthcare organizations who embedded the Standard into their everyday operations, and outlines a set of common principles that contribute to effective implementation.
Case Study Research Project
A summary of promising practices and lessons learned from 40 organizations across Canada that are implementing the National Standard.
Developing a Workplace Mental Health Strategy
A how-to guide that provides practical, step-by-step guidance for organizations to develop and implement a tailored mental health and wellbeing strategy for their staff.
Moving to Action
This primer introduces a roadmap to guide intentional action by employers to reduce mental harm and promote mental health in alignment with the recommendations of the National Standard.
Workplace Mental Health Playbook for Business Leaders
Five research-based recommendations from the Centre for Addictions and Mental Health to help Canadian leaders take action.
Guarding Minds at Work
A comprehensive set of free resources to help assess and address the psychological health and safety of workplaces, including an organizational review process for leadership, an online employee survey and a shorter stress scan.
Caring for Healthcare Workers
Includes the Psychosocial Survey for Healthcare (a brief, confidential online survey for staff) and the Organizational Review for Healthcare (designed to determine your organization’s current status in creating and sustaining a psychologically healthy and safe workplace).
Psychologically Safe Leader Assessment
A free online resource to assess and identify leadership strengths in psychological health and safety across five key domains.
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Practical tools and resources designed to help Canadian employers with the prevention, intervention and management of workplace mental health issues.
Think Mental Health
Informative and actionable mental health resources (tools, models and frameworks) designed to reduce stigma and manage mental health hazards in the workplace.
Centre of Expertise on Mental Health in the Workplace
Find information about how the Government of Canada addresses mental health in the workplace and access resources, tools and services for organizations, managers and employees.
Sherri Bastos
Director, Prevention, Engagement and Retention – Health and Community Care
Public Services Health and Safety Association
Mary Ann Baynton
Director of Collaboration and Strategy
Workplace Strategies for Mental Health
Lora Bruyn-Martin
Innovation Specialist
Schlegel Villages
Cheryl Clarke
Manager (Acting), Long-Term Care Staffing Unit
Ministry of Long-Term Care
David Conn
Vice President, Education
Baycrest Health Sciences
Jean Costello
Director of Evaluation
Homewood Research Institute
Kate Dupuis
Schlegel Innovation Leader, Centre for Elder Research
Sheridan College
Meaghan Edwards
Senior Policy Analyst
AdvantAge Ontario
Jean-Louis Hebert
National Representative – Health and Safety, Ontario Regional Office
CUPE
Stuart Hooper
Business Development
Workplace Safety and Prevention Services
Cheryl Janssen
Director of People Engagement
Schlegel Villages
Kari Jefford
President, Local 229
Unifor
Jane Kuepfer
Schlegel Specialist in Spirituality and Aging
Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging
Kathryn Lawrence
PSW Co-Chair
CESBA
Danielle Linnane
Quality Improvement Specialist, Clinical Institutes & Quality Programs
Ontario Health (Quality)
Melissa Mei
Director, Planning and Integration
Ontario Health (Central Region)
Samantha Peck
Executive Director
Family Councils Ontario
Chris Pugh
Senior Policy Advisor
Ontario Long-Term Care Association
Iqra Saleem
Senior Program Consultant, Licensing and Policy Branch, LTC Homes Division
Ministry of Long-Term Care
Natalie Spence
Education Coordinator
Ontario CLRI at Bruyère
Audra Thompson-Haile
Director
Ontario CLRI at Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging
Dee Tripp
Executive Director
Ontario Association of Resident Councils
Henrietta Van Hulle
Vice President, Client Acquisition and Outreach
Public Services Health and Safety Association
The Workplace Mental Health in LTC program is led by the Ontario CLRI at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA). The Ontario CLRI at the RIA is collaborating with mental health experts, occupational health and safety organizations, unions, researchers, educators, provincial LTC associations and other stakeholders to co-design an effective and sustainable support system for LTC homes.
