Once a year the Home Care Advisory Committee (HCAC) and the Hospital Advisory Committee (HAC) are fortunate to join forces and collaborate on past and present issues. This fall, on October 28, we met and had a guest speaker from the 519 who presented on LGBTQ health and physiotherapy, and creating positive spaces. The focus was to raise awareness and build knowledge of these communities and the barriers that they often face at work and in the community at large. We learned about interpersonal, cultural and systemic discrimination and how to provide LGBTQ-affirming services. Human rights legislation was reviewed as part of this workshop, which protects people from discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, sex and sexual orientation. We were all so engaged in this workshop that we ran well into other sessions! We encourage all members to delve further into this topic. Take a look at this toolkit developed by the 519 on Creating Authentic Spaces.
In the afternoon we participated in a strategic planning focus group facilitated by The Potential Group. Discussions were lively where we brainstormed, networked, collaborated and shared our visions in becoming a very strong membership. We were all very engaged and passionate about our profession from the very new graduates to the more seasoned members.
If you are interested in learning more about the HCAC and/or the HAC, check out the OPA website or contact Leigh Anne Butler, Project Coordinator, Practice and Member Services.
By Betty Rivington-Law, HCAC Chair and Jane Keppy, HAC Chair
