"Yesterday, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, tabled Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19: Fall Economic Statement 2020.

We welcome the $6.4 million investment the Government of Canada is making to expand the LTC+ Acting on Pandemic Learning Together initiative which is helping long-term care and retirement homes strengthen their pandemic preparedness and response. This additional funding is part of their commitment to help provinces and territories protect long-term care and other supportive care facilities. The funding will allow LTC+ to support up to 1000 teams delivering care for adults in congregate living settings across Canada.

Through LTC+, teams are able to rapidly share with and learn from each other, prepare for possible future outbreaks, and work to mitigate the pandemic's effects through coaching, funding, virtual learning opportunities and peer-to-peer support.

We owe it to those affected by early outbreaks of COVID-19 in long-term care and retirement homes to learn from their experiences and hard-won lessons. These homes all have the common goal of protecting their residents and staff and LTC+ is helping them to come together quickly and efficiently.

Teams are focusing on six promising practices to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response: preparation; prevention; people in the workforce; pandemic response and surge capacity; planning for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 care; and presence of family.

LTC+ is being delivered by the newly amalgamated organization that brings together the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement and Canadian Patient Safety Institute. LTC+ is supported by our partners the BC Patient Safety and Quality Council, New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes and CADTH and with funding support from the CMA Foundation.

If your team is delivering care to older adults in congregate care settings and interested in LTC+, you can find out more details here or reach out to the team via LTC-SLD@cfhi-fcass.ca."

Jennifer Zelmer

President and CEO

The newly amalgamated organization that brings together CFHI and CPSI works with partners to share proven healthcare innovations and best practices in patient safety and healthcare quality. Working together with patients and other partners, we can deliver lasting improvement in patient experience, work life of healthcare providers, value for money and the health of everyone in Canada. The organization is a not-for-profit charity funded by Health Canada. Visit cfhi-fcass.ca and patientsafetyinstitute.ca for more information.

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.