Let’s Talk About Healthcare

Submitted by Lakelands Family Health Team

Everywhere you go, you’re likely to hear someone talking about healthcare. When we talk about healthcare, we often think of organizations and services like family doctor’s offices, hospitals, home care or care offered by community organizations.

Did you know that 75% of care is provided outside of a healthcare setting? That care is provided by family caregivers - by this we mean people providing help or care to a family member, friend, neighbour or someone else close to them.

Think of things like helping their family member with tasks such preparing meals, driving them to appointments, shopping with or for them, helping with housework or other day-to-day activities. In many cases, it can be more involved like assistance with eating, using the washroom, monitoring blood pressure, giving them medication, helping with personal hygiene and other healthrelated tasks. You could be caring for people in need of support because they have a long-term illness, disability, mental health difficulties, dementia or old-age related challenges.

Many people join the ranks of caregiver with little to no preparation. In fact, over 50% don’t even call themselves caregivers until they reach a point of burnout. They just see what they are doing as a normal part of being a spouse, parent, adult child, sibling or good friend. But the role of caregiver extends far beyond the typical expectations of those relationships.

Any way you look at it, family caregivers are important members of the health care team.

Lakelands FHT has partnered with the Ontario Caregiver Organization to create awareness of the important, but often unrecognized, role of family caregivers. We want people in our community to know that there are free supports and resources available to help them in their role of caregiver. ■

24/7 Ontario Caregiver Helpline

• If you’re caring for someone and you need support, call the Ontario 24/7 Caregiver helpline.

• It’s your one-stop resource for information, support and services.

• Helpline: 1-833-416-2273

Peer-to-Peer Caregiver Support

• Need to Talk? Want to speak to someone who understands the pressures of caregiving? Peer Mentors are experienced caregivers who are here to help provide support, encouragement or just to listen.

• Consider joining the Ontario Caregiver Organization’s 1:1 Peer Support Program.

• Visit: ontariocaregiver.ca/peersupport/

Support Groups (0nline)

• Join other caregivers online in a supportive environment to talk about challenges, successes and concerns related to your caregiving role.

• Groups currently take place for an hour on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (pick the day that works for you) and are facilitated by a trained Peer Support Group Facilitator with experience as a current or former caregiver.

• Visit: ontariocaregiver.ca/for-caregivers/peer-supportfor-caregivers/online-caregiver-support-group/ his fiddle to jams, sessions and showcases. He attributes much of his early interestto becoming a member of the Blue Skies Fiddle Orchestra, originally led by Carolyn Stewart,and presently under the baton of Cindy McCall.

Sullivan has performed at concerts and on festival stages accompanying many stalwarts of theCanadian Folk Music scene including: David Ross Macdonald, Irish Mythen, Scott Cook, David Newland, and Kate Weekes.

He studied Music at Concordia University in Montreal, and in 2018 he travelled to Cork, Ireland, where he immersed himself in the local fiddling and singing traditions.

His work focuses on intimate folk song-writing, traditional-style narrative ballad singing, traditional Irish dance tunes, and exploring creative free improvisation. Japhy is currently based in Montreal, where he is hard at work crafting his debut album, Fiddler Jones, which is expected to be released in early 2024.

Tickets for the Sunday Schoolhouse Concert featuring Japhy Sullivan are $25 and will be available at the door. They can also be purchased in advance from tick- etsplease.ca. Tickets can be reserved at Tickets Please and held for pick-up at the door.

Visit Music at MERA for more information about this performance and all other music events at MERA. ■

The Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) has retained McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers Ltd. (McIntosh Perry) to complete a Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for the Kashwakamak Lake Dam located in the Township of North Frontenac on the main channel of the Mississippi River. The Kashwakamak Lake Dam was built more than 100 years ago and is reaching the end of its useful lifespan. The deteriorating condition of the dam necessitates that a decision be made on whether to decomission, rehabilitate or replace the existing dam within the next five years.

The study team invites you to participate in the study, which is being completed in accordance with the Conservation Ontario’s Class Environmental Assessment for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects. The Class EA process includes public, governing agency, stakeholders and Indigeous Communities consultation, characterization of the study area and the identification and evaluation of alternatives using sound criteria to select the technically preferred alternative. This study will investigate the potential environmental, social and economic impacts of the preferred alternative and identify measures to mitigate any adverse impacts.

Input received will be incorporated into the planning and design process for this project and will be received until June 23rd, 2023. If you wish to be involved in this study or receive information, please contact one of the project representatives identified below. Additional consultation opportunities will be made available as the study progresses. Subject to comments received and the receipt of necessary approvals, MVCA intends to proceed with the planning and design as defined in the Class Environmental Assessment process. For further details pertainig to the Kashwakamak Lake Dam and Class EA, please visit the MVCA website: https://mvc.on.ca/current-initiatives/kash-class-ea/.

For further information on this project please contact the following:

For more information about these three programs, and other caregiver supports, visit ontariocaregiver.ca

Juraj Cunderlik, PhD., P.Eng.

Lisa Marshall, P.Eng., Director, Engineering Project Manager

Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority 115 Walgreen Road, R.R.3 10970 Highway 7 Carp, Ontario, K0A 1L0 Carleton Place, ON, K7C 3P1 Phone: 613-714-0815 Phone: 613-253-0006 Ext. 233 jcunderlik@mvc.on.ca l.marshall@mcintoshperry.com

Comments submitted to the MVCA for the purpose of providing feedback regarding this Class Environmental Assessment are collected under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act. Information will be collected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. With the exception of personal information, all comments will become part of the public record.

This notice issued May 25th and June 1st, 2023