{"id":2645,"date":"2021-06-21T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-ca\/insights\/how-canadas-diverse-communities-can-advocate-for-safer-and-more-compassionate-care\/"},"modified":"2024-10-22T09:27:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T13:27:04","slug":"how-canadas-diverse-communities-can-advocate-for-safer-and-more-compassionate-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbcwealthmanagement.com\/en-ca\/insights\/how-canadas-diverse-communities-can-advocate-for-safer-and-more-compassionate-care","title":{"rendered":"How Canada\u2019s diverse communities can advocate for safer and more compassionate care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Canadians over the age of 65 will make up almost a quarter of the country’s population by 2038 <\/a>, becoming the most diverse group of older generations the country has ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s a growing awareness among eldercare specialists that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work. An individual’s ethnicity, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation are among some of the many elements that should factor into how best to care for older Canadians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry professionals say it’s important not only for our institutions, laws and healthcare practices to evolve to meet the needs of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences, but also to ensure one has legal protections and planning in place when those systems are slow to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a recent panel discussion, Diversity and aging: Honouring our identities<\/i>, health care and estate planning specialists described how service providers need to create safe and comfortable environments for patients and clients to speak up. This includes using inclusive language, recognizing their own limitations and being mindful of making assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a safe environment for diverse communities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is about vulnerability and the importance of why we need to be able to provide culturally safe and culturally competent care so that people can be themselves,\u201d Dr. Samir Sinha, director of Health Policy Research at the <\/span>National Institute of Ageing<\/a>, told the panel, hosted by Leanne Kaufman, president and CEO of <\/span>RBC Royal Trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disproportionate way with which COVID-19 has devastated older Canadians\u2014especially in long-term care settings\u2014has also raised the basic question of how our institutions care for our elderly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt strikes me how different societies and different communities value aging more than others,\u201d says Sinha, pointing to Indigenous communities and the way they prioritize and protect their elders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinha’s own patients have included Holocaust and residential school survivors. Knowing a patient’s background, he says, is incredibly helpful not only from a compassionate viewpoint but also in identifying issues that might reappear as dementia progresses, such as reliving past trauma. These details also influence how you care for older Canadians and respect their own preferences and choices as they age, explains Sinha, who’s also the director of Geriatrics at <\/span>Sinai Health System<\/a> <\/span>and the University Health Network in Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using a power of attorney to map future care<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having legal documents in order<\/a> <\/span>can also help support the care you need in the future. \u201cMaintaining control is an important factor in aging in keeping with your identity,\u201d notes Kaufman. \u201cThe way to do that is to document your wishes for your property and your care in powers of attorney.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people may think <\/span>a power of attorney for personal care<\/a> <\/span>is a document that only kicks in when they become incapacitated. But it can also include decisions around where a person will live and what type of home care they’ll receive when they become sick. The key question to ask is: who would you want to make decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated through health?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s a very powerful document that gives the person in charge a lot of control,\u201d Darren Lund, a partner with Miller Thomson LLP who specializes in estate planning, estate administration and private client matters, told the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe implications can be very significant if the wrong person is making decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older members of the LGBT+ community, in particular, may have serious concerns as they age, including the question of whether they can continue to live openly and comfortably should they become dependent on others for care. Who’ll be responsible should they become incapacitated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the issues we’ve seen is that people sometimes feel they have to go back into the closet; they no longer want to disclose their sexuality because they’re afraid that the people coming into their home to care for them will actually not treat them well,\u201d Sinha says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo for people who’ve been trying to live independently and freely, they now feel they could be victimized in their own home and might not feel safe. It’s that notion of having to go back into the closet, which can be incredibly damaging and concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When there’s inadequate preparation and protection in place, the fallout can be costly, not just from a financial point of view, but also from an emotional and mental wellbeing point of view, the panelists explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of adequate estate planning, for example, the law often defaults the decision-making priority to the next of kin. The assumption is the person in charge will understand your wishes and needs. But unless you’ve gone through the planning process with them and documented those wishes, they may go unfulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could end up with the wrong people making critical life decisions on your behalf. Will your burial wishes be respected? Will you get culturally appropriate care? What if you have a fractious relationship with your family or are estranged from them? And if you’re part of the LGBT+ community, what if you’re not out to your family?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can lead to damaged relationships and expensive legal challenges, says Lund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hear stories of clients who were quite devout during their lifetime and then in their burial, their wishes were not fulfilled because the wrong executor was in charge,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n