Martin C. Barry

Can caregivers and professionals be partners in care?

That was the question members of the Agape Senior Wellness Centre came to hear about when retired UQAM professor of social work Nancy Guberman was the Notre Dame Blvd. centre’s guest speaker on Sept. 13.

Researched caregiving

Guberman has conducted extensive research on care giving, including several studies on the relationships between caregivers and health care professionals. She has also been active in caregiver rights groups.

Caregivers often say that they feel ignored, misunderstood or pressured by the various professionals they interact with on a daily basis. But at the same time, these same health professionals are expected to reach unrealistic quotas by the health system they work for and represent.

Stage set for conflict

Given the polarized expectations of these two groups, where the stage is set for conflict and unmet expectations, how can cooperative relations be developed for the benefit of all?

As Guberman suggested in her interesting and highly informative talk, the provincial health ministry’s current policy emphasizing at-home care places more pressure than ever on home caregivers, without necessarily taking into account their limited knowledge of medicine and nursing.

Caregivers bearing the cost

“A home is not a hospital, but they’re transferring all these things, and then the caregivers are stuck with all these questions and very little support, so that really they’re being used as resources by the system so that it costs less for the system,” she said.

Guberman said this was one of the first things she learned from caregivers about their relationships with professionals in the course of her research. However, she noted that not everyone had negative relationships. “Sometimes there was a positive and significant relationship between the caregiver and some of the professionals.”

Meeting right professional

However, what the caregivers also said was that meeting professionals like this is largely luck. “Is that the way the system works?” she asked. “That if you’re lucky you get a decent worker? And they used the word luck – I’m not inventing it. So if you’re lucky maybe you’ll get this really good situation where somebody understands and works well and is efficient.”

Guberman said her research team also asked caregivers what they expected or would like from professionals. “And what they told us was more listening – they should listen to us – more empathy – they should understand what caregivers go through, what their life is like,” she said.

What caregivers want

As well, according to Guberman, the caregivers said they wanted professionals to be able to provide better communications, more support and followup. “So they really want better relations and that the caregivers be involved and listened to and involved in all the decisions,” she said.

In addition to consulting caregivers, Guberman and her team also met with the professionals who had complaints of their own regarding the caregivers. “They said those caregivers, they don’t have much time do they? They’re stuck between their jobs and their kids or their grandkids and they’re sort of a sandwich generation.

Not as much trust

“So this lack of time is from their point of view a problem,” she continued. “They also find that caregivers are very demanding. They ask so many questions and they know so many things now and they don’t trust us.

“Before people trusted professionals. Professionals told you to do something, your doctor said something, we generally would go yeah okay. But now we want a second opinion, I read on the Internet this, my friend told me that. We are a lot more demanding.”

Caregivers and their rights

As well, according to Guberman, the current generation of caregivers is perceived by the professionals as people highly aware of their rights “and how to claim these rights,” she said. “Well I think we are into a generation of rights: everybody has rights. So want it or not they claim their rights.”

Located on the third floor at 3950 Notre Dame Blvd. just east of Curé Labelle Blvd. in Chomedey, the Senior Wellness Centre offers health conferences, cognitive activities (board and card games), organized bus trips, computer or tablet courses and meetings with other members of Laval’s English-speaking community. The Senior Wellness Centre can be reached by phone at (450) 934-1122.

(TLN) Laval’s city councillors have officially approved the nomination of a new assistant director-general for the city. She is Suzie Bélanger.

Bélanger holds a Bachelor’s degree in business and administration, with emphasis on operations management. Among other things, she has held management positions with the federal government.

Known for efficiency

According to the city, Bélanger has a reputation for completing large projects efficiently. The city says that optimizing and modernizing administrative procedures are among her key abilities.

In her new responsibilities, she will be actively taking part in the strategic and operational planning for office services. She has been given a mandate to make the City of Laval’s central administration more efficient.

2019 marks the year Dunton Rainville will celebrate its 65^th anniversary. Founded in 1954 under the name Beaudoin, Riel, the firm became Dunton Rainville in 1988, after integrating several other firms. Today, Dunton Rainville employs 225 people in six offices across Quebec. The firm plans to mark this important milestone with various activities for its clients and employees with the theme “65 years of passion”.

“We are particularly proud to have ensured the sustainability of our organization over the years, given the highly competitive environment in which the legal services industry operates. We have grown at the pace of the business world,” explains Jean-Jacques Rainville, Chairman of the firm’s Board of Directors.

Me Rainville believes that Dunton Rainville has succeeded in staying the course and remaining in an enviable position thanks to its fundamental values, client loyalty, sustained business development and responsible management.

“For 65 years, our clients’ interests have remained the primary concern of each member of the firm, consistent with our tradition of quality, dedication and competence. We pay close attention to all of our clients, both individuals and companies or institutions, at all times, providing them with optimal, creative and competitively priced legal solutions, according to their needs,” he adds.

The Chairman also believes that it is thanks to its team of highly qualified professionals who are driven by a desire to contribute to their clients’ success that the firm has been able to meet the many challenges it has faced over the past 65 years.

The strength of their passion and the unwavering commitment of each member of the firm have always, in his opinion, been the driving force behind its success. “We have always relied on talented people and people with heart. Our predecessors were great jurists. Their strategic vision for the future has been critical to our success and they have ensured Dunton Rainville an enviable reputation in the legal community. 

“We intend to pursue our expansion by continuing to focus on remaining close to our clients. Our objective is to maintain both the firm’s position at the top of the list of Quebec firms and our commitment to our clients and the communities where we operate. We are confident that with the support of our clients and each member of our team, we will succeed,” he concluded.

About Dunton Rainville:

Dunton Rainville LLP is a firm of 225 people, including approximately 100 lawyers, notaries and labour relations advisors, who work in our Montreal, Laval, Longueuil, Joliette, Saint-Jérôme and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu offices. Our professionals have leading-edge expertise and the firm acts in all areas requiring legal services, particularly in commercial, banking and real estate matters, labour, employment and immigration law, public, municipal, education and health law, as well as civil, insurance, construction and family law. Dunton Rainville is a member of the global network of leading law firms, SCG Legal.

(TLN) A major undertaking in active mobility was completed recently when the City of Laval finished implementation of the 100^th kilometre of cycling paths created since 2014.

The city has set itself an objective of creating 450 kilometres of bike paths between now and 2031.

Benefits from cycling

“The issues of mobility, the environment and public health are enough to convince us of the collective benefits of a permanent cycling network,” said Vasilios Karidogiannis, councillor for L’Abord-à-Plouffe and responsible for the active mobility dossier.

Of the 100 kilometres of bike path work done since 2014, there are some important ones that allow cyclists to reach downtown Laval securely, as well as Transit Oriented Development (TOD) neighbourhoods and areas where there are concentrations of employers.

A selection of bike paths

The bike paths include: The Oka-Mont Saint Hilaire path (143 kilometres long and crossing 17 municipalities); the Saint-Martin Boulevard path, from 100^th Ave. in Chomedey to Pie-IX Boulevard in Laval’s east end; the Dagenais Boulevard path, from Autoroute 13 to René-Laennec Blvd.; the Le Corbusier Boulevard path; and the Daniel Johnson Boulevard path.

Some facts about Laval and cycling: There are more than 230,000 cyclists in Laval and nearly 260 kilometres of bicycling paths; and 37 kilometres of the paths are part of the provincial Route verte bike path system.

Martin C. Barry

On Sept. 15, members of the Royal Canadian Legion’s Branch 251 in Chomedey announced the donation of a cheque in the amount of $3,000, collected by the branch during last year’s RCL poppy campaign, to the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital.

“Every year we donate to a different cause,” said Shannon Westlake, second vice- president/membership/poppy chairperson at RCL Branch 251. “This time around it happened to be the Jewish Rehab.”

Donation for aquabike

According to Westlake, the JRH will be using the money to purchase an aquabike, which is an exercise device that will allow JRH patients to enjoy the benefits of a cardiovascular workout from pedaling on a bicycle while also drawing low-impact benefits from being in the water.

Westlake said the donation to the JRH seemed particularly appropriate this year as several members of the legion branch found themselves in need and requiring the JRH’s services.

“We had some members who had strokes this year and they passed through the hospital,” she said. “They realized that the hospital was in need of one of these aquabikes for rehabilitation.”

Stroke rehab work

She said JRH patients who use the aquabike will be able to strengthen their legs while recovering from disabling strokes.

Every year, from the end of October to Nov. 10 (the day before Remembrance Day), RCL Branch 251 members conduct their poppy campaign. According to Westlake, this year’s poppy campaign will be starting on Oct. 25.

Poppy campaign coming

“We’ll be going out and asking for donations for the little red poppies that we offer,” she said. “And then whatever is donated we use to give back to the community. Sometimes we have given money to Cadets from the area. Other times we have given money to a hospital.

“We do whatever we can with whatever money we raise,” she continued. “The people who are offering the poppies and those donating money for them every year deserve to know that their money is going to a good cause.”

(TLN) There’s a new community centre now to serve residents of Laval’s Sainte-Dorothée area. Located at 996 Montée Gravel, Mayor Marc Demers was there with members of council last week to officially open it.

The building cost the City of Laval nearly $7 million. It was built in response to a growing demand for community services for the expanding population of Sainte-Dorothée.

Space for everyone

The new centre has a dance hall, a multipurpose room and a community kitchen. Spaces have also been set up to accommodate the Maison des Jeunes de Sainte-Dorothée as well as activities for early childhood.

In addition, the building is wheelchair accessible. The city is currently waiting for an expected LEED Gold certification for the building’s environmental integrity.