Thousand Islands Region The Francophones A community to discover French-Language Health Services for the local francophone population 1
Summary Slide French speaking population in the Thousand Islands Region ACFO Mille-Îles overview Kingston becomes the 25th Region designated under FLSA Highlights of the French Language Health Services Study for the South-East Region Health needs & recommendations for the Francophone population 2
The Thousand Islands Region in numbers (2001 Census) Persons of French mother tongue: 11,210 Persons of English mother tongue: 382,585 Persons who know both official languages: 38,065 Population of other language: 23,535 Total population: 417,330 3
Evolution of the Francophone Population between 1971 and 2001 120 00 11210 100 00 10495 10595 8960 8 000 6880 6 000 5880 5790 4 000 4035 4235 4670 2 000 1835 2000 2170 1540 1555 1535 2605 2015 1710 3415 2590 2250 3210 2440 2985 2895 2670 2605 6 95 34 5 39 5 385 4 95 550 4 80 160 135 165 210 260 225 345 0 196 5 19 70 19 75 19 80 19 85 1990 19 95 2 00 0 2 005 Y e a rs Fro ntenac Lenno x & Add ingto n Leeds & Grenville Prince Edward Hasting s Total Tho usand Islands Reg ion 4
Distribution of the Francophone Population According to the Counties Frontenac 42% Lennox & Addington 6% Hastings 26% Prince Edward 3% Leeds Grenville 23% 5
The historical presence of Francophones in Ontario and in Kingston The presence of Francophones in Ontario dates back to 1610. In the Thousand Islands Region, the French were established long before the incorporation of the city of Kingston in 1846; that is to say in 1673, Francophones began to locate in Kingston and later settled in other cities such as Brockville, Belleville and Trenton 6
ACFO Mille-Îles Founded in 1973, ACFO Mille-Îles is a non-profit organization that fosters the development, fulfillment and vitality of the Francophone community in the Thousand Islands Region ACFO Mille-Îles represents more than 11,000 Francophones living between Trenton to the west and Brockville to the east All Francophones and Francophiles have access, at no cost, to the services offered by ACFO Mille-Îles ACFO Mille-Îles intervenes in the fields of communications, education and training, health, social and community services as well as economic development 7
ACFO Mille-Îles: Mandate To raise the awareness of the elected officials and head of institutions to the needs of Francophones; To unite the diverse interest groups in the Francophone community; To intervene at all government levels in order to defend and promote the French-speaking community. 8
ACFO Mille-Îles: Commitments To promote and enhance the Franco-Ontarian community in order to advocate the values it contributes to the Ontarian society; Political representation of the needs and rights of the community to receive services in their mother tongue; To ensure our presence at the local and regional levels; To share the point of view on issues of concern to the Francophone community. 9
A vibrant Francophone community with the wind beneath its wings The Thousand Islands Region relies on institutions and associations that show leadership. More than 30 associations and institutions, with complementary and distinct missions, exist in those areas: Youth Social Education Aged Culture Religion Politics 10
The French Language Services Act Adopted in November 1986 Implemented in November 1989 Guarantees access to provincial government services in French through head offices and through offices located in or serving the province s designated areas Designated areas are those with a significant Francophone population 11
May 2006 : Kingston becomes the 25th designated area in the province Designation effective May 1 st, 2009 Planning timeframe of three years to ensure that Francophone community are made aware of their rights and that services in French are offered in an active manner 12
Implementation Planning Committee for the Implementation of French-Language Services in Kingston To ensure an efficient implementation, a joint committee has been put in place partnering the Office of Francophone Affairs, multiple ministries and agencies who are working together with the Francophone community. 13
Ongoing talks within Health Social & Community services Sectors SE LHIN French Language Health Services Network of Eastern Ontario ACFO Mille-Îles are working closely to improve access to FLHS in the SE Region KFL&A Children s Services Steering Committee involving the MCSS and MCYS as well as the Francophone community 14
Provision of Health services until now 15 No services offered in French, therefore no demand No demand, therefore no services offered in French
Expression of needs 1991 : Feasibility Study on a Community School Centre which also demonstrated the need for a plan to develop a Community Health Centre for the local Francophone population; 1995 : French community strategic planning was set as a priority to improve access to FLS in the Health and Social services fields 2004 : Research done by ACFO on the Availability of French Language Resources in the Sectors of Health and Social Services in the Kingston Region 16
2006 : ACFO with the help of FLHSN made an Assessment on French-Language Health Services in Ontario s South East Region 2006 : Kingston adopts the French Services Language Act 2006 : SE LHIN stated FLS as one of its 7 priorities in the Integrated Health Services Plan for the South East Region 17
Highlights of the 2006 study To depict a portrait of the state of Frenchlanguage Health services in the region Study conducted among TPAs delivering Health services in the South East Region Gathered data from 44 out of 121 health services agencies 18
Three key findings The availability of French-Language health care is fragmented, uneven and random in nature Agencies have shown a willingness to provide FLHS but under certain conditions Necessity to develop a comprehensive plan geared to the Francophone population to ensure access, quality and continuity of FLHS 19
The availability of French-Language health care is fragmented, uneven and random in nature As it stands, a Francophone individual who manages to obtain FLHS in the region receive the service by luck rather than the services being mandatory This is understandable since the region is in the initial stages of the planning cycle regarding FLHS. 20
Agencies have shown a willingness to provide FLS but under certain conditions Agencies agree to the process if there are appropriate measures taken to help target and complement it s use, a reference system would have to be put in place to ensure not only it s success but also proper use of the services Several agencies suggest that one organization act as a liaison ("focal point") or as an information / help centre ("clearinghouse"); Above all, agencies must know where to refer people and not necessarily have to provide all FLHS 21
Necessity to develop a comprehensive plan geared to the Francophone population Develop a plan to organize FLHS which will take the entire system into account Individual plan (Agencies plan) will be required to fit into the overall process SE LHIN, FLHSN and the local francophone community must develop the overall plan that will help guide agencies in developing their individual plan. 22
Report on Existing services Bilingual Employees 18 out of 44 agencies reported having bilingual employees who are able to provide FLS 59.1 Bilingual FTE out of 3881.9 paid FTE employees None reported having any mandatory bilingual positions 23
Community validation and needs Francophones experience significant difficulty when seeking French- Language health care services For example, French-Language mental health services where obtained only by making frequent trips to Ottawa The inability for the elderly to access French-Language long term care 24
Most pressing health needs More family doctors Long term care Home care Mental health resources Mental health patients lack living accommodation in the community Services for elderly Services for children Need for patients to be understood in French 25
Issues and Gaps Patients cannot take charge of their health if they cannot communicate what their needs are Difficulty communicating means patients cannot properly give an informed consent Communication impacts include: wrong diagnosis, wrong tests administered, wrong treatment plan 26
Issues and Gaps Elderly patients or patients who have cognitive problems often revert to their first language and can struggle communicating and even explaining their symptoms. This often leads to the misinterpretation of the situation. Language barriers can taint the message which may results in a misdiagnosis or improper treatment decisions 27
Suggestions for improving the Continuum of FLH Care Services Need to assess the requirements and needs of the Francophone population Need to have access to human resources that can provide FLHS, at both an employee & volunteer level Ensuring service in French at the system s point of entry 28
Report Recommendations 1- that SE LHIN and the French Language Health Services Network of Eastern Ontario in cooperation with ACFO Mille-Îles develop a complete, detailed plan for FLHS in the South East Region 2- that ACFO Mille-Îles fully take part in the planning process aiming to ensure access to a wide range of FLHS in the South East Region 29
Report Recommendations (cont.) 3- ensuring that a point of access to direct clinical French-Language health services be created in the South East Region - multi-service : providing different types of health services linking social with educational - multidisciplinary : providing the most comprehensive basic service to meet public needs 4- that ACFO Mille-Îles play and important role in raising awareness within the community and disseminating information regarding FLHS in the South East Region 30
Questions 31
Coordinates ACFO Mille-Îles R.R. 2, 760 Hwy 15 Kingston, ON, K7L 5H6 Tel: 613-546-7863 Fax: 613-546-7918 www.acfomi.org Jeannine Proulx, Executive Director Email: info@acfomi.org 32