The Empathy Exchange: The Power of Partnership with Family Councils Ontario

In this episode, I chat with Sam Peck and Liane Pelissier from Family Councils Ontario (FCO)

You’ll hear how they define the role of a family council within long term, care, as well as some misconceptions about the role of family councils, from both the home and family perspective. You’ll also hear how FCO is focused on helping homes rebuild the trust between families and staff, as we continue to recover from the last few years. You’ll also hear some interesting perspectives on conflict and ways to work through the frustration and misunderstandings to achieve more collaboration and partnership.

Whether you work in a home or at the corporate level, or are a family or a family council member, this conversation will give you insights and clarity around the power of partnership with your family council.

Here are the bio’s for this episode’s guests:

Sam Peck, Executive Director Family Councils Ontario

Sam (she/her) is passionate about helping people and groups achieve their goals. In her 15 years with Family Councils Ontario (formerly Family Councils’ Program) she has supported thousands of family members and long-term care home staff to improve their work to achieve the best possible outcomes and meaningful impacts. In her role as Executive Director, she focuses on building and maintaining relationships with funders, stakeholders, and interconnected organizations to carry out activities that support FCO's mission & develop strategies that enable the organization to create positive change within the long-term care sector.

Sam holds an Honours B.A. from York University. A dedicated lifelong learner, she also holds Advanced Client-Directed Case Management and Volunteer Management post-graduate certificates from Humber College, Project Management Certificate from the University of Toronto, a Masters Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the Schulich Executive Education Centre, and is currently working on a Voluntary Sector Management Certificate from Ryerson University.

In her spare time, Sam is an avid athlete, reader, volunteer, and sci-fi fan. Fun fact: she has 3 cats!

Liane Pelissier, Client Services Manager with Family Councils Ontario.

Liane has been with FCO for 2 years. She is passionate about Making a Difference and helping others, but most particularly those living, working and family members in LTC. She has 19.5 years of experience of working in a LTC home as a Resident and Family Services Coordinator, helping support residents and families as they transitioned into LTC. Part of her role was being the Staff Liaison for the home’s Family Council. Her years of experience helped her to develop great skills in communicating with and supporting families, residents, and staff in LTC. Liane holds a background in Social Work. She is also Pieces and U-first Trained. She is a certified Gentle Persuasive Approach Coach through Behavioural Specialist of Ontario. Through the years she has gained knowledge, experience and training in Palliative Care, Customer Service and Person Centered Care Approach. Throughout her career in LTC she has been involved in Strategic Planning, Goal Planning, Accreditation and Ministry Compliance. In her personal life, Liane loves to spend time with her family creating memories.

You can find Family Councils Ontario at www.fco.ngo

You can reach Sam at speck@fgo.ngo and Liane at Liane.Pelissier@fco.ngo

You can find out more about me and the work I do at DeborahBakti.com or email me at Deborah@DeborahBakti.com. I’d love to hear from you.