Hello everyone,
I hope this new edition of the Gazette finds you in good health. This time, we are offering a two-month program, followed by a special holiday edition. Each season, the CVA Gazette reflects the vitality, diversity, and resilience of our Francophone community. This fall, several significant events remind us how much our seniors are at the heart of our history and our future.
On September 25, we proudly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian flag. This symbol, carried by generations of Francophones, embodies a history of struggle, transmission, and solidarity. The seniors in attendance recalled with emotion the first acts of activism, the flag-raising ceremonies in schools, and the importance of continuing to keep our language and culture alive.
This fall, we will begin with National Seniors Day, celebrated on October 1. This day invites us to recognize the human and cultural richness that older adults bring to our society. At the CVA, this recognition is a daily occurrence: in our conversations, activities, and shared smiles, we see how much seniors are builders of memory and social bonds.
In the same vein, we will welcome representatives from OSANO, who will talk to us about informal caregiving. The support provided by loved ones to people who are losing their independence is an invisible but essential pillar of our healthcare system. It allows thousands of seniors to remain in their homes, surrounded by loved ones and with dignity. It lightens the load on public institutions while strengthening human bonds. At CAH, we know that many of our users are also caregivers, and we want to better support, listen to, and equip them.
These events remind us that aging is not about fading away, but about continuing to contribute, inspire, and pass on knowledge. By forging links between generations and valuing knowledge and experience, we are building a stronger, more inclusive, and more humane community.
It is in this spirit that I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that CAH has now begun the accreditation process with Accreditation Canada. This is a structured process that aims to evaluate and improve the quality of services offered to our users, particularly Francophone seniors.
Accreditation is much more than a formality: it is a voluntary quality initiative, conducted in collaboration with a recognized organization, which allows us to validate our practices, strengthen our governance, and ensure that our services meet the highest standards in the community and health sector.
This process mobilizes our entire team, including staff, management, volunteers, and partners, around a common goal: to provide a safe, respectful, inclusive environment focused on the needs of the people we support. It involves a thorough review of our policies, procedures, communication tools, and evaluation mechanisms.
But beyond documents and indicators, accreditation is also an opportunity for collective reflection. It allows us to take a critical look at our practices, build on our strengths, identify areas for improvement, and strengthen our organizational culture based on transparency, collaboration, and innovation.
For CAH, this initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to growth and responsibility. It demonstrates our dedication to users, caregivers, families, and the French-speaking community as a whole.
We will keep you informed of the next steps and results of this initiative, which will enable us to continue building, together, a dignified, humane, and exemplary living environment.
Thank you to everyone who brings this vision to life every day. Thank you to our seniors, caregivers, volunteers, partners, and our dedicated staff.
Together, we are making CAH a place of life, dignity, and pride.
Fabien Schneider
Assistant Executive Director of CAH