The director of care of this 82-bed home in eastern Ontario says some people might consider ethics a "corporate" issue, but for her it's something all long-term care homes deal with on a regular basis.

"I think it's something we need, home to home. It's all about finding the right people though," says Pam, and that's where the phone networking, conversations and contacts come in.

Pam says the committee would ideally have people with a legal background, pastoral or theorist credentials, and social work and nursing components. "You need the right mix," says Pam, who notes she could go ahead with just six people
and is aiming for June to meet for the first time.

The director of care says some people may be culled right from the home itself and she may recruit family members or past family members.

The idea for an ethics committee came to Pam when she was reviewing te existing committees at Almonte and trying to figure out how to make improvements before an accreditation year in 2005. "There's no question we deal with ethics on a daily basis. It's easy to get caught between residents and family members," she says.

As an example, Pam says a doctor may decide a resident needs a certain medication but a family member wants to blame certain behaviours on that same medication. "You have to walk a fine line," says Pam.

"It would be good to have a committee to discuss this kind of thing, to be surer of our decisions."

Pam says if any other homes have experience in getting an ethics committee together, or if anyone in long-term care has advice about the process of
creating it, she would like to hear about it. Contact Pam at Almonte at (613) 256-3095.