Concerned Friends: A Voice For Quality in Long-Term Care

Concerned Friends: A Voice For Quality in Long-Term Care Concerned Friends is dedicated to reform of the long-term care system and improvement of quality of life for residents.

Every year our volunteers assist hundreds of families looking for help in choosing a long-term care home, or in resolving a problem within a home. We answer calls from across Ontario on our toll-free line. Our website has lots of helpful information about how the system works. We bring problems to the attention of the Ontario Ministry of Long-term Care, and we partner with other organizations toward improving the lives of all long-term care residents. Since 1980 our work has been supported entirely by supporter donations. If you would like to learn more about us and support the work that we do, please visit our website at www.concernedfriends.ca

We are sharing a new resource developed by The Local - a non-profit online magazine covering health and social issues in...
06/29/2026

We are sharing a new resource developed by The Local - a non-profit online magazine covering health and social issues in Toronto.

This resource is a dashboard that provides, in one place, access to three types of information about any long-term care home in the province of Ontario: results of inspection reports, Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), and provincial financial penalties.

The tracker can be accessed at: https://thelocal.to/dashboard/

In addition to this resource, we encourage individuals and families to review inspection reports, tour homes and speak to current residents and families as they consider options for Long-Term Care. Concerned Friends provides a handy checklist (available in the Resources section of our website) with topics and questions to cover as families take next steps.

On Monday, Concerned Friends released their analysis of Ontario’s inspections of Long-Term Care Homes in 2025. The full...
06/18/2026

On Monday, Concerned Friends released their analysis of Ontario’s inspections of Long-Term Care Homes in 2025. The full report and our recommendations can be accessed at www.concernedfriends.ca

Following a review of all Long-Term Care Ministry Inspection Reports, the following critical issues emerged:
- Fewer than 50% of Ontario LTCHs received a proactive compliance inspection (PCI) during the year.
- Abuse by staff, Neglect by staff, Infection Control and Safety are central to the well-being of residents. Unfortunately, these are longstanding areas needing improvement.
- Nursing Care, Care Plans and Medication Issues are central to resident care.
- Responsive behaviours reflect the increasing rate of dementias, mental health challenges and challenging behaviors of people referred to long-term care homes. Sexual and physical assaults of residents by residents with dementia continue.
- Relationship of Inspection Program with Quality Improvement. The oversight of long- term care homes relies heavily on the inspection process.

For over 40 years, volunteer-run registered charity Concerned Friends has been advocating for quality, safety, and dignity in Long-Term Care Homes. The full report on 2025 inspections of long term care homes, including suggestions for improvement shared with the Ministry of Long-term Care and the Ontario Government, can be found on our website at:https://concernedfriends.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2025-Report-Card-on-LTCH-Inspections.pdf

Join Concerned Friends on Thursday, April 23 from 7:00 to 8:00pm for our next installment of our Long-term Care Educatio...
04/02/2026

Join Concerned Friends on Thursday, April 23 from 7:00 to 8:00pm for our next installment of our Long-term Care Education Webinar Series.

Measuring Compliance with Ontario Long-Term Care Regulations
with Dr. Poland Lai

This presentation reports results from a project intended to examine why and in what circumstances long-term care homes comply with regulatory requirements, and when they do not.

Poland Lai is Associate Professor with York University's Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. Dr. Lai’s research and teaching interests include the rise of the regulatory state, compliance and enforcement, and regulation inside government.

Please register at the link to secure your spot: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/QDJMvAtGSyea_26ZH_j2Cg

Concerned Friends of Ontario Citizens in Care Facilities (Concerned Friends) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s effort...
04/02/2026

Concerned Friends of Ontario Citizens in Care Facilities (Concerned Friends) welcomes the Government of Ontario’s efforts to build new Long-Term Care (LTC) homes through investments by the Building Ontario Fund and for providing an additional $139.4-million (2 per cent increase) in annual funding for sustainability of LTC. However, despite these commitments, we remain concerned that these investments are not enough to achieve significant improvement in the LTC sector. While we recognize these investments, they do not address structural issues in LTC including staffing, accountability, and care models.

Visit our website to learn more about our specific recommendations and calls to action: https://concernedfriends.ca/2026/04/long-term-care-funding-and-direction-is-lacking-in-ontarios-2026-27-budget/

Concerned Friends will continue to advocate for a system of LTC that provides evidence-informed, safe and quality care for Ontario’s increasingly complex senior population who require access to services that meet their diverse medical, mental health, social and emotional needs.

For more than 40 years, Concerned Friends of Ontario Citizens in Care Facilities (Concerned Friends) has been advocating for a system of long-term care (LTC) that provides evidence-informed, safe and quality care where clients have a full continuum of long-term care options, including small group long-term care settings, supportive housing and home-based care, must be adequately funded and monitored to ensure equitable access.

Every year, as part of their annual budgeting process, the provincial government consults with the community on spending...
01/21/2026

Every year, as part of their annual budgeting process, the provincial government consults with the community on spending priorities. This year, like many others, Concerned Friends has used this opportunity to highlight the many challenges in long-term care and to advise the government on how to direct funds to achieve meaningful improvements.

In general, our submission focuses on the need for a major shift in long-term care from large, for-profit institutions to small not-for-profit home-like settings. We also talk about the need for increased investments in the workforce – everything from improved training and professional development to increased numbers of staff to meet the complex needs of residents.

You can view our submission at this link:https://concernedfriends.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026-27-Concerned-Friends-Pre-Budget-Submission-FINAL.pdf

We’d love to hear your feedback. Send your comments to [email protected].

Concerned Friends is looking for dedicated individuals to share their skills and knowledge by joining our Board of Direc...
01/14/2026

Concerned Friends is looking for dedicated individuals to share their skills and knowledge by joining our Board of Directors.

Do you have skills and/or expertise in the areas of: communications, fundraising, grant writing, law and/or policy development that you can utilize to support the organization’s mission and goals?

Do you have personal or professional experience with the long-term care system?

Are you interested in collaborating with other advocates to support ongoing change that benefits those living and working in long-term care?

Learn more at: https://www.charityvillage.com/job/director-4-positions-259603

Please share with your networks.

Happy New Year from Concerned Friends! Sending best wishes for 2026 to all supporters, advocates, members, community par...
01/01/2026

Happy New Year from Concerned Friends! Sending best wishes for 2026 to all supporters, advocates, members, community partners and residents and families of those in Long Term Care.

Happy Holidays from Concerned Friends! We wish you and yours a peaceful holiday. Note: Our office will be closed from D...
12/24/2025

Happy Holidays from Concerned Friends! We wish you and yours a peaceful holiday.
Note: Our office will be closed from December 25 to January 4.

Looking forward to continuing our important work once again in 2026!

Join us on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 7:30pm as we host Dan Levitt, British Columbia Seniors Advocate. We are excited...
12/17/2025

Join us on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 7:30pm as we host Dan Levitt, British Columbia Seniors Advocate. We are excited to have Mr. Levitt back to talk about his role, the work his office is doing to highlight and address systemic needs and issues for seniors, and the knowledge he can share with us in Ontario as we work to improve the lives of seniors here.

Please join us! Registration is free and all are welcome. Go to this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/MI8SZPbSQRW3X5-7q0ZMMA #/registration

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130 Merton Street
Toronto, ON
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