Forum of nonprofit long-term care facilities for older adults: partnership with support networks for the institutional care of older adults

This study describes the history, methodology and evolution of the Forum of NonProfit Long-Term Care Facilities for Older Adults (LTCF Forum das Instituicoes Filantropicas de Longa Permanencia para Idosos) of the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Region, Brazil, and contextualizes its path towards the normative advances that regulate these institutions nowadays. By reading and analyzing the reports of the meetings that occurred between the years 1999 and 2015 a descriptive, qualitative and retrospective study was performed. We observed that the network articulation provided by the meetings during the 16 years of activity can help with the organization, planning and maintenance of LTCFs, improving the quality of the services in accordance to the current legislation, promoting the approximation and engagement of partners in the search for professionalism of long-term institutional care and excellence in care for older adults, and on the improvement and qualification of professionals, processes and institutional protocols.