Over the past few years you have often heard me describe our group as being “awesome” ….. our collective “awesomeness” is evident by having met 97% of the required national accreditation standards … and coupled with the pile of thank you cards we regularly receive from families and friends … believe it … we are truly awesome!
In brief, the past 2 ½ years have presented a few significant challenges in terms of Covid and staffing … and as a group we not only rose to those challenges, we met them head on as we continued to provide excellent care for our residents and their families. And furthermore, we lived our core values and we supported each other!
So, let’s put the past few years in the rearview mirror and move on!
In 2024, we have three key focus areas; Catching Up to Technology, Occupational Health and Safety and Hearing the voices of our staff, our residents and their families.
Catching Up to Technology, we have started the process of moving from a paper-based system to a computerized system to improve efficiencies in Maintenance, Scheduling, Finance and Human Resources. Technology will make its’ presence known in Clinical Services as we continue to transition to an electronic version of medication administration known as e-MARS as well as exploring the implementation of electronic charting and continuing to boost our Inter RAI resident assessment capabilities.
Secondly, Occupational Health and Safety requires a significant investment in supporting a more robust Occupational Health and Safety Team …. a team that will be supported with training and the time to meaningfully participate in discussing safety concerns and advising Senior Leadership on occupational health and safety matters. Safety is a core value!
And third, Hearing the voices of our staff, our residents and their families …. how do we capture your voices? Our recent accreditation survey reminded us of the importance of recruiting your feedback which thereby influences our decision making. How do we engage everyone in providing feedback … what’s the best way to do this…. website, bulletin board ….. we need you to tell us!
If I was to ask folks what our biggest challenge is in 2024, all would likely offer “staffing”. Although I would agree, I also believe every storm cloud has a silver lining and a clear example is the enrichment of our cultural diversity …. all the new staff with the beautiful accents that have made Canada their home!
Lastly, our exciting new build! We anticipate the location to be announced in early 2024, and please know there is still time to provide feedback on the design plans which are posted in the Main Dining Room….. sticky notes and pens are on the top.
What a joy it is for me to be a part of this group! Together we have created a wonderful culture and in my opinion the glue that holds us all together is our commitment to our Core Values: Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence and Safety. You are my heroes!
Wishing you all the very best in 2024!
Terry MacIntyre, CEO