Charlottetown Informer Jan 2024

CHARLOTTETOWN

JANUARY 2024

HELPING HANDS

Three Oaks student volunteers at Andrews of Summerside recently raised enough money to give our residents a Tim Hortons coffee social every month for all of 2024. Olivia Gallant and Chelsey Mirasol recently raised $875 by posting on social media and asking for donations. Pictured from left to right are: activity director Annelize Malan, Chelsey Mirasol, Olivia Gallant and Director of Care Kim Jay.

CORE VALUES

HOLIDAY FUN

GETTING TO KNOW. . .

Lisa Ramsay is this month's Core Values Leader. | p. 3

Check out photos from home holiday parties. | p. 5

Meet Maggie (Manju Ananthakrishnan Nair), a caregiver at our Park West home . | p. 6

REFLECTING ON ACHIEVEMENTS “Fast away the old year passes. . .”

The line is from the famous Christmas carol “Deck the Halls” and there’s a lot of truth to it. We are all busy with work, family and other obligations that 12 months can go by without us even realizing it. This time of year offers us the opportunity to reflect on all the hard work, our successes and what we’d like to accomplish in the coming year.

As a team, we’ve made significant progress toward a better resident and team experience. There’s too many to go over in detail here, however I will touch on a few highlights. (If you’d like to read a full list of our accomplishments and goals click here.)

Physical upgrades to our homes like the new active pathway at Andrews of Stratford, new fence at ProTem, updated bath and shower spaces as well as communal spaces in our homes all go a long way to improving our resident’s experience.

Likewise, we’ve expanded our internal training programs, streamlined care and other policies across all our homes and added important positions like registered dietitian.

These changes help us build on the already exceptional care we provide our residents.

In terms of experience, we hosted our first chef competition, which was very popular with residents. We’ve also worked with our chefs and dietary teams to create consistent menus across all our homes.

For our team, we’ve established a social committee, a long-term service award, family day and have been working to streamline wages through the creation of wage grid that better reflects market trends, employee experience.

Looking ahead, we’re excited about our new RN Education and Communication Lab, replacing the remaining 6 old nursing beds and starting the expansion of Andrews of Charlottetown.

All said, we’ve had a lot of wins over the past few years and we should recognize that.

Progress can be slow but every step forward is a step in the right direction.

Thank you for all your hard work throughout 2023 and I wish you all a happy and successful 2024!

Sincerely,

Mizan MISSION STATEMENT It is Andrews Senior Care's goal to respect the dignity and autonomy of our residents; to provide a safe and secure environment; to promote involvement of residents and their family by inviting input and feedback related to the care and services we provide; to value the leadership, expertise and contributions of our staff through empowerment that will lead to excellence in service.

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CORE VALUE LEADERS Every month we will be recognizing a team member who we believe is a Core Values Leader. This team member exemplifies one, or all three, of our values through their actions and character.

LISA RAMSAY : CAREGIVER ANDREWS OF CHARLOTTETOWN Lisa provides excellent care to our residents.

She goes above and beyond to ensure every day is a positive experience for our residents. A timely example would be how at Christmas she dresses as Santa or an elf and sings carols with the residents.

We often hear comments from family that they appreciate and feel so comfortable with the care that Lisa provides to their loved ones. We are fortunate to have Lisa on our team.

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ABOVE & BEYOND DECEMBER WINNERS EPI ESPARA : CHARLOTTETOWN JOINED IN 2014 Epi was recognized for going above and beyond.

Our Above and Beyond winner this month is Epi Espara.

Epi is a hard-working, dedicated team player. We are fortunate to have her at Andrews of Charlottetown.

Epi started working at Andrews 9 years ago. Initially, she worked as a caregiver and in the dining room before moving in housekeeping. Prior to joining our team, she worked as a private nanny.

Her favourite part of the day is getting to spend time with our residents.

“I enjoy time with the residents,” she said. “They are caring. I consider them my second family.”

When Epi is not working, she volunteers her time at our home helping with church services and enjoys walking the Confederation Trail.

OUR OTHER HOMES

Kelly Tingley : ProTem

Shianne Retieff : Stratford

Shawn Burns : Summerside

Donna LeClair : Park West

Sukhwinder Dhillon : Parkhill

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Holiday celebrations Our teams celebrated the holidays with parties all through December.

Below are a few photos from festivities with our P.E.I. and New Brunswick homes.

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GETTING TO KNOW. . .

MAGGIE (MANJU ANANTHAKRISHNAN NAIR) Maggie has been a caregiver at Andrews of Park West for approximately 1 year.

She loves helping people and, in her home country of India, used to dress as Santa and and hand out gifts during the Christmas season.

She’s kept that tradition alive since moving to Canada and even dressed as Santa in the Charlottetown parade in November.

WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER THE PERFECT MEAL? The perfect meal, for me, is any food made with love and care, served with a smile. Sharing it with friendly people and extending that warmth to living beings completes the essence of a truly fulfilling dining experience.

COFFEE OR TEA? Coffee.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE? Notting Hill.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK? “You can Heal your Life “ by Louis Hay.

WHAT TALENT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO HAVE? I would most like to have the talents of writing and public speaking. The ability to articulate thoughts effectively and craft compelling narratives is a transformative skill.

WHAT DO YOU ADMIRE MOST IN PEOPLE? I admire resilience and kindness in people. The strength to endure challenges and the warmth to spread compassion create a powerful combination that inspires.

IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU LIVE? I'd choose to live on a tropical island surrounded by books, delicious food, and the company of friendly people and animals.

Paradise is where knowledge, flavours, and companionship meet.

WHAT MOTTO DO YOU LIVE BY? Be happy and share a smile!' Embracing joy is the ultimate expression of our free will.

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MARKING MILESTONES Every month we will be highlighting team members who've reached significant milestones with us.

Kim Jay has been an Andrews team member for 15 years.

Prior to joining Andrews, she worked in longterm care at a public home. When her role changed, requiring her to no longer be on the floor, she decided to look for work elsewhere. A friend recommended Andrews and the rest is history.

“It was perfect,” she said. “I got to come here and do hands-on nursing for quite a few years.”

Eventually she moved into a supervisory role and is now Director of Care. She said she’s always felt supported by the wider Andrews team and appreciates the way Andrews treats both staff and residents.

“How they value the staff, how they value the residents,” she said. “They aren’t residents, they are partners in care. They get to decide a lot more about their day to day life than they do in the public homes. At Andrews, person-centered care is more than a term it’s a way of life.”

Melissa Allen has been an Andrews of Charlottetown team member for 18 years.

Prior to joining Andrews, Melissa worked in early childhood education and studied psychology at Mount Saint Vincent University.

Her path to senior care started when her grandmother got sick. Melissa, who was living in Halifax then, would travel home to P.E.I. on weekends to be with her.

Caring for her in those moments sparked something in Melissa and she decided to pursue a career as an LPN. She began working at Andrews as a caregiver while studying to be an LPN. Her experience was so positive, upon graduating she began working at Andrews full-time.

“I loved it here,” she said. “I loved the people. You get to know the residents. It’s like a family and I really liked that more than the hospital setting.”

Nearly 20 years later, that sentiment remains unchanged.

“I feel the same,” she said. “We have a good team.

Leadership is good. Management is supportive.”

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RESOURCES/GAMES

Are You Feeling Stressed or Overwhelmed?

Take advantage of our Employee Assistance Program through Lifeworks.

This program is available 24/7 online or over the phone and services to help you with work, family, health, money, and life. The following is information on how you can access the program: Toll-free support line: 1-877-207-8833 TTY: 1-877-371-9978 Through their website login.lifeworks.com Username: murphy Password: eap

Are you, a friend or family member looking to buy or sell a property?

You could earn up to $250. Read below to learn how.

Jessica Gauthier Human Resources Advisor hr@andrewsseniorcare.com 1-902-894-3439 ext 2422

If you have any questions for our HR team about benefits, ADP support, Immigration Program support or any other questions please contact me.

Community Cash 50/50 Weekly 50/50 draw in support of support not for profit groups including Murphy's Pharmacies Community Centre and the Holland College Athletics Department. Anyone can play for just $2/week.

We are pleased to offer a new Referral Program between Provincial Realty and Andrews Senior Care. The Referral Program will work as follows: Each employee that retains a Provincial Realty real estate advisor, or refers a friend or family member who uses their service for selling or purchasing properties over $150,000 will receive a gift card as a token of our appreciation.

For more information, please contact Provincial Realty at 902.892.2266 or email us directly office@provincialrealty.ca.

DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE BENEFITS ​ aid vacation time starting at 4% per year (Approximately 2 weeks) P Health and dental coverage, of which we cover 50% of the costs A pension plan where we match your contributions of up to 4% of your salary annually A fitness subsidy of up to $250 annually Discounts with local companies, including pharmacies, home heating oil providers and restaurants

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