Comrade David Blacquiere, Royal Canadian Legion 1 shakes hands with Andrews of Charlottetown resident Ewan Stewart ahead
Charlottetown’s Remembrance Day service. More photos inside.
UPDATE FROM CHARLOTTETOWN
Dear family members and friends of Andrews of Charlottetown, It was a busy November at our home
We honoured our veterans at our Remembrance Day service, took part in the ornament swap with other Andrews homes, had our annual Christmas card photos done and enjoyed plenty of live music
This month we will be celebrating Christmas, taking part in the mayor ’ s annual Christmas tea, decorating cookies, hosting special holiday musical guests like the Charlottetown Police choir and enjoying a special festive meal at our monthly men ’ s group.
I hope you all have a beautiful holiday season and I wish you all the best in the new year!
Sincerely,
Team member Laura MacArthur, an LPN, and resident Anna Doucette share a laugh while walking to lunch at Andrews of Summerside
KENDRA LONG, LPN : DIRECTOR OF CARE
C H R I S T M A S C R A F T S
Residents at all our Island homes took part in a Christmas decoration swap. Each home made some ornaments to be shared with another Andrews home.
Annelize Malan has been working on the Light Up Our Lives project for nearly a year and is excited to see if finally come to fruition this month.
Christmas at home
Andrews of Summerside hosts first ever Light Up Our Lives event
Residents at Andrews of Summerside are getting an early Christmas gift this year as the home hosts the first ever Light Up Our Lives Christmas event and fundraiser.
Initiated by Andrews of Summerside activity director
Annelize Malan, the event will see community businesses and organizations donate decorated Christmas trees to be displayed along the driveway of the home throughout the Christmas season The public is encouraged to visit, with Andrews of Summerside accepting non-perishable food donations to the food bank
“This is an awesome way to bring the Christmas spirit to our residents,” Annelize said “There are so many people that can’t go out to have the opportunity to go look at the lights ”
The project has been almost a year in the works and involved a lot of phone calls and planning
“It’s been a lot of hours,” said Annelize “Making banners, making invitations, talking to people over the phone ”
Annelize stressed that this is a community project, not just an Andrews of Summerside project
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
Jeanette Gallant and Bill Martin, owner of the Water Street Bakery, pose with their donated tree outside Andrews of Summerside.
“I wanted to have community commitment and community participation,” she said “Community involvement is important because it gets people to talk to one another. By bringing in the community, we have the mayor, the minister, people from Sobeys, come in and have a chat with the residents. They get the opportunity to just speak to other people and see other faces that they don’t see every day.”
For resident Adele Gardiner, who was instrumental in starting the Lights for Life at the Prince County Hospital, having a similar event at her residence means a lot.
“It takes me back to when I was doing it at the hospital,” she said. “We had a lot of cold fingers.” She added, the effort was worth it when she was with the hospital and it’s worth it today at Andrews of Summerside.
“It keeps the community together,” she said.
Trees were donated between November 23 and November 29 The official lighting is scheduled for Monday, Dec 2 at 6 p m The trees will remain up and lit until January 5
Local businesses and community organizations gathered at Andrews of Summerside on Saturday, Nov. 23 to erect their donated trees. The official lighting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m.
Making a connection
Men’s groups aim to get male residents socializing more
Men living at Andrews Senior Care homes have a new outlet for socializing – a monthly men ’ s group
The idea for the group was initiated by Andrews of Stratford activity director Sharon Woods-Bryenton, who saw a need for more social opportunities for the men at her home.
“The population is heavily female at senior’s homes,” she said “We always have a good turnout of men at our activities but I thought it would be nice to have a time just for them to get together and talk about sort of men ’ s stuff.”
According to research, including a 2018 study published by the National Institutes of Health, male seniors are at a particularly high risk of experiencing loneliness and are often less likely to engage socially than women
“Some of them were living alone (before moving to Andrews) and this is a way for them to connect and make friends,” she said. “If you go into a Tim Hortons or a McDonald’s early in the morning, you’ll often see a group of men, five to six, sitting around and there’s this comradery and I thought that would be nice to start for our men at Andrews of Stratford ”
The group, led by Nathan Rochford, content manager and Andrews’ story-teller, started in January 2023. The first meeting had about four residents but now averages more than 12 participants. Each meeting residents are encouraged to talk about their lives, their careers, their families while enjoying coffee, tea and a sweet treat. Often, the group will try a board game or cards, something simple that they can play while carrying on a conversation
Nathan Rochford, Andrews Senior Care’s storyteller and content manager, plays cards with a group of men at Andrews of Stratford.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Nathan “I love hearing their stories They’ve led such interesting lives We have guys who grew up during the Blitz in London, former farmers and teachers One guy ’ s father was an old-school cowboy in the mid-west in the 1920s. It’s amazing what you can learn just chatting.”
Michael Morrison, whose parents Ivan and Anita live at Andrews of Stratford, is a regular at the men ’ s group.
“I always call it the meeting of the generations because I’m so young and I get to hear what life was like for a lot of these residents,” he said “It’s a living history lesson for me ”
The response from the residents has been positive as well.
If you go into a Tim Hortons or a McDonald’s early in the morning, you’ll often see a group of men, five to six, sitting around and there’s this comradery and I thought that would be nice to start for our men at Andrews of Stratford.”
“We had a few men move in recently and when I tell them there’s one morning that’s just for the men ’ s club their eyes light up, ” said Sharon.
She added, some residents would like to see the men ’ s group expand.
“I have some that ask for it more than once a month, so that might be something we look at doing eventually,” she said. “I think it could grow, too. I think it could grow to some outings together, maybe some sporting events, movies, we could go fishing. I think whatever we find that they have in common or would enjoy doing, I think we could grow the program for sure. ”
Currently, there are men ’ s groups at all five Andrews Senior Care homes Charlottetown, Park West and Stratford are led by Nathan and meet monthly, while Summerside hosts a regular men ’ s breakfast
Andrews of Summerside residents take part in the men’s breakfast club, a regular event aimed at getting more male residents socializing with each other.
‘It
makes me relaxed’
Andrews resident has been doing embroidery for over 75 years
Gonda Visser has been doing embroidery art since she was six years old and at age 84, she’s showing no signs of slowing down
“I makes me relaxed,” said Gonda, a resident of Andrews of Stratford. “If I have a very busy day, then I always, through my whole life, in the evening I would take (a project) and work on it. It’s wonderful to do that.”
She learned the craft in grade school in her home country of the Netherland and was infatuated it from day one.
As most people who do knitting, crocheting or other kinds of needlework art, she started with the basics. But, over the years her skills improved and she decided to devote more time to the craft. She went on to study the art in school in Rotterdam and has attended seminars around the world
“I love them,” she said of the seminars “So fantastic All likeminded people ”
Today, Gonda specializes in needle painting, an advanced form of embroidery that mimics the brushwork of oil painting, adding shade and volume to the work An average piece done in this style takes Gonda approximately three weeks to complete
Gonda is a member of the Needlework Guild of Canada
ABOVE & BEYOND
NOVEMBER WINNER
Every month our team and residents recognize one team member for showing exceptional care
HEATHER CAMPBELL : CHARLOTTETOWN JOINED IN 2022
Heather was recognized for going above and beyond
Our Above and Beyond winner for November is Heather Campbell
Heather is a dedicated team member who adores our residents She works hard to make sure their days are full of fun and excitement
Heather started working as our Andrews of Charlottetown activity director in 2022 Prior to joining our team, she worked as a support counselor with the Alzheimer’s Society.
For her, the most rewarding part of her role at Andrews is the relationships she’s formed with residents
“Getting to know the residents and getting to be a part of their lives, that’s the biggest one for me, ” she said
Outside of work, Heather enjoys crocheting and playing music, especially on her flute Heather is also a member of the P E I
Symphony Orchestra
Take a look at some of our activities planned for this month!
DECEMBER
9
1:30 PM - MUSIC WITH JUST WEE TWO (ANN & MOLLY)
10 AM - CATHOLIC MASS
10:45 AM - EXERCISE 1:30 PM - MUSIC WITH THE MUSIC MAKERS
HAPPYBIRTHDAY CLAIREMACDONALD
9 AM - NEWS & VIEWS 10:15 AM - EXERCISE 1:30 PM - MUSIC WITH CROW BLACK CHICKEN
10:15 AM - EXERCISE
1:30 PM - MUSIC WITH DAVE MOORE
6:30 PM - MUSIC WITH JUST FOR FUN
HAPPYBIRTHDAY DOROTHYTAYLOR 10 AM - CATHOLIC MASS
10:45 AM - EXERCISE 1:30 PM - MUSIC & MANICURES
10 AM - CATHOLIC MASS 10:45 AM - EXERCISE 1:30 PM - CAROL SING
PM - MOVIE SNACKS & HOT CHOCOLATE
9 AM - NEWS & VIEWS
10:15 AM - EXERCISE
2 PM - ARMCHAIR TRAVELINDIA
HAPPYBIRTHDAY
9 AM - NEWS & VIEWS 10:15 AM - EXERCISE 2 PM - CHURCHPROTESTANT SERVICERUTH DOCKENDORFF, CORNERSTONE BAPTIST
9 AM - NEWS & VIEWS 10:15 AM - EXERCISE 2 PM - CHURCHPROTESTANT SERVICERUTH DOCKENDORFF, CORNERSTONE BAPTIST
HAPPYBIRTHDAY PATRICIAO'DONNELL
9 AM- NEWS & VIEWS 10:15 AM - EXERCISE
2 PM - MAYORS CHRISTMAS TEA
HAPPYBIRTHDAY PATRICIASHEPPARD 1:30 PM - DECORATING GINGERBREAD MEN
- CHURCHPROTESTANT SERVICERUTH DOCKENDORFF, CORNERSTONE BAPTIST 3 PM - KNITTING CLUB 1:30 PM - CHERRYL & THE CHRISTMAS CAROLERS 1:45 PM - BINGO
MOVIE MATINEE
GAMES
Sudoku
The object of the puzzle is to fill the remaining squares, using all the numbers 1–9 exactly once in each row, column, and the nine 3 × 3 subgrids
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
