BIG BIRTHDAYS
Andrews of Summerside celebrated two special birthdays in February! | p. 3
ABOVE & BEYOND Check out this month's Above and Beyond winner | p 10
residents at all our homes for
RESIDENT RECIPES
Men’s and women’s social groups are growing with a new women’s group at Park West. | p. 4-5
was on-hand to deliver flowers to our
PET THERAPY
WORKING WITH FAMILY HAS ITS PERKS
Mindy Anderson and her daughters give new meaning to the phrase “work family ” | p. 9-10 STAYING SOCIAL
This month we feature a decadent butter tart recipe from resident Evelyn Rafuse | p 4-5
Spending time with animals proven to benefit seniors and people living with dementia | p 6-7
Kent Building Supplies dropped off flowers for
Valentine’s Day. Angela, from Kent,
Andrews of Summerside residents. More photos inside
UPDATE FROM PARKHILL
Dear family members and friends of Andrews of Parkhill,
We had a beautiful February at our home
We celebrated Islander Day, Valentine’s Day, played lots of games, did manicures and enjoyed live music courtesy of the Sunshine Girls
This month we will celebrate St Patrick’s Day, play basketball and bowling We are looking forward to warmer weather and time spend outdoors again!
I hope you all have a great start to spring
Sincerely,
Natacha Landry
Team member Laura MacArthur, an LPN, and resident Anna Doucette share a laugh while walking to lunch at Andrews of Summerside
NATACHA LANDRY : DIRECTOR OF CARE
M I L E S T O N E
B I R T H D A Y S
Andrews of Summerside celebrated two special birthdays in February - Louis Praught, who turned 103, and Gladys Bernard, who turned 100. Louis was born in Grand River, P.E.I. in 1922 into a large, farming family. As an adult, he moved to Richmond, P.E.I. and worked for 45 years as a carpenter. He raised a large family of his own - 10 boys and one girl. Gladys was born in 1925. She grew up in O’Leary, P.E.I. but lived in Summerside and Kingston, Ont., as well during her life. She was a homemaker who prioritized family. She loved swimming, linedancing, sewing and cooking.
Our men’s groups keep growing. This month our Park West group got together for a game of Codenames. The game is simple, with participants split into two teams. Each team has a designated spymaster who tries to get their team members to guess the words on the board using one-word clues. The first team to guess all their words, wins. We also enjoyed donuts, coffee, tea and conversation. It was a great afternoon.
W O M E N ’ S G R O U P A T P A R K W E S
As the popularity of our men’s groups has grown, some of our homes have started women’s groups as well. Andrews of Park West’s group met this past month for trivia, donuts and coffee and tea.
A R O S E B Y A N Y O T H E R N A M E
Andrews residents were treated to Valentine’s flowers, courtesy of Kent Building Supplies. Our photographer was at Andrews of Summerside to document the delivery.
V A L E N T I N E ’ S C E L E B R A T I O N S
In addition to flower donations, our residents enjoyed special Valentine’s Day meals. Andrews of Summerside hosted a Valentine’s buffet with roast beef, shrimp, ribs, chicken and salads.
Mindy Anderson, centre, and her daughters Paige, left, and Olivia, right, give new meaning to the phrase “work family.”
‘It’s just good to spend time with them’
Working with family has its perks
A lot of people talk about “work family.” Mindy Anderson and her daughters Paige and Olivia Barry live it.
The trio work in the kitchen together at Andrews of Charlottetown. Mindy is the home’s sous-chef, Paige is a cook and server and Olivia is a dishwasher.
Working in close quarters with family might sound like a nightmare to some, but Mindy, Paige and Olivia make it work.
“I just love it,” said Mindy “I have one resident tell me all the time, she goes ‘I can’t get over Paige being the age she is and she can cook for every single one of us at once ’ It makes me really proud ”
The work arrangement didn’t happen by accident Before joining Andrews, Paige was working at McDonald’s and wasn’t happy She was interested in nursing, so Mindy suggested applying at Andrews where she’d get to experience first-hand what nurses and care staff do every day Mindy suggested Olivia apply as a dishwasher a few years later
For Paige, the best part of working with her mom and sister is getting to spend more time with them outside of the house
“It’s kind of a different side to see them as, not just at home,” said Paige, adding there have been lots of opportunities for kitchen dance breaks over the years
Olivia shares her sister’s feelings around spending more time together while at work
“Because we ’ re so busy we barely see each other at home so it’s just good to spend time with them,” Olivia said “We get to bond more and learn more about each other ”
One of those moments for Mindy was watching Olivia, who Mindy knew as notoriously shy, come out of her shell around the residents
“She actually volunteered a couple of times with Heather (the activity director), and then she she’s like ‘I really enjoyed that ’”
While Mindy and her daughters are in a unique arrangement, they aren’t the only family dynamic at Andrews Senior Care Naida and Irish Bawag have both worked at Andrews of Park West for roughly a year now Naida is the home’s activity director and Irish is an RCW For them, working together is a net positive
“My favorite part is that we have a built-in support system that allows us to help one another,” said Naida “We understand each other’s workload, so there’s no need to explain why we ’ re tired after a lo shift we just get it We also get to celebrate small and big achievements together, and even attend special company events together.”
Many of our homes have combinations of spouses, extended fam working together, something Group GM Mizan Uddin says comes the territory.
“Family is important to Andrews,” Mizan said. “We have a lot of t members who’ve been with us for more than 25 years. You get to their families and they get to know yours. We feel honoured whe team member recommends us to a family member and they’re ab join our larger Andrews work family.”
He emphasized that while Andrews values and encourages famil referrals, the company maintains a clear policy to ensure fairness equal opportunities for all employees
Naida, top, and Irish have been working together at Andrews of Park West for roughly one year. The married couple have nothing but good things to say about sharing a workplace.
