during a recent scenic bus trip.
ABOVE & BEYOND
with getting residents on and off the bus during the trip.
I want to take a moment to highlight the significance of diversity and inclusion within our team Our diverse backgrounds, languages, and perspectives are not just unique aspects of who we are, but they are strengths that enhance our ability to provide exceptional care to our residents
The Power of Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity within our team brings a wealth of experiences and viewpoints that enable us to solve problems more creatively and deliver more compassionate care Inclusion ensures that every team member feels valued and heard, fostering a workplace environment where everyone can thrive By embracing our differences, we can work together more effectively and support one another in achieving our common goals.
Building Relationships and Team Cohesion
Building strong relationships is fundamental to our success It’s essential to approach our work with a mindset of collaboration, putting aside our individual egos for the greater good of the team When we focus on building relationships first, we create a foundation of trust and respect, which is crucial for achieving our shared objectives
Effective Communication and Professionalism
Given our diverse linguistic backgrounds, it’s important that we communicate in a common language that everyone understands Clear and effective communication helps us avoid misunderstandings and ensures that we are all on the same page. Maintaining a professional approach in our interactions is key to fostering a respectful and supportive workplace culture
Fostering a Friendly and Supportive Environment
While we may not all be friends outside of work, adopting a friendly and supportive approach makes our work environment more pleasant and rewarding Kindness, respect, and a willingness to help one another go a long way in creating a positive atmosphere where everyone can feel valued and motivated.
Together, let’s continue to celebrate our diversity, build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and support each other in our mission to provide outstanding care for our residents Your contributions are invaluable, and I am grateful for the dedication and professionalism each of you brings to our team
Sincerely,
We celebrated Father’s Day at our homes this past month. We enjoyed live music, special meals and other treats.
We held a Hawaiian-themed party, took part in art therapy, played fun games and enjoyed the warm weather!
Adele Gardiner shows off a quilt she made for her granddaughter. Adele, a lifelong quilter, is worried future generations aren’t taking up the craft.
Former quilter Adele Gardiner wants to see more young people taking up the craft
Adele, a resident at Andrews of Summerside, started quilting when she was 9-years-old. She was taught by her mother, who was taught by her mother.
What started as a pastime as a young girl, became a lifelong passion. After years of quilting as a hobbyist, she went on to open The Village Craft House in North Bedeque, P.E.I. with a team of other women, selling quilts to clients around the world. She saw first-hand the joy quilting brought, not only to the people buying the finished product, but to the people making the quilts as well. She hopes future generations don’t lose that tradition.
“Nobody’s brought up with it in their homes,” she said. “I’d like to see somebody training a lot of the younger people.”
It's a sentiment shared by many in the quilting community, including Polley Whitlock, owner of Stitch in Time Quilting Studio in Hunter River, P E I
While Adele stepped away from her quilting business in the late 1990s, Polley opened her shop in 2015 She sells handmade quilts and offers classes One thing that’s stood out to her is the average age of the people interested in learning to quilt is generally 65 or older
“Nowadays there’s very few people who do it by hand,” she said “I wish people would ”
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Quilting has been part of the cultural, excuse the pun, fabric of Prince Edward Island for centuries The practice was brought to the Island by French colonists in the 1600s These quilts were primarily functional, serving as a source of warmth during the winter months They were also much simpler in design, being made of repurposed clothing, blankets, horsehair and wool.
“It was essential,” said Polley “Quilting at that time was more about keeping your family warm ”
At a time when labour was divided along gender lines, quilting was primarily the work of women Girls would begin learning to quilt early in life and would develop the skill throughout adulthood.
With the Industrial Revolution came more affordable and more available fabric By the end of the 1800s, decorative quilts were becoming more common It was also during this period that quilting bees became a form of social work in many communities Bees would often happen during the summer, between the planting and harvesting Women would gather together to work on a quilt, socialize and share food and drink.
These traditions of working communally and passing down skills from mother to daughter remained strong throughout the late 1800s and into the 1900s It wasn’t until after the Second World War, when a combination of urbanization and an increase in women working outside the home, began impacting the popularity of quilting The rural lifestyle that birthed quilting bees was disappearing.
“There’s just not enough interest as far as I can see, ” said Adele
Despite Adele’s and other veteran quilters concerns, there are younger people taking up quilting – albeit differently than Adele’s generation
Maggie J. Whitten Henry, 38, began quilting in 2023 and now belongs to three quilting groups – Kindred Sprits Quilt Guild, the Modern Quilt Guild and Young and Millennial Quilters, a Facebook group that brings together young quilters from around the world She’s met a number of quilters similar to her, who grew up appreciating the craft and took it upon themselves to learn
She believes young people are quilting, but are less likely to join a realworld quilting guild than previous generations As someone who enjoys the social aspect of meeting regularly with other quilters, that’s something she hopes will change
“I love it,” she said, adding she’d like to bring quilting into new and different spaces
For her, quilting is the perfect artform, combining creativity, portability, technical skill and utility
“It’s very satisfying and practical,” she said “I’m definitely enjoying it so far ”
Debra had pitched the idea of raising money for Christmas lights to her sister, who volunteers with the Girl Guides, after seeing how happy residents were with their creative indoor decorations in 2023 Her hope was to raise enough money to decorate the halls on all three floors of Andrews of Parkhill
“On the second floor we had enough lights where we kind of cris-crossed them back and forth all the way up the hall and the residents thought it was amazing,” she said “They could walk down the hall, they thought they were in Las Vegas or something They all wanted to live on the second floor. They’re already excited. They’ve all been asking ‘when are you decorating for Christmas?’”
Barb Pye, activity director at Andrews of Parkhill, helped spearhead the second-floor decorations in 2023. She’s thankful for the Girl Guide’s generosity and is excited about the creative opportunities afforded by the donation.
“I can’t describe the feeling it gave to the residents,” she said. “To hear them saying ‘it’s magical’. This year, nobody is going to do without. To see these little ones (Girl Guides), to see them doing this for our residents, it was just a really good feeling.”
Team members at Andrews of Parkhill will start decorating in late November and decorations will remain up until January.
MANPREET : STRATFORD JOINED IN 2022
Jenny was recognized for going above and beyond.
Our Above and Beyond winner for June is Jenny Watson
Jenny is extremely organized, takes care of our residents needs efficiently and with care She is a pleasure to work with and we are fortunate to have her as part of our team
Jenny started working at as a housekeeper at Andrews of Stratford almost three years ago After eight months in the role, she became Facility Manager
While her work revolves between managing the building and coordinating the housekeeping team, she said the best part of each day is the residents
“I enjoy getting to know them and spending time with them,” she said When she’s not at work, Jenny enjoys walking her dogs Her favourite spot to take them is Kinlock Beach
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
W H A T W O U L D Y O U C O N S I D E R T H E P E R F E C T M E A L ?
Any one I share with family! A good roast turkey dinner has always been my favourite
C O F F E E O R T E A ?
Tea, especially Earl Grey
W H A T I S Y O U R F A V O U R I T E M O V I E ?
Anything Christmas, specifically Miracle on 34th Street
W H A T I S Y O U R F A V O U R I T E B O O K ?
I’m not a great reader (never seem to have time) I read slow and like Mary Higgins Clark
W H A T T A L E N T W O U L D Y O U M O S T L I K E T O H A V E ?
To sing! Don’t get me wrong, I sing just not well, and am often asked not to
W H A T D O Y O U A D M I R E M O S T I N P E O P L E ?
Their resilience So many have been through so much and they keep going A positive person I admire so much
I would only want to live in P E I ! But I love to travel There are so many beautiful places in the world I want to see them all Hawaii family vacation was by far my favourite.
W H A T M O T T O D O Y O U L I V E B Y ?
Sad to say “Poor planning on your part does not make an emergency on mine” It has served me well in all aspects of my life I’m a people pleaser and tend to do too much My husband says I’m always trying to put 10 gallons in a 1 gallon bucket!
Mihaela Calin has been a ProTem Memory Care team member for six years.
Prior to joining ProTem, Mihaela worked for a number of years as a nurse in hospitals
Her experience since starting with ProTem has been overwhelmingly positive
“Having nobody when we moved to New Brunswick, it was like a second family,” she said “We treat everyone like they were our family ”
The most rewarding aspect of her role as Director of Care is knowing her team is making a real difference in the lives of the residents and their families
“We always think, this is the resident’s home and we are just here to accommodate their needs,” she said She added, communication is the key to success tp providing quality person-centered care
“I always try to include (team members) and take their opinions when we have to make changes,” she siad “Or when we have to accommodate certain resident needs, I always discuss with the staff first.”
Every month we will be highlighting team members who've reached significant milestones with us.
Epi Espara has been an Andrews of Charlottetown team member for 10 years
Prior to joining Andrews, she worked for a number of years as a livein nanny and, before that, a midwife in her home country of the Philippines
“I gave immunizations to children, did prenatal for visiting pregnant women and we would do clinic once a month,” she said of her time as a midwife
Since starting at Andrews she’s worked a variety of jobs including in dietary and caregiving She’s currently a housekeeper and enjoys working closely with our residents on a daily basis.
“I enjoy chatting with the residents,” she said. “I’m away from my family and they are mature, so I can learn from them.”
She added, her peers and leadership team have been consistently helpful and supportive over thd past decade.
“It’s good,” she said. “We treat each other kindly and everybody is good at helping each other.”
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.
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
Jessica Gauthier Human Resources Advisor hr@andrewsseniorcare com 902-368-8520
If you have any questions for our HR team about benefits, ADP support, Immigration Program support or any other questions please contact me
Cash 50/50
Paid vacation time starting at 4% per year (Approximately 2 weeks)
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