Communicating Purpose
Offering Autonomy
“Our core values are compassion and caring,” confirms Renate Sainsbury, the General Manager of Operations. “We are all in it together, and we believe in the same things. We are focused on the strengths of the residents, their families and the staff.”
Fostering autonomy means that staff has choices in their work life.
The LPN role is embraced and appreciated by the Lifestyle Options leaders. “Our Building Managers need to have clinical skills, and also be open to learning about the business part of the job, like budgeting and time management,” says Renate. Kevin Capowski, Operations Manager adds, “I can’t manage a building on my own without having clinical knowledge – we absolutely need nurses as Building Managers.” Mohamed Shaw was an accountant who came to Canada from Guyana almost 20 years ago,
and worked night shifts as a janitor before going to NorQuest to take the LPN program. “I realized the only way up was through education,” he says. Today, he is the Director of Care and Building Manager at the Terra Losa Lifestyle Options site. “You have to see the entire vision – this isn’t just bricks and mortar – we all need to build a sense of community, because we are working in people’s homes,” Mohamed adds. “I believe we all have a role to play to serve humanity – with love, compassion, caring and respect.”
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Rosemarie Bruff-Campbell is a new LPN grad who is the Nursing Supervisor on the area dedicated to residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s. She’s also new to Canada, and moved from Jamaica to work for Lifestyles Options. She supervises four Health Care Aides, and is forming her own leadership philosophy. “Communication is key to build respect. I need to let staff know that we are here as a team, and that we sit down together to figure out the best way to work things out,” Rosemarie says. It is crucial to have autonomy as a team to make decisions. A Health Care Aide may notice that a resident isn’t eating well, so she can confer with
the Nursing Supervisor, and they can arrange to bring in the chef or a dietician to collaboratively solve the problem.
Opportunities for Mastery “I have had a lot of learning over the past ten years,” admits Michelle. “Professionally as a nurse, I have had to enhance my skills and my confidence. On the business side, I’ve learned to think about any friction as teaching moments.” The organization offers opportunities for continuing education to become better, and the >
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