PeopleCare celebrates 40 years of service
Focus on people has made company a success, says CEO
Wednesday October 1, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
The long-term care sector has changed in the 40 years since peopleCare Inc. opened its first long-term care home in Tavistock, but the one thing that has remained constant is the company’s dedication to the people it serves, says Brent Gingerich, peopleCare’s president and CEO.

This commitment to the residents living in the company’s three long-term care homes and to the staff members who make the high level of care delivered in the homes possible has been peopleCare’s recipe for success.

“We really have a unique culture in going the extra mile for our staff and everyone who is touched by our services,” says Gingerich. “We have felt it important to try to be leaders in the sector in our own way and try to put quality care front and centre.”

An example of peopleCare’s dedication to being ahead of the curve when it comes to commitment to quality was its goal to be one of the premier homes in Ontario to attain accreditation status with the Canadian Council of Accreditation. The Tavistock home became accredited in the 1980s and continues to hold that designation, Gingerich notes.

In the 1980s and early ’90s, peopleCare took its concept of resident and employee dedication to the U.S., when it opened 15 long-term care homes in Texas, which have since been sold.

The fact the company has a strong retention rate is another factor which has helped deliver top-notch care to residents over four decades, he adds.

“We are extremely proud of our staff,” he says. “We have a lot of long-time staff and we have a lot of loyalty and dedication (towards) the people that touch our residents’ lives every day. This constantly impresses me.”

Sharon Walker, peopleCare’s executive director of nursing and personal care, is one of those staff members.

Walker has been with the company for about 30 years, and in that time she has seen peopleCare change along with the long-term care sector.

“I’ve just seen amazing changes,” she says, adding there have been two major changes of note. “There’s (improved) clinical expertise now in long-term care, plus we’re seeing more (partnerships) with allied health professions to provide care.”

Gingerich’s grandparents, Roy and Ruth Schlegel, founded the company in 1968 when they opened their first long-term care home in Tavistock with the mission of serving people in need.

From there, Gingerich’s parents, O’Derald and Mary Gingerich, his uncle Don Schlegel and uncle and aunt, Robert and Myrna Schlegel, took over the home’s operations. Gingerich became president and CEO in 2001.

Today, peopleCare owns three long-term care homes in southwestern Ontario with a fourth being scheduled to open in London in late 2009.

Gingerich says company growth is one of peopleCare’s goals for the future.

“We’ve been seeing some opportunities to expand and add some more homes to our family,” he says.

Do you have a story you would like to share with The Morning Report? If so, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051 ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.

If you have feedback on this story, please call the newsroom at 800-294-0051 or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.