Community Partner Update
Oct 2021
Leading meaningful transformation through a focus on resident and staff experience remains a peopleCare priority, as the LTC sector turns the page on the worst of the pandemic crisis, and we see commitment across the health system and government to address long-standing gaps.
Recovering Strong: Wellness, Together
No doubt about it, the last 18 months have been tough. peopleCare has worked hard to support staff as they stepped up during this challenging time, and we’re just as committed to enabling their recovery and wellness. In the next 12-24 months, our new Recovering Strong strategy will put a range of initiatives into action across the organization. As a first step, we surveyed employees about their COVID experience and wellbeing priorities and ideas. The candid responses from close to 400 staff – almost 40% of our workforce, including about 320 frontline staff – are helping us understand current needs and where to focus our collective wellness efforts. View this helpful Infographic to see how it ties together!
Bringing more caring staff into LTC
The government’s new funding to support increased direct hours of resident care is, as peopleCare’s Chairman and CEO Brent Gingerich shared on social media, a welcome investment that will positively impact quality of life. We look forward to working together on this and other staffing strategies. peopleCare continues to do our part to help aspiring health care workers get the education, training and guaranteed employment needed to fulfill their calling to care for others. Partnering to add more PSWS to frontline quickly gave students the practical skills to succeed in healthcare and opened the door to a meaningful career, working with a multi-disciplinary team that includes registered nurses, and allied health professionals such as OT, PT, social workers and dietitians. “peopleCare gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams by becoming a PSW. I always saw myself as a helping professional and can’t picture being in a more rewarding role.”
COVID-19 Staff Vaccination Update
Since COVID-19 vaccines became available, peopleCare has strongly encouraged and supported staff to get immunized to protect themselves and those around them and we’re proud of our high vaccination rates. As Ontario faced a fourth pandemic wave, peopleCare made an important decision to update our COVID-19 staff vaccination policy and require those who work and volunteer with us to be fully immunized. While not an easy decision, we remain committed to take action as highly transmissible variants pose significant risk to seniors, unvaccinated individuals and those with health concerns. We continue to provide staff with supports to make getting their vaccine as easy as possible and, along with our community partners, keep working to raise awareness of the value of vaccines for all: Open letter to Oxford County community. Huge thanks also to our Public Health partners for supporting booster shots for LTC residents this month.
Reimagining aging as we build for the future
peopleCare is moving swiftly to build new LTC homes, and redevelop our older homes in communities around Ontario, so more seniors can receive care, in modern and beautiful homes, surrounded by family, friends and neighbours. Drive by our new Meaford location and you’ll see exciting progress: it won’t be long until we welcome residents into the new 128-bed Home in Fall 2022. In other news, preliminary plans are complete for our Tavistock and AR Goudie redevelopments. peopleCare’s highly anticipated upcoming new LTC Home at Trent University was noted in the media recently as an example of what we like to call the “Art of the Possible” – innovative new approaches to helping seniors age well through vibrant, intergenerational, resident-centred campus of care models. Read: Will Ontario take the ‘bold’ road and breathe life into long-term care? Stay up-to-date on all our projects by checking out Our Developments at www.peopleCare.ca
In the next Community Partner Update: peopleCare’s virtual Walk to Wellness for staff & residents, and collaborative breakout sessions on our Family Caregiver Resources and virtual dance for residents at This is Long-Term Care 2021.
For a printable version of this update, please click here.
