Community Partner Update – Issue #3, 2025
Everywhere you look at peopleCare, our teams are driving positive change, creating spaces and experiences that bring joy and vitality into our homes. From advancing teaching and intergenerational living and learning at Trent University, to empowering women here in Canada and around the globe, enhancing resident wellbeing and strengthening community connections, we’re putting innovation and purpose into action. Together, we’re reimagining senior living, celebrating meaningful moments and having a lasting impact in every community we serve.
Trailblazing peopleCare LTC home at Trent will advance teaching, research and intergenerational connections
peopleCare marked a pivotal milestone with the groundbreaking of Canada’s first LTC home located on a university campus. This innovative 224-bed not-for-profit LTC home will be part of Trent University’s Seniors Village, and raises the bar on peopleCare’s aspirations to create vibrant, intergenerational communities while reinforcing Trent’s reputation as a globally recognized age-friendly university.
Seniors, families, students and staff will enjoy access to the campus’ beautiful setting and amenities that promote lifelong learning, wellness and connection. In short, this trailblazing partnership between peopleCare and Trent will redefine how people think about aging and care.
We appreciate Minister of Long-Term Care Natalia Kusendova-Bashta and Peterborough MPP Dave Smith joining us, and we thank the government for their commitment to modernizing care and services for seniors and their families in Ontario.
A cornerstone of the collaboration is educating nearly 100 nursing and kinesiology students, as well as other disciplines, each year. We’ll also draw on the expertise of the Trent Centre for Aging & Society to research promising practices in aging and spread innovation across the LTC sector and broader health system.
Slated for completion in 2027, the Peterborough LTC home will be a major local employer, creating over 200 new jobs and showcasing LTC as a rewarding and vital career path while building a skilled, compassionate workforce.
Special thank you to our partners including D. Grant Construction, Battlefield Equipment Rentals, NexGen Excavation, AWD Contractors, Alder Concrete Group Ltd. and many more whose exceptional teams are bringing this development to life.
Read full story Trailblazing peopleCare LTC home at Trent advances teaching, research and intergenerational connections
Listen to OLTCA Coming of Age podcast Rethinking how we Create Seniors’ Communities with peopleCare President Megan Allen-Lamb, and Trent University President and Vice-Chair Cathy Bruce.
Check out how peopleCare is Designing Vibrant Communities across Ontario.
peopleCare and Trent University teamed up with the Minister of Long-Term Care Natalia Kusendova-Bashta and Peterborough MPP Dave Smith to get shovels in the ground on a new 224-bed LTC home on campus
Women leaders and changemakers Dare to Thrive
Curated by peopleCare’s women executives, the inaugural Dare to Thrive Women’s Summit in the Blue Mountains of Ontario exceeded expectations and aspirations. Over three memorable days, more than 100 women leaders explored what it means to lead through change, strengthen their impact and grow with purpose. The program blended immersive wellness experiences and transformative leadership conversations, with every detail, from sunrise yoga to meaningful dialogue, sparking connection, insight and joy. Since the Summit, the peopleCare team has been blown away by the overwhelming positive response and the lasting impact the experience has had, with stories of feeling revitalized and inspired, insights and genuine connections that continue to ripple outward from this unforgettable gathering of women leaders and changemakers.
Read the full story Visionary women leaders and changemakers Dare to Thrive
Watch this recap video that captures the awesomeness that was Dare to Thrive 2025.
Click to subscribe to the Dare to Thrive newsletter to receive your monthly boost of motivation, insight and community until our next Women’s Summit.
Thank you to our generous sponsors
A heartfelt thank you to the incredible sponsors whose support made the Dare to Thrive 2025 experience possible! We are already looking forward to next year.
Vibrancy of LTC life shines on provincial engagement day
For the second year in a row, peopleCare homes embraced the provincial LTC Community Engagement Day, a special day of advocacy, spearheaded by the OLTCA, that invites local leaders into our homes to get a behind-the-scenes look at life in LTC and celebrate the vital role homes play in our communities. More than 700 residents, staff, families, volunteers, and community partners across peopleCare homes came together this year to connect, celebrate and show their support. Combined with our annual Community Walk to Wellness, these outings strengthened already great relationships between local officials and peopleCare’s residents and teams. A highlight this year was honouring residents and families with an OLTCA LTC Community Engagement Certificate, a new initiative recognizing those who make outstanding contributions and help our LTC communities thrive. Huge thank you to our MPs, MPPs, Mayors and Councillors from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, Cambridge, Kitchener Centre, London West, Meaford, Norfolk and East Zorra-Tavistock, who continue to demonstrate their ongoing commitment to supporting LTC and the seniors we serve.
Read story Vibrancy of life in LTC shines on provincial community engagement day
Wellness centres in our homes enhance resident experience
Our personal space is our sanctuary. In LTC homes, where many areas are shared, residents’ rooms must feel private and welcoming, a place to be comfortable, safe and themselves. Yet too often, routine exams and procedures take place in these personal spaces simply because proper clinical rooms aren’t available. Recognizing that a bedroom is a resident’s private sanctuary and not the right setting for most medical procedures, peopleCare is creating Wellness Centres in our homes. Purpose-built spaces designed to deliver high-quality care efficiently and respectfully. From improved privacy and dignity to better infection control and efficiency, these spaces are transforming the resident experience and reimagining what care looks like in LTC. “A lot of thought has gone into how our homes are designed,” says Melody Fox, Nurse Practitioner at peopleCare Meaford LTC. “The Wellness Centres reflect our commitment to person-centred care, offering privacy, dignity, and a welcoming environment that makes people feel safe, comfortable and cared for.”
Read Wellness Centre clinic space enhances resident privacy, wellbeing
Nurse Practitioner Melody Fox with peopleCare Meaford LTC resident in the wellness centre
Golf, giving and global impact
peopleCare hosted our highly anticipated Putt for a Purpose golf tournament this September at the beautiful Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo, Ontario. The event sold out early, and we were thrilled to welcome so many industry-leading construction, financial, and senior living partners, vendors, suppliers, and friends for a day on the links as golfer and valued sponsors. For the second year in a row, proceeds from the event surpassed $100,000, and will be combined with home-level fundraising across our communities for MEDA. With support from the Gates Foundation and Global Affairs Canada, our collective efforts also have a potential 20X impact, fueling MEDA’s work to alleviate poverty and empower women and youth in developing countries.
Click to view video highlighting this outstanding day of golf, giving and global impact.
Why MEDA? peopleCare is sometimes asked: “Why support MEDA?” The answer is simple: like us, they’re dedicated to making the world a better place. MEDA empowers entrepreneurs in developing countries, tackling poverty through innovative business solutions. Watch this video to see how MEDA is transforming lives.
peopleCare leaders connect to purpose and ignite their impact
peopleCare leaders from across the organization recently gathered for a two-day leadership retreat designed for reflection, renewal and connection. Participants enjoyed team-building activities, taking in breathtaking views from the top of the Blue Mountains and sharing stories over a relaxed, family-style dinner. The second day focused on self-awareness, authenticity and living with purpose, inviting leaders to reflect on their values and strengths and explore how these can align with peopleCare’s priorities of transforming experiences, designing vibrant communities, innovating for tomorrow and impacting beyond ourselves. The positive impact of the Rise & Ignite retreat is being carried back into the homes by these leaders who left with fresh tools, shared language and a deeper sense of empathy and intention to help their teams flourish and carry forward the spirit of the retreat every day throughout peopleCare.
Read peopleCare’s leaders connect to purpose and ignite their impact
Rise & Ignite offered peopleCare leaders a chance to reconnect, reflect and step fully into their leadership potential
Making memories at “Camp peopleCare”
For over a decade, peopleCare residents and staff have come together at Hidden Acres in Baden, Ontario, for our annual Resident Retreat. This year, the treasured experience was affectionately dubbed “Camp peopleCare,” complete with nicknames and matching camp shirts for residents and staff alike. The retreat is designed to give residents both a sense of adventure and the freedom to choose how they’d like to spend their days, whether that meant playing corn hole, making friendship bracelets or enjoying a good book in the sunshine. Feedback from this year’s participants has once again been phenomenal, with many residents ready to pack up and head to camp next year. Creating these kinds of life-enriching experiences for residents and staff to share is at the heart of peopleCare’s mission and one more way we’re changing the world of senior living.
Read the full story Making memories at “Camp peopleCare”
Changing the world of senior living, one smile at a time
Watch our Annual Residents Retreat video on YouTube to see the fun and memories this experience creates year after year.
peopleCare thought leaders in action
IPAC Canada President-elect
Congratulations to our Director of IPAC, Francine Paquette, on her election as President-elect of Infection Prevention and Control Canada, a multi-disciplinary professional organization dedicated to preventing and controlling infections across all healthcare settings. With over 2,200 members and 17 chapters nationwide, the association provides education, networking, advocacy and communication to its members. With her expertise, experience and enthusiasm, we know Francine will make an outstanding contribution to IPAC Canada during her tenure, just as she has in her work with peopleCare.
Advancing resident-focused care in Ontario
We’re excited to share that Jenn Killing, peopleCare’s Vice President, Research, Quality and Partnerships, has been voted in as the newest member of the Board of Directors for the Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils (OARC) at it’s AGM. OARC is governed by a volunteer board made up of residents and long-term care experts. Jenn brings her experience and expertise in quality and innovation to support OARC’s work in advancing resident-focused care across Ontario.
Reimagining senior living
Along with CanAge CEO Laura Tamblyn Watts, peopleCare President Megan Allen-Lamb will co-chair the Canadian Institute’s Healthcare Infrastructure for Aging Populations conference this January, where attendees will explore how to create resilient, person-centered environments that support Canada’s aging population. From funding models to LTC strategies and innovative design, the program offers practical and aspirational insights for anyone working to reimagine senior living.
Click to register for the conference.
