Transforming experiences through emotion-based care

When you spend time in Oakcrossing long-term care’s (LTC’s) Juniper home area today, something feels different.

There’s music playing. Residents and team members are reminiscing. Someone is setting the table. Someone else shares a story sparked by a familiar song. Someone is wearing an unusually colourful hat and pajamas.

“The butterfly approach has definitely brought out the best in everyone. You feel it the moment you walk through the door,” says Emily Haskett, Oakcrossing’s Project Coordinator and Butterfly Lead. “Staff are laughing with residents, giving hugs, sharing moments that feel really easy and warm. It’s very special.”

Building on peopleCare’s deep commitment to person-centred care, the Oakcrossing team spent a year exploring how to bring more emotion, connection, and meaning into everyday life in Juniper, work that led to Accreditation in the Butterfly Approach. Read Laying the groundwork for a future of emotion-based care.

“At the beginning of our butterfly journey, we could see that things needed to change. Routines were quite task focused, and meal time didn’t always feel like the kind of warm family table we all remember growing up.,” says Deb Geraci, Oakcrossing LTC’s Executive Director. “Juniper is home to 32 individuals who could be our brother, sister, mom, dad, aunt, uncle, or grandparent. And we want this to feel like their home.”

What followed wasn’t one big change. It was hundreds of small ones that transformed everything.

Brighter walls. Music throughout the day. Fresh bread and flexible mealtimes. Spaces that invite people to sit and spend time together. Opportunities for residents to take part in daily life in ways that feel familiar and are meaningful to them.

“Emotion-based care is not just about changing the environment. It’s about changing our language and changing how we interact and engage with our residents,” says Geraci.

That shift shows up in simple, powerful ways.

“One of our newer residents used to be a housekeeper,” says Oakcrossing’s Resident and Family Coordinator Jessica Boudreault. “We gave her a cleaning cart and a name tag, and now she goes around and dusts and feels like she’s working and she absolutely enjoys every minute of it.”

For families, the difference is clear and meaningful.

“It’s been quite a comfort,” says Moira Arh, whose husband Paul lives in the home. “The staff are fantastic. I overhear them talking to a resident like it’s their own loved one. They have such patience with Paul and treat him with such respect, which I love.”

“I think the biggest thing for me is that music is still part of mom’s life,” says another family member Heather Hill. “When I come into her room her stereo is on and, for people with dementia, music is very important. They may forget the words but they remember how to hum to the tune. It’s great.”.

Alongside overwhelmingly positive verbal and survey feedback from families, the Butterfly Approach has led to improvements in key quality indicators for resident wellbeing, including fewer falls, reduced pain and increased appetite, along with higher satisfaction and improved staff retention.

“Emotion-based care is our way of transforming the lives of our residents and our staff,” says Geraci. “We’re focusing on the individual as opposed to painting everyone with the same brush.”

The twelve-month journey towards accreditation asked staff and residents to try new things, to reflect, and to let go of routines that had been in place for years.

“Culture change does not happen very fast,” says Haskett. “It takes a lot of hard work. But when you see it firsthand… it’s incredible. It’s such a heartfelt moment.”

Over the year, the team completed a series of workshops, audits, and hands-on changes, gradually rethinking both the space and the way care was delivered. They involved families, tried new approaches with residents and made ongoing improvements, while staff took part in training focused on better understanding dementia and building more meaningful, person-centred connections.

Watch this video to see some of the moments captured along our journey. Transforming Experiences through Emotion-Based Care

“It feels different being able to engage with residents with all these tools and make really meaningful interactions,” says music Therapist Stephanie Corcoran. “I’m also excited to explain all the visual changes and what a difference it makes for our residents. It gives me all this energy so that I’m at my best with our residents.”

With Accreditation achieved, the team is now building on what they’ve learned in Juniper, with a focus on training more staff in the butterfly approach, environmental enhancements through the whole home and continued monitoring of KPIs to understand what’s truly making a difference over time.

The experience at Oakcrossing is helping shape how this approach could transform experiences in other peopleCare homes.

It’s also part of a broader context across the LTC sector.

As the Ontario government begins to invest in emotion-based approaches to dementia care, peopleCare’s work in Oakcrossing reflects a growing recognition of the importance of connection, belonging, and individualized support in LTC. Read Ontario Increasing Access to Dementia Care in Long-Term Care Homes

Here in Juniper, the impact is already crystal clear.

It’s in the way residents spend their days. The way staff and families connect with one another.  And the way everyone feels when they walk through the door, that this is more than a place where care is provided.

It’s home.