LEA is taking Woodland Villa residents around the world

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Armchair travel program uses videos, slideshows and music to help residents experience other cultures

A Woodland Villa life enrichment aide (LEA) is being commended for a program he’s created that’s taking residents to far-away places while remaining in the comfort of the Long Sault, Ont. long-term care home.

Every month, Nicholas Merizzi dedicates a whole day to his armchair travel program, which engages residents in the cultures of countries across the world.

Residents look forward to the globetrotting program, which features props such as videos, slideshows and music to give residents a feel for the featured country of the day.

For many residents, the program brings back fond memories of their travels; for others, it’s a way to learn about countries and their people.

“(The program) goes over really well with the residents, especially the ones who have done lots of travelling,” says Woodland Villa life enrichment co-ordinator Lisa Doran.

“Nicholas starts off in the morning, and he might do something like trivia. In the afternoon they will sing and have slideshows. There is a whole bunch of stuff that is involved with it.”

While Nicholas spearheads the program and organizes the events, other life enrichment team members provide support.

Lisa says Nicholas will let her know what’s needed for an armchair travel day, and she and other team members will help with backdrops and decorations.

Lisa says Woodland Villa residents enjoy programs where they can learn about other cultures and experience the sights, sounds and tastes of other countries.

“We did Oktoberfest last month; the residents really enjoyed that, with the German music and the decorations and the different types of German beers – that was a huge success as well,” she says.

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Fall flavours, community engagement and pirates highlighted life at OMNI in October

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Indulging in fall flavours, community engagement and a day dedicated to pirates – these are among the many highlights of life in OMNI Health Care long-term care homes in October.

Just before Thanksgiving weekend, we visited Springdale Country Manor to attend a favourite event that was both engaging and delicious: the annual pumpkin pie social.

About 15 residents attended the Oct. 6 event, which saw them go through nearly three large pumpkin pies, much to the delight of one of the social’s organizers, life enrichment co-ordinator (LEC) Sonia Murney.

Sonia notes that special treats like pumpkin pie are a great way to get people to eat and socialize.

“Everybody loves pumpkin pie,” she told The OMNIway, while prepping pie slices for residents. “And we always offer it to the staff as well.”

Between slices of pie, team members engaged residents in a discussion about how to make the perfect pumpkin pie, and everyone shared their favourite tips.

Some residents were quick to point out errors others were committing when trying to make the perfect pie crust.

“You can’t overwork the pastry,” one resident advised a staff member.

At Streamway Villa, a representative from the Cobourg Police Service (CPS) stopped by to help build a community relationship and deliver a presentation about fraud prevention to protect residents from rising telephone scams targeting seniors.

Acting detective James Egas explained how so-called “grandparent scams” are committed by fraudsters who play on people’s emotional vulnerabilities in order to get their financial information.

Streamway life LEC Laurie Kracht says there was a large turnout for the presentation, and residents paid close attention throughout the session, asking Det. Egas questions afterward.

Aside from being a valuable educational session for residents, the presentation also opened the door for future community partnerships with the CPS, Laurie says.

“This was a perfect opportunity to get back into the community and bring (the police) in,” she says. “Moving forward, they would love to come back to the home in the future.”

Meanwhile, at Village Green, residents and team members once again celebrated a different kind of event, one that has become a part of the Selby, Ont. long-term care home’s culture.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is precisely that – a day dedicated to people talking like a pirate that dates back to 1995.

For the past two years, Village Green has joined the celebration by playing games with pirate themes, encouraging people to dress like pirates and, of course, talking like pirates.

LEC Ulana Orrick says one of the benefits of the day was that it engaged residents of all abilities in an entertaining program that generated lots of excitement.

“The residents all had a lot of fun,” she says.

Pleasant Meadow residents win two ribbons in Norwood fair craft contests

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‘The residents were pretty proud of themselves’

Pleasant Meadow Manor residents and team members were hoping to pull off a big win with their crafts entries at this year’s Norwood Fall Fair, and for their hard work, they earned two ribbons.

A terracotta pot and a basket that were decorated by residents both earned second-place honours at the fair, which ran over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Pleasant Meadow life enrichment co-ordinator Kim Williams says residents look forward every autumn to entering crafts and baked goods in the fair’s contests, so winning ribbons for their entries is always a big deal for them.

Other items residents entered in the fair’s contests included wall decorations, door decorations, a Pleasant Meadow Manor scrapbook and homemade fudge.

The Norwood Fall Fair returned this year for the first time since 2019. The event, which has been a highlight of autumn in Norwood since 1868, was cancelled for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every September, residents get to work making crafts and preparing baked goods to enter in the fair’s contests. Residents win prizes for their crafts and baking entries almost every year, Kim says.

Fall Fair organizers supply the home with a list of crafts and baking that residents can enter. The Pleasant Meadow Manor life enrichment team presents the list to residents for them to decide what they would like to work on for entries.

About 12 residents worked on crafts and baking for the fair this year, and lots of hard work was put into the entries which made the wins even sweeter, Kim says.

“The residents were pretty proud of themselves,” she says.

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Fall Prevention Month organizers urging people and organizations to generate ideas to reduce fall risk

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Falls are the No. 1 cause of hospitalization resulting from injury amongst Canadians aged 65 and older

November is Fall Prevention Month, an annual Canadian campaign aimed at raising awareness of the impact fall-related injury has on the greater health-care sector and generating ideas to prevent falls from happening.

As part of the month, people and health-care organizations are urged to focus on raising awareness of the importance of fall prevention by promoting fall prevention in the workplace as well as on social media by sharing successful best practices.

On its website, the Government of Canada says falls are the No. 1 cause of hospitalization resulting from injury amongst Canadians aged 65 and older.

The website also notes that falls have an adverse effect on seniors’ quality of life as well as a negative impact on the greater health-care system.

In 2018, the direct cost of falls resulting in injury amongst Canadians 65 and older was $5.6 billion, the government says.

OMNI Health Care long-term care homes have a strong focus on fall prevention. Physiotherapy, exercise programs, toileting regimens, family education and ensuring home areas are properly lit are among the initiatives homes take to mitigate falls.

Physiotherapy and exercise programs help enhance mobility. Assisting residents with regular toileting helps decrease the risk of a person trying to stand up on their own to make their way to the washroom. Making sure areas are well-lit helps people see where they’re going.

The Fall Prevention Month website is asking people and organizations to collaborate to promote fall prevention awareness and share ideas.

“Together we can raise the profile of fall prevention and encourage everyone to see their role in preventing falls and fall-related injuries across the lifespan,” the website says.

Click here to learn more about Fall Prevention Month.

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Woodland Villa residents couldn’t go to a pumpkin festival, so a pumpkin festival was brought to residents

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The local community came together to help the home host its own version of Pumpkinferno

When an outbreak at Woodland Villa prevented residents of the Long Sault, Ont. long-term care home from taking a much-anticipated trip to see hand-carved pumpkins on display at a Halloween festival, family members, staff and the local community came together to bring a festival to residents.

Residents had been looking forward to attending Pumpkinferno, an annual festival at Upper Canada Village with more than 7,000 hand-carved pumpkins on display, so they were saddened to learn they wouldn’t be able to make it this year.

Then a family member had an idea to host a similar event at Woodland Villa so residents wouldn’t miss out. And that’s how the “Woodland Villa Inferno” was born, says Lisa Doran, the home’s life enrichment co-ordinator.

The Woodland Villa team reached out to the community for support and got a “tremendous” response, Lisa says.

Generous local farmers donated 168 pumpkins. Local elementary and high-school students joined family members, staff and residents to help carve jack-o’-lanterns.

When the work was done, carved pumpkins and decorations adorned Woodland Villa’s two new courtyards, and about 30 residents got to see the spectacle on the evening of Oct. 28.

Residents who couldn’t make it outside still got to enjoy the view by looking out their windows onto the courtyard, Lisa says.

“We had a bunch of decorations outside and we had music playing and we brought the residents out so they got to see all the pumpkins and the decorations and get the full effect – and they absolutely loved it,” she tells The OMNIway.

“This was an amazing idea from a family member, and so we ran with it.”

Lisa says the community support the home received to make the pumpkin display possible was inspiring.

“This was the first time we have really worked with the community since COVID started,” she says. “We were really impressed with the feedback we got and with the people who wanted to help out to make this happen.”

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Leafs lose season opener, but the day was still a big win at Streamway Villa

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Residents and team members celebrate all things hockey during annual event


There’s nothing like a hockey game to bring Canadians together, and there’s no day during the regular NHL season that gets fans more revved up than opening day.

The Streamway Villa life enrichment team tapped into that enthusiasm on Oct. 12.

As has become a tradition at the Cobourg, Ont. long-term care home, residents and staff dedicated the Toronto Maple Leafs’ opening game to all things hockey.

During the day, residents and team members wore their favourite hockey jerseys, T-shirts and caps. Residents were treated to beer and popcorn and got to play hockey trivia, explains life enrichment co-ordinator Laurie Kracht.

In the evening, everyone gathered to watch the Leafs play the Montreal Canadiens.

It’s NHL tradition that the Maple Leafs – who were clearly the crowd favourite at Streamway – and Canadiens play their first game of the year against each other.

This year’s opener, which was played in Montreal, saw the Habs beat the Leafs 4-3.

Last year residents and team members also got together to watch the opening game of the season. The Leafs beat the Habs 2-1 in that contest.

While most of the residents and team members are Maple Leafs fans, Laurie says there were a couple of Habs fans in the crowd.

One resident Habs fan staged a mock hockey fight with life enrichment aide Chelsea Tinney, a Leafs fan, for fun, which added another layer of entertainment to the evening.

“(The Habs fan) was our jokester for the evening; he used to live in Montreal, so that was pretty funny,” Laurie says.

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Village Green residents spend a day talking like pirates

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For the second straight year, residents and team members celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day

It may be an unusual day, but International Talk Like a Pirate Day has become a part of the culture at Village Green.

For the second straight year, the Selby, Ont. long-term care home has celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day with pirate-themed activities and by encouraging everyone to talk with their best pirate accent.

While International Talk Like a Pirate Day is Sept. 19, the event was postponed until Sept. 26 so residents and staff members could honour Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral, notes Village Green life enrichment co-ordinator Ulana Orrick.

Between phrases that may have included things like “shiver me timbers!” and “weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen!” residents enjoyed dressing up in pirate apparel and visiting a tattoo parlour that had been set up.

A popular event of the day was a “minute to win it” digging-for-gold game, Ulana adds.

There was also an educational component to the day, with residents learning about the history of pirates and competing in pirate trivia.

According to several online sources, International Talk Like a Pirate Day was conceived by friends John Baur and Mark Summers of Oregon, USA, in 1995 during racquetball game.

As the story goes, one of the men let out a loud, pirate-like “aarrr!” after sustaining an injury on the court, and from that, an idea was born.

Ulana says one of the benefits of the day was that it engaged residents of all abilities in an entertaining program that generated lots of excitement.

“The residents all had a lot of fun,” she says.

If you have a story you would like to share with The OMNIway, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

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OMNI’s exceptional food quality and team members’ love for their work shine through during March Madness contest

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Between March and September, The OMNIway showcased examples of the amazing food residents in OMNI Health Care’s long-term care homes enjoy, prepared by dedicated team members who are committed to their art.

The March Madness recipe challenge encouraged nutritional care team members to choose their favourite recipes and enter them in the bracket contest, which was similar to sports playoffs.

During the contest, nutritional care managers and cooks prepared their favourite meals, plated them and took photos that were sent to OMNI head office. The photos were accompanied by the name of each meal and its recipe.

Eighteen recipes were submitted, and team members had fun showcasing their talents, which was exactly what Chris Weber, OMNI’s operations manager of nutrition and food service, was aiming for when he created the contest.

Once the photos and recipes were posted online, OMNIway readers and OMNI team members voted for their favourite recipes. The contest ran each week until early May.

The winning recipe was a Mediterranean omelette created by Country Terrace nutritional care team member Josephine Goddard. The omelette is a medley of spinach, eggplant, red pepper, mushrooms, onions, feta cheese and garlic.

What truly shone through during this six-month story series was how much nutritional care team members enjoy their work and how they marry their love of food with their dedication to residents.

Team members shared how they were inspired to create the recipes they entered, and there were some interesting stories behind these meals.

One team member shared a childhood memory of the meatball stew her mother would make; another was inspired to submit the recipe for the roast turkey he often makes for Sunday lunch.

What stood out during the March Madness contest was how team members wanted to share their favourite food memories with the residents they serve.

That’s a special kind of commitment.

Police engage Streamway residents in fraud prevention

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The Cobourg Police Service hosted an information session to raise awareness of a spike in phone scams

A representative from the Cobourg Police Service (CPS) recently led an information session at Streamway Villa to raise awareness about a rise in telephone scams aimed at seniors in the area and to help protect residents from becoming victims.

Knowing many long-term-care home residents have their own phone lines, the police department reached out to Streamway Villa in September to offer this service, explains Laurie Kracht, the home’s life enrichment co-ordinator.

Acting detective James Egas explained how so-called “grandparent scams” are committed by fraudsters who play on people’s emotional vulnerabilities in order to get their financial information.

Most often, fraudsters pose as family members in trouble and needing money; some will pretend to be police officers or lawyers telling the potential victim that a loved one is ill, injured or in jail and needs money, he explained.

Residents were told the best defence against becoming telephone fraud victims is to never give out any personal or financial information over the phone.

Some residents explained they have received such calls, but because they were aware of the scam they hung up, which is the correct action, Det. Egas explained.

Laurie says there was a large turnout for the presentation, and residents paid close attention throughout the session, asking Det. Egas questions afterward.

Aside from being a valuable educational session for residents, the presentation also opened the door for future community partnerships with the CPS, Laurie says.

“This was a perfect opportunity to get back into the community and bring (the police) in,” she says. “Moving forward, they would love to come back to the home in the future.”

Laurie says any long-term-care home staff looking to offer a fraud-prevention session to their residents can contact their local police service for information.

If you have a story you would like to share with The OMNIway, please contact the newsroom at deron(at)axiomnews.com.

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CPSW 2022 focusing on continuously improving safety for older adults through dialogue and action

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The 18th annual campaign runs Oct. 24-28

Canadian Patient Safety Week (CPSW) kicks off today (Oct. 24), and this year’s campaign is emphasizing the importance of continuously improving safety for older adults through dialogue and action.

On its website, CPSW organizer Healthcare Excellence Canada states that conversation is the catalyst for creating a stronger safety culture across the greater health-care continuum, which is why the theme “Press Play on Safety Conversations” was chosen for CPSW 2022.

“When we have safety conversations, it changes the way we think about safety,” the Healthcare Excellence Canada website says. “Ask questions, listen and act.”

While Canadian long-term care homes, hospitals and other health-care providers place safety as a top priority, the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, has added another layer of safety challenges, Healthcare Excellence Canada says.

To help overcome these challenges and get safety conversations started, Healthcare Excellence Canada has created a free toolkit for health-care stakeholders to use to engage people.

The toolkit includes tips on how to provide safe spaces and initiate discussions about safety in order to work towards positive outcomes as well as a list of webinars and other virtual events care providers can use to learn more about continuous quality improvement as it relates to safety.

Given the additional strain Canadian health-care providers are experiencing today due to the pandemic, Healthcare Excellence Canada says it’s crucial to get more safety-centred conversations started to mitigate risks.

“Now more than ever, we need to focus on patient and healthcare provider safety,” the organization says. “Together we can create safety, eliminate incidents of unintended harm, as well as act on and learn from errors.”

Now in its 18th year, CPSW is an annual campaign aimed at encouraging stakeholders across the greater health-care sector to focus on safety.

Click here to learn more about Canadian Patient Safety Week.

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