Core value of leadership shines bright at OMNI in 2019
Leadership is one of OMNI Health Care’s core values, and strong examples of leadership resonated throughout the organization in 2019.
In the spring, Country Terrace in Komoka became the first long-term care home in the South West Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) to receive approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to perform in-home peritoneal dialysis.
Through this initiative, residents who are living with renal failure can receive peritoneal dialysis at the home and avoid transfer to hospital, which relieves stress on the health-care system.
All of Country Terrace’s registered staff members have been trained to perform peritoneal dialysis. Administrator Karen Dann told The OMNIway in April that this program has the potential to improve the quality of life for people with renal failure living at Country Terrace.
“They will not need to sit in hospital waiting, (and) they won’t need to go to clinics to be managed,” she said.
The Riverview Manor Behavioural Supports Ontario (BSO) team had a major win this year when it received the Central East Local Health Integration Network’s (LHIN) first-ever Team Impact Award for its work reducing and preventing agitation in residents who are living with cognitive impairment.
The BSO team, whose members included Becky Dennie, Carly Kenny, Karlie Phillips, Joseph Matthews, Nicole Munro and Sarah Plumpton, were nominated for the award by the psychogeriatric resource consultant (PRC) nurses with the Psychiatric Assessment Services for the Elderly (PASE) team at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
The PASE team works with Riverview Manor to help improve the quality of life for residents affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.
The PRC nurses nominated the Peterborough long-term care home’s BSO team for embracing BSO practices, taking advantage of educational opportunities to increase knowledge and understanding of dementia and seniors’ mental-health issues, and for sharing that knowledge with other Riverview Manor team members.
“The (Riverview Manor BSO) team uses creative strategies to try and provide the supports that their residents need,” said PRC nurse Marion Tabanor during the award presentation.
“The team has been able to collectively manage and mitigate risk to the resident and co-residents using these strategies. … The team has a strong passion about their role and they are dedicated and committed to excellence when it comes to caring for their resident population.”
An initiative Frost Manor has been proud of is a partnership the Lindsay long-term care home has with St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School. In 2018, students from the school’s co-op and special education programs started coming to Frost Manor twice per week to learn new skills and develop leadership while giving something back to the community.
The program, which is overseen by Frost Manor maintenance and environmental services manager Rick Riel, is helping the students acquire valuable skills they can use once they complete school.
“I think the biggest thing is opportunities for growing in the future,” Rick said. “Since they have been here, I have seen a growth in opportunity, and I think that is going to present for them later on in their lives; there’s that opportunity for them, they’re gaining self-confidence, they’re gaining a certain degree of skill.”
Teresa Naismith, an educational assistant at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School, agrees. Teresa accompanies the students to Frost Manor on their placement days and says she’s also seen personal growth in the students.
“I would say that for all the students, they can move on into the community and secure a small job with or without assistance. That would be the best outcome (stemming from the partnership),” she said.
