Teamwork and sense of family among OMNI homes leaves impression on two new Quality Forum attendees

Eli Thompson and Zach Jarvis say events like the Quest for Quality highlighted these aspects of OMNI’s culture at the three-day forum

ORILLIA, Ont. – Two first-time attendees at OMNI Health Care’s 2018 Quality Forum say what impressed them most about the three-day conference at Fern Resort was the sense of family and teamwork they experienced.

Eli Thompson, who works at Kentwood Park, and Zach Jarvis, who works at Frost Manor, are both nutritional care managers. More than 100 people, mostly managers from OMNI’s 18 long-term care homes and the head office team, attended the conference Sept. 26-28.

Even with such a large number of attendees, Eli and Zach say they felt a strong sense of family among team members.

“For me, it was how close-knit everybody is,” says Eli, who is also Kentwood Park’s environmental services manager, when asked what he liked best about the Quality Forum.

“You definitely know in the home it’s a tight family, but when everyone gets together you see how tight of a family everyone is (across all OMNI homes) and how tight the management is as well.”

Zach echoes Eli’s sentiments, adding he liked the way events were designed to help team members meet colleagues from outside their own homes. The evening social evenings, which included campfire singalongs and karaoke, also proved to be a great way to meet new people, Zach says.

Eli and Zach say they also enjoyed the Amazing Quest for Quality Care, an outdoor interactive exercise where teams compete to perform tasks that align with various points of quality resident care, which brought everyone together. The event is a take on the Amazing Race.

“For the first day, we were mostly sitting with our own teams, but then we branched off and started socializing with some other people, especially (at) the Quest for Quality,” Zach says.

“Being put in teams and separated from your own home was fun because you had to learn to work with people you’ve never met before.”

Eli says he also enjoyed the Amazing Quest for Quality Care.

“My favourite part was the Quest for Quality; I liked everyone working together and meeting other people that way,” he says. “There was both a challenging aspect and a teamwork aspect.”

The 2018 Quality Forum included presentations, events and networking opportunities to help managers at OMNI’s long-term care homes enhance quality service to their residents.

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