Menno Apartments – Assurity Approved – Well Done!

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We are thrilled to announce Menno Place Apartments – Independent Living are now part of Assurity’s Approved Operators!

Assurity is the Mark of Quality developed by the experts at EngAge BC (https://engageseniors.ca/assurity) to make it easier for seniors and their families to pick a home health or independent living organization that upholds industry standards for quality. It’s like a 5-star rating for Menno Apartments!

As an Assurity-certified independent living organization, Menno Place will have the Assurity logo on their Route 65 listing. Having the Assurity symbol means Menno Apartments has made it a priority to meet or exceed industry standards in areas such as privacy, safety, client/resident onboarding, infection prevention and control practices, emergency preparedness, employee safety and client satisfaction.

Assurity was developed from the ground up by collaborating with B.C.’s best home health and independent living professionals, and consultations with older adults and family members about things that were important to them when choosing a place to live with support!

Thank you to the staff at Menno Apartments for all you do!

Winning Tagline Announced – Resident and Family-Centred Care Tagline Contest

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Here is the winning tagline:

“If it matters to you, it matters to me/us”

 

We thank all who entered the contest! What an amazing response.

80 people submitted their ideas for a tagline with over 241 tagline suggestions!

The winning tagline was chosen by the Resident and Family-Centred Steering Committee who did not know the names of the individuals who provided the 6 semi-finalist tagline suggestions.

The winning entry was made by Sharon Simpson, Director, Community Enrichment who is not a member of the RFCC Steering Committee. She has declined the prize.

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Menno Place describes Resident and Family-Centred Care (RFCC) this way:

Resident and family-centred care at Menno Place starts with asking our residents and their families, “What matters to you?”

We focus on respectful engagement, collaboration and communication so we can help each resident achieve their best days possible.

 

As you read this definition, here are some ways to think about how it applies at Menno Place:

  • The definition starts with and ends with our residents. Without residents at Menno Place, there is no reason to exist. They are the centre. It is for our residents that we do all that we do – from maintenance to administration and all that comes between.
  • The definition begins with our action and initiative. It is the responsibility of the staff and leadership of Menno Place to ensure that we keep the spotlight on providing RFCC.
  • The definition shares the easily remembered, simple question that will initiate an RFCC focus with a resident or family member – “What matters to you?”
  • The definition includes the 3 primary ways we engage in RFCC: respectful engagement, collaboration and communication.

Thank you to the RFCC Steering Committee who have taken us through the exercise of defining RFCC, creating an RFCC Framework and providing a catchy tagline that we will use to remind ourselves, our residents and our families what it means to have a Resident and Family-Centred Care focus at Menno Place.

Karen Biggs, CEO, announces her retirement

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Karen Biggs, CEO, announces her retirement for December 31, 2022

Karen began her service as the CEO of Menno Place in May of 2013. As she moves into this next season of retirement, her focus will be on her continued care for the love of her life, her husband, Peter.

Karen shares, “When the Lord led me to this amazing campus, I had no idea how much it would bless me over and over. The Leadership team is an amazing group of individuals who care passionately about each other and about the seniors we serve with compassion, fervor and a deep and abiding faith.” We thank you, Karen for leading the Leadership Team who, in turn, led with confidence and vision in their roles.

Karen’s leadership is visionary and innovative – she led changes that included putting financial investment into the campus. This includes the Primrose Gardens putting green, the Living Waters Garden, the upgrades to the Chalet garden and the Courtyard.

Karen has the unique position of being both the leader of Menno Place and a family member as her husband, Peter, lives in Menno Home. She is a devoted advocate to the Resident and Family Centered-Care philosophy that undergirds our care for seniors.

With 42 years of serving seniors as a nurse leader, including 9.5 years at Menno Place, Karen is completing a lifetime commitment to the vulnerable who need our support and care. We thank you for your service, Karen, and bless you as you prepare for the next season of retirement. May you find great joy in the journey!

This is a photo of Karen and Peter enjoying the journey together!

If you would like to thank Karen and wish her well in her retirement, please fill out the form (below).

The Mennonite Benevolent Society Board have begun their search for our next CEO who will ensure our founder’s legacy of a living Christian faith as they lead us into the future.

Peter and Karen on their wedding day – June 13, 2020

Fill out my online form.

Accreditation Bulletin – Accreditation Taking Place October 17-21

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BULLETIN – ACCREDITATION – THE 5 ‘Ws’

WHY

We want to BEE the best! Being accredited allows Menno Place to be measured against world class evidenced based health care standards. The goal is to provide the best healthcare and services to our residents so we can do what we do best: care for and improve lives.

WHEN

Save the Date: Oct 17th to Oct 21st, 2022

These are the dates the Accreditation surveyors will be on the Menno Place campus site. Preparation is already underway and will continue until then. Stay connected by reading the Bulletin updates on the Family and Friends website – www.MennoPlaceLife.com

WHERE

Onsite at Menno Home and Menno Hospital in all areas of care, services, and support.
Will you BEE prepared?

WHO

Accreditation Canada (AC) is an independent, non-government, not-for-profit organization affiliated with Health Standards Organization (HSO), located in Ottawa, Ontario. AC is committed to inspiring people to make positive change that improves the quality of health and social services in Canada and around the world. HSO develops world-class and evidence-based standards, assessment programs, and quality improvement solutions. AC and HSO use a People-centered care philosophy and approach to setting its standards and guiding the accreditation process.

WHAT

The Accreditation Tool is organized into six chapters:

Chapter 1: Governance and Leadership

Addresses criteria assessed by governing bodies and/or leadership teams and defines the standards under which the organization or LTC home’s management operates.

Chapter 2: Delivery of Care Models

Addresses thematic areas related to team management, talent development, work-life, information management, quality improvement and delivery of virtual health services.

Chapter 3: Emergency Disaster Management

Addresses emergency, disaster, and outbreak management, focusing on reducing risk and being prepared to respond to and recover from an emergency, disaster or outbreak that occurs inside or outside of the organization.

Chapter 4: Infection Prevention and Control

Addresses organizational infection prevention and control (IPC) practices that promote a collaborative approach in providing safe and reliable services and preventing transmission of pathogens and health care-associated infections.

Chapter 5: Medication Management

Addresses organizational medication management practices that promote a collaborative approach in providing safe and reliable services.

Chapter 6: Residents’ Care Experience

Focuses on ensuring the needs of LTC home residents are met by providing safe and quality individualized care from competent teams.

These chapters are further broken down into eight quality dimensions that all play a part in providing safe, high-quality care.

  1. Population focus: Work with my community to anticipate and meet our needs
  2. Accessibility: Give me timely and equitable services
  3. Safety: Keep me sage
  4. Work-life: Take care of those who take care of me
  5. Client-centred services: Partner with me and my family in our care
  6. Continuity of services: Coordinate my care across the continuum
  7. Appropriateness: Do the right think to achieve the best results
  8. Efficiency: Make the best use of resources

Watch for these themes to come in future bulletins.

 

Accreditation Bulletin – Resident Safety

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BULLETIN – RESIDENT SAFETY

Resident safety is one of the Accreditation Required Organizational Practices (ROP’s) that must be met to successfully complete Accreditation which will occur October 17-20, 2022. Menno Place has a Resident Safety Plan to ensure our delivery of care and services are provided safely to the residents and for the team members.

ROP: Resident Safety Plan

Menno Place has a developed and implemented Resident Safety Plan that assesses and addresses resident safety. Here is a summary of the main points in our plan.

Evidence:  How do we do this?
The Resident Safety Plan supports Menno Place’s mission and vision by providing the mechanisms to improve resident safety and reduce identified risks. This is accomplished through the collection and analysis of data from various direct care and support functions of the care home within Menno Place.

A number of indicators are reported to Fraser Health including:

  • % of residents with worsened behaviours
  • % of residents with urinary tract infections
  • % of residents with stage 2-4 pressure ulcers
  • % of residents with pain
  • % of residents with unscheduled transfers to emergency
  • % of residents with restraints
  • % of residents that have fallen
  • % of residents with antipsychotics without a diagnosis
  • % of residents prescribed more than 9 medications

Internal monitoring of resident safety measures and practices designed to address and evaluate safety matters include, but are not limited to:

  • Ongoing education, training, and communication, including hand hygiene audits
  • Tending of incidents and near misses, and initiating improvement projects
  • Medication reconciliation at move-in and during transfers
  • Incident Reports
  • Resident/Family concerns/complaints
  • Employer incident investigation report
  • Pharmacy input and interventions
  • Licensing agency complaints/investigation
  • Resident healthcare record reviews
  • Workplace safety audit
  • Heat Preparedness Plan

Proactive Approaches:

  • Ethics Committee
  • Staff/Resident/Family Input
  • Unit level huddles/rounds/meetings
    • Environmental
    • Clinical
    • Infection Control
  • Community Care Licensing Information and Reports
  • Partnerships with external sources such as Fraser Health, BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, and Worksafe BC.

What is happening to keep Menno Place cool during the hot summer?

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Menno Place Addresses the HEAT

It’s summer again and we are working hard to keep Menno Place COOL!

As you know, in 2021, there was a heat dome that impacted our area from June 25 – 29th. Environment Canada stated that this was “a dangerous, long duration heat wave”. Menno Place put all of our Heat Plan practices into place, including providing hydration centers, fans, cooling cloths and bringing residents into common areas to cool down.

In the fall of 2020, Ottawa committed up to $1 billion through the Safe Long-term Care Fund to help provinces and territories to improve infection prevention and control in long-term care. Ottawa and BC announced an agreement to provide close to $134 million for British Columbia’s facilities that deliver long-term care through this Safe Long-term Care Fund.

As we provide services in the Fraser Health region, Menno Home and Menno Hospital were invited to submit proposals in three areas:

  1. Mattresses & Bedframes
  2. Furniture & Fixtures
  3. HVAC Upgrades.

With this opportunity, Menno Place leaders went into overdrive to get quotes for upgrades in these 3 areas. With respect to HVAC upgrades, we were encouraged to submit proposals to strengthen infection prevention and improve resident comfort in existing long-term care homes by adding air conditioning and improving HVAC systems.

Bas Kervel led the submission of proposals in this area, getting quotes and determining the needs in Menno Home and Menno Hospital. As a result, Menno Place was awarded:

  • $150,000 for HVAC upgrades in Menno Hospital
  • $178,000 for Menno Home “swing air-conditioner units”, and
  • $170,000 for Menno Home “mini-split air-conditioning”

Prior to the announced funds being awarded, Menno Place ordered the units and the parts in December 2021.

We have put in air-conditioning and are working on adding more as the parts become available. As in all industries, the supply chain has been impacted globally and we are waiting for some parts for the East wing of Menno Hospital. We are waiting for equipment for Menno Home south wing and for Menno Hospital W2.

19 “mini-splits” have been installed in Menno Home and are connected to the outdoor unit.

Our Maintenance Team continues their excellent work as they put in place the equipment and parts that have been delivered. We thank them for this important service to our residents and staff.

This summer has been cooler – and even the HOT days have been cooler with these improved upgrades. Thank you to all who made this possible!

RESOURCE: Understanding Dementia Online Course – No Cost

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Click for Course Information and to Sign Up

Understanding Dementia – Course Description

The Understanding Dementia MOOC was developed by the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre based in the College of Health and Medicine at the University of Tasmania. This world-leading online course is free, easily accessible and available to everyone with an interest in dementia.

The ageing of human populations across the globe has contributed to dementia being identified as one of the public health issues of the 21st century. The MOOC curriculum addresses this health issue by drawing upon the expertise of neuroscientists, clinicians and dementia care professionals from both within the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, and beyond.

Since 2013, the Understanding Dementia  has received over 330,000 enrolments from all around the world. We invite you to join our community and learn about the diseases that cause dementia, how the condition affects the person with dementia, and how we can provide the best quality care.

Once the course commences, you will be able to log in to engage with the course content and activities, and share perspectives with other participants. The course is scheduled to close on 16th September, 2022 at 5:00pm AEST.

To get the most out of this experience, you should expect to spend approximately 3 hours per week completing the course activities for the 7 weeks of scheduled content. The additional 3 weeks that the course is open is to allow you to catch up or revisit content.

The release of course content will occur at 9:00am (AEST) on the following dates –

  • Introduction – 5th July, 2022
  • Module 1: The Brain – 7th July, 2022
  • Module 2: The Diseases – 21st July, 2022
  • Module 3: The Person – 4th August, 2022
  • Completion – 25th August, 2022

You can work through the content at any time of day and at your own pace within this release schedule. This includes revisiting earlier released content as needed.

Once you have completed the course, you will be eligible to download a free, personalised certificate of completion. We also offer paid enhanced certificates options in addition to the free certificate. There will be more information about this in the Completion module.

We look forward to your contribution, as an important member of the Understanding Dementia community.

RESOURCE: Webinar – Services for Patients and Caregivers

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Upcoming webinar on Tuesday, July 26 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am PT!

Services for Patients and Caregivers and Common Interactions Between Medications, Supplements and Food

Are you a caregiver administering medications to a care recipient, or taking medications yourself? Are you curious about which medications might interact with one another, which supplements are safe to take alongside medications, and which foods are best to avoid while on specific medications?

On July 26, staff from the will present on medication and supplement interactions, and expand on the services they have available for patients.

Clinic staff will also touch on the various ways this clinic works together with patients and caregivers to make it easier to take and administer medications – for example, finding ways to reduce medication admin from 4-5 to 2-3 times per day.

Join us on July 26, 2022 from 10:00-11:00 am PT for this special Zoom event, Register below!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Resource and Support for Family Caregivers:

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Subscribe to the www.familycaregiversbc.ca newsletter for:
Caregiver Connection, a quarterly newsletter full of interesting and informative articles directly related to family caregiving
Our monthly e-news, featuring upcoming events and caregiving news
Invitations to our monthly free webinars and other events
Breaking news and occasional messages, such as survey requests, from fellow caregiving organizations

Subscribe:
https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/contact-us/newsletter-subscription

Resources:
https://www.familycaregiversbc.ca/for-family-caregivers

Menno Place welcomes three new chaplains this summer!

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Menno Place hires three chaplains to replace our current team. Click to find out who they are!

Read more