Cross-border discussions on the changing culture of aging
Schlegel Villages joins U.S. pioneers in sharing of best practices
Monday March 5, 2012 -- Kristian Partington
ROCHESTER, New York - A team from the Schlegel Villages support office ventured to the southern edge of Lake Ontario last week for a cross-border summit where the evolution of elder care was on the front of everyone’s mind.

Hosted by Rochester’s St. John’s Home, the meetings brought leaders together from St. John’s, Schlegel Villages, the Green House Project, the Eden Alternative and the Pioneer Network.

A fundamental shift in how elders are cared for is underway in pockets of North America, with long-term care providers, both large and small, striving to provide resident-centred and directed care, and the gathering focused on how each organization can help the others achieve goals.

It was a great opportunity to share common views on achieving greater life quality with residents and team members in long-term care settings, says Schlegel Villages recreation and community integration consultant Christy Parsons.

A major topic of discussion focused on how best to partner with academia in the quest for innovation — an area where Schlegel Villages is seen to excel through its collaboration with the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging (RIA).

The group also discussed the importance of leadership creating a natural environment for collaboration within an organization in order to empower front-line team members to take ownership of the changing culture of aging.

When this happens, the group agreed that staff can begin to break out of silos and combine experience to enhance residents’ lives.

Both St. John’s Home and Schlegel Villages are in various stages of organizational transformation — St. John’s in collaboration with the Eden Alternative, and Schlegel Villages through an internal process heavily focused on strengths identification and Appreciative Inquiry.

The meetings coincided with the long-anticipated arrival of new residents from St. John’s Home to their new address — one of two ten-bed Green House homes built by St. John’s in a residential neighbourhood in nearby Penfield.

St. John’s president and chief operating office Charlie Runyan, while pleased that the first new residents moved into their new home after more than four years of planning, was quick to say there is much more work to be done in changing approaches to elder care within his organization.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re still very institutional in how we operate here at 150 Highland Ave.,” he says, referring to St. John’s Home.

“There’s a lot of work to be done breaking down the silos, and we can’t lose sight of how much work we have yet to do here.”

He sees the potential for a synergistic relationship with Schlegel Villages, however, where cross-pollination of ideas and best practices can only help strengthen the elder-care transformation underway.

Everyone agreed this initial set of discussions among the organizations is just the beginning.

If you have questions or comments, please contact 800-294-0051, ext. 24, or e-mail kristian(at)axiomnews.ca.