Pat Jared and her husband, John, both have a background in education and they’ve always valued the ongoing quest for knowledge and understanding in life. That hasn’t changed with the passing of time and while they’re now counted among the oldest of generations of Canadians, they’re still eager to learn and grow.
They are among more than 200 people to take part in the 9th Innovation Summit, hosted by Schlegel Villages and the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) in Kitchener at the end of October. This event draws researchers from the RIA together with team members and Innovation Catalysts from the Villages. They’re also joined by a variety of community partners and, increasingly, residents like Pat and John, who saw a notice about the event in the monthly newsletter at The Village of Glendale Crossing in London where they’ve lived for more than a year.
They were happy to join in the learning opportunity and say they’ve gained a new appreciation for the larger philosophy of the Schlegel Villages organization, which counts the value of “Creative and Innovative” among its six core values.
“The experience here has been first rate,” John says as he and Pat prepare to split into two separate sessions on the afternoon of Day 2. “We moved into Glendale after it first opened (the new retirement suites) and we’ve enjoyed our experience there, but this opens a whole, wider perspective of what the Schlegel organization is doing and the encouragement they put into research. I’m really impressed by the encouragement for staff to innovate and try new things.”
He’s not only speaking of the 16 direct care team members who for the past 10 months have been the Innovation Catalysts focused on their own creative ideas to address challenges related to dementia support and understanding within their Villages. They may be the stars of the Innovation Summit this year, but it’s clear to John and Pat that all team members are invited to use their expertise to create new approaches to care and support if there are challenges they feel need to be addressed.
“It’s that support and the encouragement that is really important from the organization and it has really made us realize that the whole attitude of Schlegel Villages is really what they say it is,” Pat says.
“You really have to work hard to develop that kind of culture in an organization,” John adds, “a culture where people feel comfortable saying ‘this isn’t going as well as it should and I have an idea that can maybe make it better.’ If that culture isn’t there, that person’s not going to come forward.”
As they reflect on the event and the countless conversations they’ve had, they’re considering what their next steps could be. Village residents, says Pat, harbour a lot of talent and expertise and tapping into the resident population of the Villages to become different types of Innovation Catalysts might be a logical evolution of the program.
“There are people out there waiting to be challenged,” she says. “They may have to be coached a little bit, but they have great backgrounds and would spend some time and be a great support, so I’d like to see this kind of thing spread to residents.”
