Reflections as Glendale Crossing Celebrates 6th Anniversary
By Kristian Partington
Early in the afternoon of March 1, the team members, residents and families of Glendale Crossing gathered along Main Street for their traditional group photo to kick off celebrations marking the village’s 6th anniversary. True, this is a village that will jump at any opportunity for a party, but an anniversary is extra special, for it marks the day the team and residents there began to forge one large, extended family.
Myles, Frances and Bill have been part of the Glendale Crossing family
since the village opened 6 years ago.
The annual group photo is a way to honour the togetherness and connectivity that make this village special and following the photo-op, the afternoon was spent together with entertainment, fine food and drinks – it’s the way a family event should be, filled with toasts to the past and the future.
“What I value about Glendale Crossing is the vibrancy of the community,” says Joanne Potts, who supports the village as vice-president of operations with Schlegel Villages. That vibrancy comes to life in many forms, Joanne points out, whether in a village-specific event or organization-wide through initiatives such as the annual Hand up for Haiti fundraiser or the Pioneer Network education conferences.
“There is always life in the village,” Joanne says. “The team is tireless in their pursuit of a resident-centred approach to care and living, with so many examples of residents involved in meaningful activities or advocacy for improvements.”
Frances Barber, Bill McHugh and Myles Minter were among the first people to call Glendale Crossing home six years ago, and on the eve of the celebrations they took a few moments to reflect on village life in the past six years. Time has flown by, they say, which it tends to do when life is good, and all three agree that the team, led by general manager Michelle Vermeeren, deserves credit for creating a home full of warmth for the many residents. “I think the staff is the greatest,” Myles says.
“They did a pretty good job of picking people,” Bill adds with a bit of a laugh. He says that Michelle’s door is always open and the entire team is eager to look for answers to any questions that might arise among residents. “We have great people on the floor and they have the best PSWs I think they can get.”
As the huge group photos show over the years, people may have come and gone, but each new arrival serves to complement the family as a whole. The biggest advice the three residents offer to other long-term care homes is to stock the team with good people who truly care about their work.
So, what, if anything would they like to see improved?
“That’s a hard question,” Frances replies, “because it’s all pretty good.”
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” adds Myles, and Bill says it unanimous: after six years the village seems to have everything pretty well figured out.
Recreation director Holly Ross smiles with pride to hear the assessments from her three friends, pointing out that in the past six years, the commitment of the team to the mission, vision and values of the village and the organization has only grown stronger. “Our motto is resident-centre care,” Holly says. “We’ve stuck with that motto and stayed true the whole six years.”
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