Halloween - Schlegel Villages

October 2015 Newsletter
Salvation
Army
Thursday,
October 8
7 pm, Chapel
Thanksgiving
Celebration
Volume 13, Issue 10
Halloween
Inspirational Songs
& Stories
Trick or Treat
& Celebration
Sunday, September 18
2 pm Main Street
Saturday, October 31
2 pm, Main Street
Monday, October 12
pm, Main Street
Family Council
Meeting
Saturday, October 3
10:00 AM,
Council Chambers
Residents’
Council Meeting
Wednesday,
October 14, 2 pm
Community Centre
Birthday Bash
Tuesday,
October 27
2 pm, Main Street
Colour
Trip
Monday,
Octber19
1-4:30
$15:00 per resident
(You Must Sign Up)
Little Drumming
for Everyone
Tuesday, October 20
2 pm, Main Street
Oakville Happy Tapers
Wednesday,
October 28
2 pm, in Sheridan
Indian Diner’s
Club
Friday, October 16
11-2
More Information
Will be Posted
Welcome
To the Village of
Erin Meadows
Robert Thomson
Derry
Mohammad Kashani
Dundas
Erna Shephard
Trafalgar
Gisela Falasconi
Howland
Winona Parent
Trafalgar
A Message from General Manager
Denis Zafirovski,
Interim General manager
Dear residents, families, and team members,
We are in the last quarter of the year now and things are moving fairly quickly from this
point onward, and before you know it, it will be Christmas again. I hope you all enjoyed
“Culture Change” week in September and had a chance to attend some of the planned activities. Thanks to all residents, families, and team members who participated in this year’s conversation cafes and provided valuable feedback and insights on village life, and suggestions
on where do we go from here.
The three aspiration statements that were chosen by the “visionaries” to be further advanced in the coming year are: Promote Resident Empowerment, Create Opportunities for
Meaningful and Shared Activities, and Foster Authentic Relationships. Please feel free to
talk to a member of the leadership team if you have any questions or comments about these,
or if you would like to get more involved.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform everyone of a recent leadership transition at
our senior leadership level. Paul Brown, previously our VP of Operations (West), assumed
the position of Chief Operation Officer (COO). Rose Lamb is now Senior VP of Operations
(East) and Joanne Potts is VP of Operations (West). Additionally, Erin Meadows is now considered as part of the East Villages and will be supported by Rose Lamb. Please join me in
congratulating all and welcoming Rose to Erin Meadows!
As you may know this year all Long Term Care (LTC) homes submitted an annual Quality
Improvement Plan (QIP) to the Ministry, which is also available for the public to view. Ours is
also posted on Main Street in the Village and it focuses on eight different areas. It is with
great pleasure to share that we have improved in almost all of the areas of focus, surpassing
the annual goal in one, in less than six months. Thanks to all for the hard work and dedication to the QIP objectives and thereby enhancing resident quality of life.
Finally, as I shared at the Family Council meeting in September, starting in October we will
implement the new quality of life survey for family members. Similar to the resident quality
of life survey, it focuses on key areas that impact quality of life from privacy, safety and security, to food choices, activity options and making daily decisions. The survey will be given
to the resident’s family member to complete during the annual care conferences. An electronic version of this survey will also be available for those who prefer to complete it online.
Please feel free to talk to me if you have any further questions about this.
Looking forward to serving you.
Denis Zafirovski
Wishing you a
Happy Birthday!
Derry
Sheridan
Irene Hicks October 8
Sybil Lalsingh October 18
Gene McMorris October 23
Zahra Nazari October 23
Dundas
Gilbert Henderson October 3
Trafalgar
Margaret Santos October 3
John Melville October 22
Muriel Morgan October 6
Meadowvale
Milan Vukovic October 10
Josephine Racic October 12
Annina Richichi October 29
Tina Ernest October 15
Agostinho Senra Lopes Oct 16
Joseph Noseworthy Oct 21
IN MEMORIAM
Birthday
Bash
With Paul Husiak
Tuesday, October 27
2 pm, Main Street
Spiritual Care Programs
Pricely Francis, Chaplain
Shortcuts to An Enhanced Life
Shortcuts are handy for quick results. Most times we frown upon quick fixes, touting labour intensive activities, and the virtue of sweat, blood and tears. But every now and again, shortcuts are just the things you need
to pull yourself out of a rut.
1. Change your thoughts deliberately. Thoughts affect your mood. Therefore if you are feeling sad and de2.
3.
4.
5.
pressed, you are thinking about sad and depressing things. Think about something happy, exciting or bring to
mind pleasant memories.
Tell yourself a lie. There is where you are, and where you want to get to. Until you achieve your goals, tell yourself that you have arrived and enjoying it.
Concentrate on one task or problem at a time. When you feel overwhelmed it is because you are thinking about
the one hundred and one tasks, or challenges facing you. Choose one task or challenge and stay with it until
you make some progress or have success.
Rebrand the situation. The names and terms you use to describe your situation can scare and terrify you. Use
softer terms to describe your situation: Problems become challenges. Anger becomes annoyance. Illness becomes under the weather. No becomes I would prefer….
Look how far you’ve come. When you feel stuck, unfortunate, or like a failure, just look back and see how far
you’ve come; how many times you’ve had successes; and how many times you’ve survived.
Be an actor. If you want to be a better or braver or kinder person, just act as if you are. If you act the part long
enough, you’ll become what you desire.
Shortcuts can sometimes bring great benefits. The ones listed above will serve you well. Success.
Alan Bradshow
Social Service
Coordinator
Sharing Social work with You
You are never too old to accomplish goals in life since age is very much just a number. From my experiences working and volunteering in several long-term care facilities I have seen many examples of seniors trying
and learning new things. For example, right here in Erin Meadows there are many programs that have given
residents opportunities to develop new skills and create new interests. There is an Art Class program which is
run once or twice a month that gives residents an opportunity to try their hand at creating art. I heard a few residents comment that they had never even picked up a paint brush before but they thoroughly enjoyed the experience and if you visit the Community Center you can find their artwork proudly on display on the wall under the
“Young at Art” title. There is another program called ETAG Computer Class which has volunteers coming in
and working with residents on computers and IPads learning about things like e-mailing and Skype. On a random note did you know that on May 23, 2013 Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to climb Mount Everest
at the age of 80! He first climbed Everest when he was 70 and then again at 75! I just felt like throwing that fact
out there to show that you really can do anything if you put your mind to. Life goes on and continues to be a
learning experience whether you are 20, 50, or 100 years old.
Recreation Report
Once again, it's time for me to ask for
your much needed help and support for
our annual Christmas bazaar. The bazaar
is held on Saturday, November 21st, 11
am to 3 pm. The recreation team and
residents are working hard to prepare all
the preserves, jam and crafts for the
bazaar, but we do need more. There is
much room for involvement at the
baking table, tea room, knitting, Christmas crafts table and off course items for
Silent Auction table; your help in any of
these areas would be highly appreciated.
If you are interested in helping us by donating baked goods, deserts, knitting,
hand made crafts and Christmas decorations, please contact me (Sami) at ext.
807. We also need volunteers to help for
sales, in the tea room and on the Main
Street. We are looking forward to your
help and support. Thanks you all in advance.
Sami Kermani
Director of Recreation
Colour Trip
Join us for a ride and see
the uniqueness of the
colours around us in this
season
Monday, October 19
1-4 pm
$15.00 per resident
Limited Space
Please sign up with Sami in
the Recreation Office
or
ext 807
Our Mission is to provide holistic heath care in a home environment
located within an internal neighbourhood design that promotes a
caring community, with emphasis on optimal health and life purpose
for each resident.
Hands Up for Haiti:
The 5km Walk
Margaret Santos
Trafalgar
Resident
On Sunday September 13, 2015, we did the walk to raise money for those team members
travelling to Haiti to give our time, lend a helping hand, and show some love towards those who need it
most in Haiti. It was raining here in Mississauga, but when we got to Kitchener it was clear blue skies,
and the sun had come out, it was a little bit chilly, but that couldn’t dampen the spirits of the task at hand.
Alisa Anguine was there along with Charlene, Gopa Patel, and Rahila from Dundas home area, Sangita
from Trafalgar, (Irene) Po Yung Tien from Howland, and three dietary team members, and Flo Abiog. We
were there representing The Village of Erin Meadows. I took a wheelchair and sat in it while Alisa, Flo,
and a dietary team member took turns pushing me because there was no way I could walk 5km. We had
fun, there were some laughs while Flo was pushing me up that bumpy hill, and down that bumpy hill.
There was lots of picture taking and of Flo in her cute blue hat, and of me, and all of us who went. We
actually raised $200, 000 towards purchasing medical supplies to be sent to Haiti with people from Schlegel Villages. We are contributing in a big way not just to our own community here in Ontario, but internationally by sending people from Schlegel Villages to Haiti. We are not only helping others who we don’t
even know to feel good, but we are helping ourselves too.
A brief history of my life and why I am so happy to be living here.
By: Margaret Nembhard Santos
Hi, my name is Margaret Nembhard Santos I was born in Mississauga, Ontario thirty-four years
ago. I am currently living in a Long Term Care home “The Village of Erin Meadows,” and have been living here for five years now.
I have a disability/disease called MPS Type IV otherwise known as Morquio Syndrome “B”. It’s a
part of the MPS family of diseases, Morquio Syndrom “B” consists of all of these mucopolysaccharides that build up in each of us and I am missing the gene to break them down. It can lead to all sorts
of problems, such as, my eyesight, my hearing, my joints, my bones, my heart; however, it does not
affect my intelligence. I was born this way, my body is also full of arthritis, which also comes with age,
I guess. I’ve also had to have four operations in total, three of which were on my hips and one was on
my right shoulder and I am still walking to this day with the use of my walker.
Some of my accomplishments which I am most proud of are : something that the team members
helped me to realize which I am eternally grateful for is how my communication device has helped with
my independence rather than hindered it. It has helped me to communicate so much more effectively
that now it has become such a big part of my life that I couldn’t quite imagine my life without it. My
Certificate of Appreciation from the Walk With Me contest which I entered, but did not win; however, it
led me onto a much brighter and more fulfilling way of giving back to Village life. It’s because people
believed in me and that in turn helped me believe in myself; people like Sami, Alisa, Anneliese, Denis,
Sharon, and Branka. I am now a Research Champion for the Reasearch Institute of Aging where I go to
conferences held two times a year and give my input and ideas. Something else I am very proud of is
my participation on the Visionaries Committee to help change the culture of aging within Schlegel Villages. My participation in culture change week has also been a great source of pride for me as well. I
have written an essay that I was asked to write by the General Manager at the time, Anneliese Krueger,
which has now been viewed by many team members on the Schlegel Villages website by villages
across all of Ontario. I also helped prepare and present a formal presentation with The Wardclerk here,
to those team members who were interested in LGBTTQI issues just last year, I believe.
I am also always giving back to the larger community outside of Erin Meadows by holding annual Food Drives for the Peel Region, and even internationally by holding penny drives and just recently
raising $69.00 by myself for Schlegel Villages, but collectively as a group we raised $200,000 going towards purchasing medical supplies to be sent to Haiti to lend our support.
I am always writing for the monthly newsletter, The Village Voice. I currently have two pieces of
work that I had written for the care givers here at The Village of Erin Meadows published in two books
“Island Magic” and “Mists of Morning”. You see I was searching the internet for poetry contests, and I
came across one titled The Poetry Institute of Canada, I went onto their website and I sent them a poem “Journey” and a short story “What The Caregivers Have Meant To Us Thus Far”, and it was published in 2014. It’s a compilation of authors from all across Canada of all ages, religions, ethnic backgrounds, socio economic status, and sexual orientations. I have also entered two new contests with
The Poetry Institute of Canada, and just recently found out that I am going to be published in two more
of their books one called “The Tracery of Trees” which is another anthology of poems and another
book that is called “Spring’s Gentle Rains” a compilation of short stories. I’m just really honoured that
they picked two pieces of my work to be published in their books because just imagine they get thousands maybe even millions of entries each year, and they chose my two entries to be published in two
books in late January or early February of 2016.
All of these opportunities have come along because I moved here, to The Village of Erin Meadows. If I hadn’t moved here I wouldn’t be the strong, young, confident, contented woman you see
standing before you today. Everyone is so positive, optimistic and happy here; it is a very diverse and
interesting place in which to live. I can’t think of a better place to live where the majority of team members care so much about each of us, and have our best interest at heart.