ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING October 29th, 2024 Empowering every person to provide compassionate resident centered care in a diverse family environment.
Annabel Marsh, Board Chair Jill Vermaire, Secretary/Treasurer Member Cathy Borutski, Board Member Trisha DesLaurier, CEO Gail Yantha, Acting CEO & Sr. Director of Care Gwen Brown, Board Member Liz Polatynski, Board Member Chantel Brown, Jr. Director of Care Kathy Innocente, Manager of HR & Finance
We are honoured to present the report to the community for the 49th Annual General Meeting of Valley Manor. The past year has been a period of significant growth and change as we navigate the challenges posed by the everlasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Year of Growth and Change As we emerge from the difficulties of recent years related to covid, staffing and redevelopment delays, Valley Manor is dedicated to forging a path forward that encompasses new legislation, construction projects, funding policies, and enhanced recruitment and retention protocols. Our unwavering focus remains on providing top-level care for our beloved residents. Leadership Transition This year, we experienced several leadership retirements, resulting in a refreshed slate of leaders. Our new team brings fresh perspectives and innovative ideas that we eagerly welcome and are actively implementing as we move forward. Commitment to Care To maintain the highest level of care for our residents, we are utilizing agency staff to fill any gaps while we work towards our goal of 4.0 hours of care per resident by 2025. Our robust Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) committee is recognized for its exemplary programs, which have become models for many other organizations in the region. We are also excited to announce our transition to a new accreditation body, CARF, as we prepare for our upcoming accreditation in 2028. Compliance inspections, Ministry of Long-Term Care and the Ministry of Labour remain a critical part of our operations, and we continue to excel in meeting these regulations. Governance This year, our Board of Directors has been refreshed with a blend of new faces and seasoned members. Our Board of Directors continues to evolve as we continue to recruit for key core competencies within the Valley Manor Governance Skills matrix. Special thanks and best wishes to Bill Rodnick who served as Valley Manor’s Board Chair for the past year. Thank you for your time and service to the organization.
Valley Manor successfully completed its triannual full evacuation at the end of September, led by our dedicated evacuation committee and Fire Chief Corwin Quaid. Additionally, our redevelopment project update is available and we have included a full-page update in this year’s report. Effective October 15th, Valley Manor received approval for a 5-year long term care licence extension to operate from 2025-2030. New Leadership in Care We are pleased to announce the successful recruitment of Chantel Brown, RN, as our new Director of Care. Chantel will be replacing Gail Yantha, who has provided exemplary service to Valley Manor and its residents for the past 16 years. We extend our deepest gratitude to Gail for her dedication and commitment as she embarks on her well-deserved retirement to spend time with her family and grandchildren in June 2025. We warmly welcome Chantel, who has been a valued member of our team for over 30 years. We also reflect on one of our legacy leaders, Mila Pereira, Manager of Financial Services from 1992-2019 who will be dearly missed but will continue to inspire us in spirit. Our deepest condolences are extended to Glenn Pereira and family. Looking Ahead We are excited about the future of Valley Manor and are committed to sharing positive advancements and important information with our community. Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue to strive for excellence in care and service while continuing to secure long term care in the community of Barry’s Bay. Trisha DesLaurier CEO Annabel Marsh Board Chair A beautiful photo of the Valley Manor Fountain while the sun sets which is enjoyed by residents, families and staff.
F ROM T HE DE SK OF DR. J AS ON M A LI NOW SK I Medical Director, Valley Manor LTC Home Barry’s Bay, Ontario October, 2024 It is again a pleasure to send my greetings for the Annual General Meeting, as the Medical Director of the Valley Manor Long-term Care Home. Since my last dispatch to the Annual General Meeting, the home continues to experience frequent respiratory outbreaks, whether from COVID or other respiratory pathogens. Our residents, families, and staff face these outbreaks bravely, realizing the disruption and isolation they cause to our residents’ quality of life. We continue to parse out the details of what the Fixing Long Term Care act legislation means for our home, and implementing the requirements. We have had productive meetings between the physicians and the administration of the home to reduce the physicians’ documentation burden - while meeting the statutory requirements set out by our respective governing bodies and legislation. Since the last report there have been no new additions to the medical staff covering Valley Manor. As a medical staff, we agree it remains an honour to look after these vulnerable seniors in our community. Dr. Jason Malinowski
Enhance Resident Services Our residents continuously receive our best care and support The 2024/25 Quality Improvement initiatives that the home is focusing on continue to embrace the home's Strategic Plan 2022-2027, and build upon the foundation values of Integrity, Transparency, Leadership, Workplace Satisfaction, and Compassion. Valley Manor's Quality Improvement initiatives continue to be developed with the voice of our residents and their family members/POA's/SDM's, the Continuous Quality Improvement Committee, the Board of Directors, the staff, and other key stakeholders in effort to attain and sustain provincial benchmarks for long-term care and to improve the experience of the resident. Valley Manor has chosen to continue to focus on Access and Flow acknowledging the rapidly increasing complexity, acuity, and unpredictability of our resident's health. At the time of the development of our Quality Improvement plan the homes performance for potentially avoidable ED visits was 27.36% which was above the provincial average of 21%. 39 resident transfers to the Emergency Department had occurred with repeated visits from some of the residents. This highlights the complexity of caring for our resident population. 8 residents had 2 or more visits to the Emergency Department during this time frame. Valley Manor has implemented change ideas in effort to reduce the potentially avoidable Emergency Department visits. Change ideas include the creation and implementation of an SBAR transfer checklist for Registered Nurses, Active collaboration with the Medical Director, CEO, DOC, and Lead of the Continuous Quality Improvement Committee, and improved awareness to residents and their SDM's on treatments that can be provided within the home. Valley Manor has also implemented change ideas to improve the resident’s experience, and the home acknowledges that residents who have positive experiences often have better health outcomes. With the implementation of an online resident and family satisfaction survey the home received feedback from 48% of the resident population, compared to 7%
improvement in services. Valley Manor is also focusing on the homes Vision statement, "Cultivating a diverse home where all are welcome and respected", by implementing change ideas that support equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism. Valley Manor is also choosing to focus on resident safety and has implemented change ideas to improve our current performance for the % of LTC home residents who fell in the 30 days leading up to their assessment. The home recognizes that falls can be life-changing for our residents, and can also lead to death. Falls prevention is a priority indicator for our home to ensure that the resident experience is positive and that strategies to reduce or mitigate falls are in place. Valley Manor was successful in securing a new van for all of our residents, which has the capacity to seat more than one resident at a time. The van has been enjoyed by many residents. The residents have had an extensive replacement of all fabric furniture throughout the home and in their rooms. This incentive was funded by the Ministry of Long-Term Care through the surplus pandemic funding. All of the furniture that was replaced was Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) approved, wipeable material. Additionally, we were able to utilize more of this pandemic funding to remove the carpets throughout the home and replace them with infection control approved laminate flooring. New therapeutic mattresses, new wardrobes, new Broda chairs, new bariatric furniture throughout the facility, robotic therapy pets, baby dolls, and new slings for our lifts were also purchased for our residents this year. These new additions are courtesy of the final pandemic funding combined with donations from the St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation donors from the community. Our Annual Memorial Service was held on Friday, May 31st, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., and very well attended. This special Memorial Service allows families and friends to gather and celebrate the lives of the residents who passed away the previous year. At Valley Manor we try to make many of our Activities, “Home-Style.” From planting a vegetable garden annually, cutting strawberries and beans in the summertime, to our monthly baking programs; we maintain many of our resident’s former abilities and interests in the activities that we program. The Activity department has developed and implemented a new group that gathers every Monday morning, called “Handy Helpers.” At this program, the Activity staff model to the residents, how the Laundry Department would like the towels folded, and the residents follow the lead of the Activity Staff. The Laundry Department is very grateful for the help that they receive from our residents, and the residents feel valued and accomplished for the work that they completed. We are pleased to welcome Khashayar Amirhosseini, BSc, MBA, RD, as our new Registered Dietitian. Khashayar began working at the home on August 9th. With his extensive background in nutrition and management, Khashayar plays a crucial role in enhancing the nutritional care and services we provide to our residents. Valley Manor's Behavioural Support Ontario (BSO) team continues to build momentum in 2024. Fostering the partnership with the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre has led to improved quality of care and quality of life for residents with, or at risk of, responsive behaviours associated with dementia, complex mental health, substance use disorders and neurological conditions. The home’s BSO PSW Claudia Coulas has been working closely with Mariah Tennant, BSO RPN, and Anna Hall, Behavioural Therapist. The BSO PSW supports the residents, families, and staff in identifying and modifying environmental factors related to responsive behaviours, as well as providing nonpharmacological interventions for care and integration of the resident into their new home. The BSO RPN conducts holistic assessments to rule out contributing factors of responsive behaviours, and also provides support directly to the BSO PSW. The Behavioural Therapist participates in collaborative behavioural discussions, BSO process evaluation/support/assistance in the homes, behavioural education sessions, and behavioural assessments and consultations. Together they are embracing and demonstrating the BSO Core Competencies.
Inspectors from the Ministry of Long-Term Care. Proactive Inspection means inspections that are initiated by the Ministry of Long-Term Care without being triggered by a specific complaint, but rather as part of the LTC homes greater compliance strategy. These inspections assess compliance against legislative provisions. The home received zero compliance orders which confirms that Valley Manor is in compliance with the Fixing Long-Term Care Act 2021. Valley Manor did receive written notifications which are recommendations for growth in the areas of IPAC, Food, Nutrition and Hydration, Safe & Secure Home and Residents and Family Councils. Valley Manor is working on action plans for improvement in the aforementioned areas and will work with the CQI committee for quality improvement. Enrich Enrich Workforce Attract and retain team members who are equipped, resident focused, engaged and work harmoniously. The Manager of HR & Finance position continues to assist with HR demands with the assistance of the Administrative Coordinator. To round out the HR & Finance Departments staffing portfolio Valley Manor has obtained the services of a CPA to assist with financial matters and LTC reporting. The 2023 year saw Valley Manor implement a Referral and Sign on Incentive pilot project. This new project encouraged staff to participate in the recruitment of new staff in all departments as well incentivize those that are considering joining the Manor. The Incentive program was successful in bringing a number of new recruits to our staffing contingent. We successfully hired 24 new staff in a variety of departments. Valley Manor begins ONA bargaining the week of October 21, 2024 with both sides coming together for two days of bargaining. Valley Manor is proud to announce that a team of staff have begun a program entitled ‘Workplace Mental Health in LTC’. This program is provided by the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care. This 6-month program is aimed at supporting LTC homes across Ontario to adopt the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. It will also support LTC leaders to build an organizational culture that promotes and protects the mental health of all team members, and improves workforce productivity, recruitment and retention. We aim to foster a happier, healthier, more resilient workforce who will ultimately be more capable of providing quality care for residents. A key part of fostering a healthier workforce is to conduct Employee Satisfaction Survey’s. Survey’s provide valuable insight into how employees feel about their jobs, their relationships with management, their perception of the overall health of the workplace environment and how they fit into it. Surveying staff allows us to assess the following: • • Job satisfaction among the workforce Identify aspects that contribute to job satisfaction • Enable organizations to retain top talent and reduce turnover • Allow management better insight into how they can improve systems and processes that are in place • Identify common areas in which employees feel unsatisfied or frustrated • Understand how happy or unhappy employees are at the workplace • Gauge employee satisfaction on a regular and ongoing basis An Employee Satisfaction Survey is in the planning stages, and we hope to have it out to staff by the New Year.
Fleepit Digital © 2021