Author: garnettm

We are fast approaching the end of another calendar year when it is often appropriate to look back at the year just ending and make plans for the year ahead.

2018 has been an important and busy year for Bethany. The opening of Bethany Riverview and initiating the move of the Corporate team, from its old “home” to its new location, were big accomplishments; however, they were not alone. There have also been program changes at Bethany Calgary, including the ongoing refurbishment of the North building to expand the Alternate Level of Care program and to prepare for the opening of a much needed Young Adult Program within Alberta Health Services (AHS) Calgary Zone. As well, Bethany Didsbury welcomed a new Adult Day Support Program, operated by AHS, to expand its reach in the community.

Looking forward to 2019, we will see the remaining employees of our Corporate team move into Mikkelsen House and the anticipated opening of a day care centre within Bethany Riverview. This introduces the excitement of having children playing in the midst of our residents, tenants and employees at Riverview Village.

All of these recent events and accomplishments do not occur without appropriate planning and execution. As we enter the New Year, the Executive Leadership Team has started the important work of planning for Bethany’s future direction in a number of ways, including:

• working with the Board of Trustees to prepare a strategic plan that will provide a vision for Bethany well into the next decade;
• gathering internal data to inform us about our current operations and determining the trends that will advise us about our future operations;
• gaining an understanding of the broader environments in which we operate – legally, economically and politically;
• striving to meet the needs and hopes of those we currently serve – our residents, tenants, employees and funders – as well as those who will fill those roles in the future; and
• continuing to meet Bethany’s mission of Creating Caring Communities.

Balancing all of these goals and fulfilling everyone’s desires, wishes and aspirations is a challenging task. It is one that I have confidence will be accomplished through the dedicated work of all of the People of Bethany, who continue to demonstrate the confidence, dedication and resilience to maintain Bethany’s leadership role within our communities.

This is also the time when you can provide your input into Bethany’s future direction. I welcome hearing your ideas, suggestions and any questions that you may have. Please feel free to send them to me at

alasdair.smith@bethanyseniors.com.

Take care,

– Alasdair

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in our new corporate offices at Bethany Riverview. As I sit at my desk, I have a beautiful view of one of the Bethany Riverview courtyards all decorated with sparkly Christmas lights and coloured ornaments hung by Christmas elves for residents and staff to enjoy. Christmas trees have sprung up in the hallways and garlands have been hung with care. For me, Christmas is my favourite time of year. It is the season of cold, snow, love, laughter and most of all giving.

The Christmas spirit of giving is overflowing at Bethany! The Corporate and Housing teams are Adopting a Family within our Riverview Village housing community and spreading some joy to a very deserving family who are facing their first Christmas without their dad and husband. The teams are also conducting a Food Drive to support our Housing tenants at Riverview Village. At Bethany Riverview, stunning Christmas trees have been donated and decorated in the Rotary Atrium – a true gift for our residents and families to enjoy this holiday season.

Giving is an important part of life…at least, it should be. Give and you shall receive is most definitely true but giving is much more than receiving. When you discover that giving is better than receiving, you’re well on your way to truly living a life of purpose and worth. These small acts of giving within our own community exemplify our mission of Creating Caring Communities and I am so proud to belong to this community of caring and kindness.

If you have any questions or would simply like to share your ideas, please contact me directly at lisa.watson@bethanyseniors.com.

Kind regards,

– Lisa

How Do Canadians Give?

As we approach the end of the calendar year, many people’s thoughts turn to giving – to family and friends, to the causes we care about, and to those less fortunate among us who need a helping hand.

When it comes to giving to charities, there’s a recent study done by The Rideau Hall Foundation that looked at the past 30 years of charitable giving by Canadians. There’s some findings that we’re taking close note of at the Bethany Care Foundation.

It’s hard to believe but, in the last available data year, individual Canadians gave over $14 billion to the charities they care about. That’s good news for charities.

However, the number of donors that are giving that amount has been steadily shrinking over the last 30 years. There are fewer donors giving…but those that do give, are giving more.

There’s also a generational shift occurring. Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1965) have been the biggest givers in the past 30 years. However, they are giving less, at their peak giving period, than the generations before them. It also appears the peak giving rate for GenX and GenY will be even lower.

It’s not all gloom and doom, though. There’s some trends that we can pay attention to at Bethany to expand our potential to invite donors into our mission.

1. As has been the case for over 30 years, the Top 4 causes that donors give to are religion (41%), health (13%), social services (12%) and international causes (10%). Bethany’s commitment to multifaithfulness, our expertise in care, our work to provide affordable housing options and support to people through challenging life circumstances, give us many opportunities to engage donors.
2. Baby Boomers, the mainstay of all Canadian charitable giving for the past 30 years, are very much our most important group to engage and involve in giving to Bethany. The Foundation’s primary focus (although not exclusively) will be to inspire donors aged 50 plus in our work.
3. While they don’t make up a significant percentage of donors right now, building relationships with new Canadians and younger generations is also important for all charities to pay attention to. We’ll be devoting some of our effort to grow our future base of support for Bethany by reaching out to diverse communities and expanding ways for potential donors to engage with us online.

Please share your thoughts and ideas with us as we work together to bring community support to Bethany.

Have a great week!

– Gail

“You may be funny, smart and easy to dance with, but if you are not engaging employees on an ongoing basis, all of your work in developing a strategic plan will be for naught”.

Over the past few weeks, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors have been busy working on what is currently being called “Vision 2025” in preparation for the continuation of Bethany’s long term vision. In performing this work, I am wowed by the accomplishments of this organization since the establishment of Vision 2020 and very much look forward to the next steps in our journey together.

During the implementation process of any strategic plan (and stay tuned as we are still awhile away), the key to successfully having people fully commit to the plan is ensuring that they are informed, inspired, and engaged. Some thoughts…..

• Direction and focus is achieved at an organization when a company’s destination is clearly communicated.

• Determination and motivation is achieved when we explain to people why our destination is important.

• Engagement is key in encouraging people to be willing to make decisions to act in the best interests of the organization. This includes ensuring that the team knows how their individual roles interweave with the larger goals of Bethany in order to take pride in the importance of their work and do the best possible job in everything that they do.

With respect to the latter bullet, I recently read a book – Peter Stark’s Engaged! How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work. In his book, Mr. Stark defines employee engagement as a state in which, “employees are connected both at the head and the heart and they are willing to give what I call discretionary effort, meaning willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

It is very typical for not for profits to have high employee engagement. Not for profit employees are famous for their dedication to their personal and organizational goals, and that dedication is directly linked to the mission of the organization, and in our case “Creating Caring Communities”. Together, we are providing an invaluable benefit to society and our further strategic direction will lead us to ensure that we will continue to do so. After all, without a clear destination, we won’t know where we want to end up!

Of course, I welcome ideas, suggestions and any questions that you may have. Please feel free to send them to me at leanne.likness@bethanyseniors.com.

Have a great week everyone!

Yours truly,

– Leanne

This week I will be doing something I have never done before. I have been “requested” to attend court as a potential juror. I am sure many of you have received similar letters in the past. For many, such a request is met with a response like “Oh No! Why me?” while, for others, it is met with excitement and a hope that you would be selected, against the odds, to serve on a jury. I am intrigued by the fact that the juror summons I received directs me to attend court and be prepared to face whatever unfolds on the day. Regardless of what the result will be for me, I am pleased to be able to perform this important civic duty.

As I think of many of our recent events, I can think of several other circumstances when the People of Bethany have performed their own ‘calls of duty’ as they have met the responsibilities of their roles in positive ways:

• For example, last week Bethany Care Foundation hosted an event to increase awareness in the community about the contributions of many of our volunteers and donors that supported the building of Bethany Riverview and the new programs that will be offered within. Evelyn Buckley, a former Board chair and long-time supporter of Bethany, inspired many when she explained why she holds Bethany in such high regard and challenged those in attendance to add their financial support. At the same event, several staff members shared their in depth knowledge about dementia and during tours of the care centre, painted a picture of their visions of how we can better serve residents.
• Also, the Executive Leadership Team has started work on developing Bethany’s new strategic plan for discussion with the Board later this year – excitedly taking on one of our most important duties: setting a long term vision for the organization.
• And later this week, during Remembrance Day, we will also be reminded of the far greater call to duty performed by so many people when we recognize the contributions of our Veterans in the last century. This year is especially important because it will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11th 1918.

I sometimes feel that the word duty tends to have a negative connotation. It implies that we have to do something when we would rather not. However, by facing these duties or responsibilities with a positive attitude and doing them with pride and to the best of our abilities, we often are able to enhance the experience and achieve better outcomes for all concerned.

I would appreciate hearing of a time when you have creatively faced one of your own more mundane duties with a positive attitude, which allowed you to bring your best in fulfilling Bethany’s mission of ‘Creating Caring Communities’.

As always, I welcome your ideas, suggestions and any questions that you may have. Please feel free to send them to me at alasdair.smith@bethanyseniors.com.

Take care,

– Alasdair

As the leader of Human Resources at Bethany, the favourite part of my role is getting to meet the People of Bethany. I have had the absolute pleasure of welcoming our new employees to Bethany Riverview early Monday mornings as they begin their week of orientation. We have been onboarding our Riverview employees in teams that will be working together on the different Riverview neighborhoods. This week, we are welcoming cohort seven of eight, and will soon have all 300 Bethany Riverview staff working at the care centre. I have also had the opportunity to meet our new Bethany employees who have been participating in the monthly orientation sessions held at Bethany Calgary.

I have been overwhelmed by the passion, energy, enthusiasm and smiling faces greeting me at each orientation, and I am so excited for the future of Bethany, knowing that these employees are joining the Bethany community of dedicated and amazing employees with a common purpose – to create caring communities by providing care and support to those we serve with excellence.

Did you know that the most powerful driver of employee engagement is purpose? 

Purposeful employees perform better in their roles, stay longer, and have stronger relationships with their colleagues. I strongly believe that employees yearn for a higher sense of purpose. Together, when purpose is established and acted upon, great things can happen. I see this every day at Bethany in the work that we all do in demonstrating a higher purpose and living out our mission. Let’s continue to do great things together.

If you have any questions, or would simply like to share your ideas, please contact me directly at lisa.watson@bethanyseniors.com.

Kind regards,

– Lisa

Preventing the Flu Starts with You!

As we know, influenza season is as predictable as the weather in Calgary! That said, we do know that influenza outbreaks typically happen in October, peak in January and can continue as late as April or May. As we head into outbreak season, it is important that we continue to protect ourselves so that we can protect the individuals that we serve.

Statistics show that seniors and adults with existing chronic health conditions are at higher risk of developing complications from influenza and often require hospitalization. We know the virus spreads mainly from person to person when those who have the influenza virus sneeze or cough. Individuals may also become infected by touching an object or surface that has the influenza virus on it.

As a key partner, Alberta Health Services (AHS) coordinates the delivery and administration of the Universal Influenza Program of which Bethany is a part. AHS supports, among others, long term care operators in providing access to the influenza vaccine, training and education of staff who administer vaccines and regular reporting and monitoring of influenza outbreaks across the province. As an organization, Bethany plays an important role in achieving influenza immunization targets set by Alberta Health which includes a 95% immunization rate for residents in long term care and a 95% immunization rate for staff who work in long term care facilities.

Influenza Immunization Clinics are underway at all Bethany sites and at the time of writing, over 75% of our residents have been immunized. Bethany staff and volunteer vaccinations are happening fast enough that we have already had to order additional vaccine to keep up with the demand. Together with good hand hygiene practices, we are well on our way to managing the risk of influenza. Good hand hygiene is something we all know is important to do and support. In fact, many site teams recently participated in Global Handwashing Day on October 15, 2018, as an opportunity to engage our residents, families, volunteers and staff in reducing risk.

Thank you for all that you do in ensuring that the care provided to our residents is built on a foundation of safe practices.

As always, I welcome any ideas or suggestions you may have. Please send them to me at nancy.hughes@bethanyseniors.com.

Regards,

– Nancy

To ALL Bethany Employees, Contractors and Volunteers:

For many of you October 17, 2018 will be just another day, but for many it’s the day that Canadians can  legally buy, grow, and use cannabis as outlined in the applicable laws without fear of criminalization. To align with legalization, Bethany Care Society has updated its Alcohol and Drug Policy in anticipation of this change and to address the potential implications that this law could have on our workplace.

Recreational cannabis will be treated like alcohol in our workplaces. While on Bethany Care Society premises, employees, contractors and volunteers may not use, possess, distribute, sell or be under the influence of alcohol and/or recreational cannabis. With cannabis legalization, it’s important to outline the expectations of all Bethany employees, contractors and volunteers. Specifically:

• Bethany employees, contractors and volunteers are expected to arrive fit for work and remain fit during their shift.
• Illicit drugs and recreational cannabis must not be consumed by anyone while at work or at a time prior to reporting for work where the ongoing and/or residual effects may remain.
• Recreational cannabis is prohibited from use during any site events and/or celebrations.

It is important to Bethany to ensure employees are fit for work and have the ability to seek help when they need it. We remind all employees that support is available through our Employee Family Assistance Program and to feel comfortable approaching your supervisor if you are struggling and/or need assistance. Please take the time to review the updated Alcohol and Drug Policy on PolicyTech and reach out to your supervisor should you have any specific questions or concerns relating to the policy.

Bethany is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for its employees, contractors, and volunteers. To assist employees and our leaders, we will be developing further guidelines and a subsequent FAQ document to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Human Resources will be developing educational materials for employees and leaders on cannabis legalization and our respective policy. If you have any specific questions or concerns in the interim, please contact Lesley MacKinnon, Bethany’s Safety Manager at Lesley.mackinnon@bethanyseniors.com.

Please note that information will be forthcoming on the implications of the new legislation as it applies to those residents and tenants who call Bethany “home”.

Jennifer McCue
President and CEO