Author: SeidmanA

The Calgary Stampede has come and gone, but not without celebration at Bethany!

Bethany employees, volunteers, residents, tenants and community partners had the opportunity to enjoy western-themed fun, games, and food beloved by Stampede-goers and Albertans across the province.

Joining to celebrate were Government of Alberta Ministers Jason Nixon and Tanya Fir at Riverview Village and Member of Parliament Blake Richards, Government of Alberta Minister Peter Guthrie and Mayor Jeff Genung in Cochrane. Stampede celebrations at both locations also included our new friends from TaleGate (talegate4joy.com), who are helping us create and share the stories of Bethany.

And Bethany’s celebrations didn’t end with the Stampede. Some of our Bethany CollegeSide residents in Red Deer scored front-row seats to the Westerner Days parade, enjoying the exciting music and floats as they passed by.

Thank you to everyone who joined Bethany to celebrate Stampede, Westerner Days, and the community that makes our work possible.

Bethany Care Society (Bethany) is one of Western Canada’s largest not-for-profit providers of care, housing, and community services for seniors and persons with disabilities.

But Bethany is more than just a landlord. Through an exciting research partnership with a large international organization, we tested the Seniors at Home virtual technology at three of our housing sites in Alberta. This one-year pilot project was the first in Canada to utilize sensors and easy-to-use tablet devices to support remote health and wellness monitoring in study participants’ homes. The technology allowed the participants to communicate regularly with their nursing wellness partners, fostering meaningful relationships and allowing them to successfully identify and achieve important health and wellness goals.

Our tenants saw an improvement in sleep patterns, mobility, weight regulation, and management of chronic medical conditions. These results and the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the study participants highlight the positive impacts of using technologies like this to enhance overall health and well-being. In the future, study participants hope to see widespread program implementation to extend the incredible benefit to other seniors.

To learn more about the Seniors at Home initiative and other Bethany research and innovation initiatives, the full article can be found in our 2023 Annual Report.