Category: News

The Power of One

Mother Teresa once said: “If I look at the many, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” 

Our work together at Bethany is in service to ‘the many’, but it has the biggest, and perhaps most lasting, impact when we connect to ‘the one’.

When you think about it, our daily connections are a series of ‘ones’. We have conversations, interactions, emails and moments that occur all day long – one resident, one family member, one volunteer and one work colleague at a time.

How we show up in those moments with each ‘one’ is important. Are we carrying over our last interaction into this new one? Are we present or are we distracted? Are we listening to understand or are we waiting to talk? What’s this person trying to tell us (verbally or non-verbally)?

As the Foundation looks to inspire donors to join in supporting Bethany’s mission, we always have the best success when we also consider our donors as ‘ones’.

When people think about giving, research shows that brains are wired to respond differently when processing information about a large number of people who have experienced a tragedy, like an earthquake or a tsunami… or when they learn that millions suffer from an illness like cancer or dementia. People feel empathy. They care and yes, they give.

But people have a much deeper emotional response, and give more, when they hear about one person, or one family, within that large group. When they know something about them, hear their stories, understand their pain.

Our job in the Foundation is to get to know our donors as ‘ones’ – to find out who they are, what they care about, and why they care. When we do that well, their generosity flows to Bethany’s ‘many’.

The next three months are typically our busiest and best time of the year for getting to know our donors and asking for their support.

Thanks for all you do to help us build great relationships with our community supporters.

Have a great week!

– Gail

The issue of privacy is not for us simply as a matter of business practice. It’s just fundamental to human dignity.
– Gerald Levin

As of August 31, 2018, changes to the Alberta Health Information Act took place. Not only is Bethany responsible for ensuring the integrity of the collection, use, and disclosure of health information; we are now obligated to report to the Privacy Commissioner, the Minister of Health, and the individual who is the subject of the individually identifying information, notice of any loss or unauthorized access to their information if there is a ‘risk of harm’ to that individual. The new provisions in the Health Information Regulation provide a non-exhaustive list of factors that must be considered by a custodian like Bethany when assessing whether there is a risk of harm. These factors include whether there is a reasonable basis to believe that the applicable information:

• has been or may be accessed by or disclosed to a person;
• has been misused or will be misused;
• could be used for the purpose of identity theft or to commit fraud; and
• could cause embarrassment or physical, mental or financial harm to, or damage the reputation of the subject individual.

The above factors are non-exhaustive (in essence, the Privacy Commissioner will make the call whether or not there was a risk of harm). As such, any potential breaches (both involving a resident, or otherwise) should always be reported through privacy@bethanyseniors.com to not only ensure that we remain in compliance, but more importantly, continue to live our mission of Creating Caring Communities by protecting the integrity of our residents’ personal information.

Some of my golden rules…

• Keeping health records private begins by thinking about the people permitted to see them.

• If you are not directly involved in the care of the resident, you should generally not access their information.

• The same principles apply whether you’re seeing a physical file, speaking on the phone, even writing a Post-it Note with resident information.

As everyone is aware, privacy breaches are not uncommon, and there are many ways to prevent them, including education, policy, and ensuring the integrity and security of our data, for our residents, our employees, and other stakeholders of whom we may hold their information (e.g. donors). Some of the instances where our own personal information may have been affected occurred in recent years in the “Biggest Data Breaches of the 21st Century“…

• When Verizon was going to buy Yahoo in 2016, Yahoo was forced to disclose that its data had been breached in 2013, compromising the names, e-mail addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers and passwords of 3 billion user accounts, knocking $350 million off their sale price.

• In 2014, hackers were able to access the accounts of three eBay corporate employees, resulting in the data of 145 million users being compromised.

• In 2017, an application vulnerability on one of Equifax’s websites resulted in a data breach of the information of 150 million customers, including social security and driver’s license numbers.

• And of course, just last Friday, Facebook announced that an attack on its computer network has exposed the personal information of nearly 50 million users.

During my short time at Bethany, I have watched all of you live and breath the values of Bethany. We Care, We Show Respect, and We Are Responsible – all integral components of thinking about privacy in our day-to-day lives and while we are at work. If any of you ever have any questions as to the above, my door is always open.

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

Today is Monday, September 24, 2018 – a very significant day for the People of Bethany. After more than two years of construction and several more months of building set up, Bethany Riverview is scheduled to receive its first residents which are to be cared for by the site’s first scheduled shift of care staff. Congratulations are due to everyone who has been involved in preparing for this day. There are very many of you who have been involved in big or small ways – you all know who you are!

Many things have had to occur to accomplish the successful opening of a new care centre. There obviously has been a lot of hard physical work by many staff and contractors. However, I’m not sure how many of you are as aware that this wonderful outcome could not have been achieved without years and years of thoughtful planning.

This made me think that now would be a good time for me to share with you some personal views about the benefit of taking the time to plan effectively, rather than just jumping into an activity or an event without appropriate forethought.

Over the years, whether at work or at home, preparing for a big life event for you or your family, travelling to a far-away place, or even just going out with friends, I’ve learned the importance of investing some time to anticipate the occasion and make plans for how circumstances might unfold. For some of those occasions, the appropriate extent of planning is simple and could be:

• For meeting some friends – to ask questions like: “Do I have enough money with me?” or “Will I be warm enough (or too hot) in these clothes?”
• For doing yard work at home – to make sure that you have the correct tools for the job, or making sure you have enough gas for the lawnmower.
• For a big life event – like the purchase of your first car – to make sure the car is registered and insurance has been arranged, and (hopefully) that you already have a driver’s license!

There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained in sitting back before one of these rather simple events and thinking how great the event will be. That’s when we need to ask the next question, which is “OK, what is my ‘Plan B’?”. A ‘Plan B’ is the one that kicks in when our initial plan starts to fail. For example: the weather may be fine now, but what if it will rain later?

For a project as large as Bethany Riverview, the principles of good planning are no different – a large project just has many more elements and some of them are very significant. That’s when the benefit of careful forethought (and having a series of sound ‘Plan B’s) provides the opportunity to be successful. And the best quality measure of any ‘Plan B’ is when everyone who is not “in the know” thinks that it was planned that way in the first place.

As always, I welcome 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

For many of you October 17th will be just another day – a non-event – or like me, a good friend’s birthday. However for many Canadians, October 17th is the day that they can legally buy, grow and use recreational cannabis without fear of criminalization. In preparation for this important change, Bethany has updated its Alcohol and Drug Policy to address the potential implications this change will have in our workplace.

After October 17th, Albertans over the age of 18 will be able to purchase recreational cannabis from licensed vendors just like buying liquor from the liquor store. At Bethany, recreational cannabis will be treated like alcohol in our workplaces and this has been reflected in the updated policy around use, fitness for work, disclosure and impairment. In other words, everyone is expected to perform their work in a manner that is safe for themselves, contractors, visitors and residents at all times. Recreational cannabis, illicit drugs and alcohol cannot be consumed while on duty or at a time prior to reporting for duty where the ongoing and/or residual effects may cause impairment.

Bethany is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace for all employees, contractors, volunteers and residents. Ensuring employees are fit for work and have the ability to seek help when they need it, is important to Bethany. With the pending legalization, it is a great opportunity to remind everyone 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.

As the countdown to October 17th approaches, please review the updated Alcohol and Drug Policy on PolicyTech. Over the coming weeks, we look forward to sharing more information on the changes to Bethany’s policy to help employees and supervisors understand their roles and responsibilities.

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

Together Everyone Achieves More

Over the course of the last few months, an increasing amount of my time has been focused on ensuring things are in place to successfully open our newest care centre, Bethany Riverview. It has been an interesting time for me and I have learned a lot. I have worked closely with many individuals at Bethany but have also had the opportunity to work with many staff and contractors external to our organization. This experience has really highlighted for me the importance of teamwork.

Given our different backgrounds and the organizations we work for, we have all had to stay committed to our goal of successfully opening Bethany Riverview. At times, this has been challenging given differing viewpoints and perspectives but it has also been incredibly rewarding to work with such a talented team of individuals. This project has touched every department and site within Bethany and I am continually impressed by the way our Bethany team has risen to the challenge. Timelines have been tight and the work has been complex and challenging. Our external partners have come to know us well and, they too, have worked closely with us to ensure we are on time and have what we need.

It has been an enormous amount of work to get to where we are. We couldn’t have done it without an extraordinary team of people working towards a common goal and for the generosity of spirit we have experienced from our teams at our other Care Centres and Housing sites. I am truly grateful to work with all of you and to be a part of the Bethany team.

In the words of Henry Ford: “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself”.

Thank you for all that you do.

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

Regards,

– Nancy

Stay up-to-date on Bethany’s progress with our September newsletter! From the latest on the Bethany Riverview campus to the Q4 Pulse Survey results, you’ll find it here in the latest issue of Update. Click Here to view the PDF version.

It Takes A Village…

It has been an exciting few weeks as Bethany prepares to open our newest care center, Bethany Riverview. Many of us have been working on this project for a long time and we are very excited that the site is almost ready to welcome our first residents. However, it is really important to reflect on the work that has gone on to get us to this point.

Today I want to thank the “People of Bethany” for your hard work because each of you has contributed to Bethany Riverview in your own way. Everyone who works at a Bethany site has continued to work hard every day in service of our residents. By coming to work and living into our mission you have allowed others to focus their time on Bethany Riverview. Our tenants at Riverview Village have been patient and supportive as this project has unfolded. Construction has been disruptive and constant for over two years but you share our excitement as we prepare to open this new home. Our corporate team has continued to contribute by supporting the organization and then packing and moving to our new corporate team space at Bethany Riverview. Over the last few years our Board of Trustees and our Bethany Care Foundation Board have worked tirelessly to make Bethany Riverview possible.

So as we prepare to welcome our first residents at Bethany Riverview, our first “Campus of Care for Seniors”, please take a moment to congratulate each other for your contribution. After all, it takes a village to build a caring community.

With gratitude for all that you have done…thank you for living into our mission every day.

Jennifer

As always I welcome your comments at jennifer.mccue@bethanyseniors.com

Moving Through Life

“We miss you! Do you miss us?”

Bethany Corporate has undertaken its move to Bethany Riverview in Riverview Village over the last couple of weeks, and this has been a bit of a common refrain. Many of the corporate team headed to Riverview Village a week ago, while others remained behind awaiting their move day. We get used to seeing the same colleagues daily and it’s definitely felt different for all of us over the past week.

It’s a shared human feeling – missing people and wondering if we’re missed when we’re not around!

It made me think about our Bethany families. If we miss our daily interactions with work colleagues after just a week apart, imagine what a big life change it is having a loved one move into care and how much missing goes on in people’s hearts and minds.

That’s why Bethany’s model of everyday excellence is so vital. We all play a part in helping residents and families move through their life transitions. We journey alongside them as they miss each other and the way things were before. Our staff and volunteers give families a sense of peace and comfort that their loved one is cared for and safe. Our donors make it possible for Bethany to add a dog park, a garden or an art program that brings some of those things that are being missed back to the everyday experience of our residents.

Our move to Riverview Village will enable our corporate team to be closer to the residents and families we serve every day and to live into the mission of Bethany more fully. We’re excited for the journey ahead!

Thanks for all you do!

– Gail

In most prior years, I have found the summer to be a time when we tend to demonstrate a more relaxed attitude. Children are off school, most of us take some vacation time away from work to travel or enjoy our various pastimes, and the days and evenings are warmer and longer, enabling us to get out and enjoy our own communities. Even when we are at work, our commute is generally easier as traffic tends to be lighter during school breaks.

This year, however, it appears that things around us are more intense. Our communities have been hitting record high temperatures in the past couple of weeks. There have been several wild storms delivering heavy rain that has caused flooding, hail that has damaged crops and cars, strong winds that have blown down trees, and forest fires that have resulted in local damage as well as widespread air quality warnings. Beyond those extreme but natural events, we also read about the high number of tragic accidents on Alberta roads and a number of potential email frauds that are attacking our desk top computers on an almost daily basis. It seems that, with all of these things happening around us, when added to our work responsibilities and the other daily chores, we are constantly under stress to survive.

At times like these, I like to think back and draw on prior events that can help me get through what might appear to be a temporary crisis. What springs to my mind at this time is the old saying “Keep Calm and Carry On”. According to Wikipedia, this saying was first created for a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. Interestingly, however, although 2.45 million copies of the poster were printed, and although the air attacks did in fact take place, the poster was hardly ever publicly displayed at that time. A copy was rediscovered in 2000 at a bookshop and it has since been re-issued and widely marketed by a number of private companies. Those companies were able to find the ‘silver lining’ in the ‘cloud’ that brought about the initial purpose of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster.

I believe that one of the most important qualities we have as individuals is the ability to find the silver lining in any cloud that may appear to be over us. I would like to challenge all of us, when a problem or issue appears in front of us, to ask the question – how can I not only address my problem but also turn the change that is required into an opportunity to be more successful?

As always, I welcome ideas, suggestions and any questions that you may have.  Please feel free to send them to me at alasdair.smith@bethanyseniors.com. I would love to hear from you about the improvements you have made as a result of overcoming an issue or concern.

Take care,

– Alasdair