Category: News

Looking back and also to the future

Canada Day celebrations marking 150 years of confederation this past weekend were cause for much celebration for many. It was an opportunity to look back at where we have been and ahead to where we wish to go. We were reminded that the history of our land and first peoples here is much older. We looked forward to an increasingly diverse and inclusive Canada that we might become by the time of 200 year celebrations in 50 years. At Bethany too, it is important to look back as we continue to look forward. Our mission to create caring communities grows out of a vision of people who were motivated to care for the vulnerable among them. They created a home where people could age well. A community of caring was supported by both staff and countless volunteers.

While the way in which care is delivered these seven decades later is more regulated and interconnected with our health care system, the reasons we care remain the same. People should have the opportunity to age well in a community that honours their dignity and values. Like the country we call home, our future will also be one of growing diversity and inclusion. We can look back, but we are also looking forward to better ways of providing for the needs of our residents, tenants, families, staff and volunteers. Thank you for the part you play in Creating Caring Communities at Bethany!

And I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you appreciate from our past and what you hope for our future. Email me at daranne.harris@bethanyseniors.com.

Blessings,

– Daranne

“Being Green- Environmentally Friendly Best Practices”

I recently had the privilege of attending the National Health Leadership Conference in Vancouver, B.C. It was a great opportunity to connect with health leaders and hear about exciting initiatives underway in health care across the country. I attended a particularly interesting session on “green” health care that was very informative and thought provoking. The speaker was from the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and talked about the work the Coalition does in helping health care facilities (and organizations) with the implementation of green health care best practices and to become better equipped to deal with the growing demands placed on health facilities to be environmentally responsible. The Coalition has been in place since 2000 and has had a significant impact on the greening of the Canadian health care landscape.

There are a number of areas that organizations need to focus on in terms of “green practices”:

1. Sustainable Facilities – health care facilities are intensive users of energy and water which contributes to a large overall carbon footprint. It is important to think about strategies for reducing our carbon footprint and these conversations are occurring as we embark on construction of our new buildings.
2. Water Conservation – health care facilities are large users of water. When we do not use water efficiently or productively, this drives up costs. As well, the cumulative demand for water results in competition for locally available water supplies and can threaten aquatic ecosystems.
3. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing – What products we purchase and how we purchase them can impact the environment. When we adopt environmentally preferable purchasing we purchase goods and services whose environmental impacts have been analyzed and determined to be less harmful to the environment. We currently undertake a number of product trials and this is one aspect that we look at.

These are just a few of the areas that require focus – there are others such as waste management and healthy and sustainable foods; these too, are areas where we need to think about “green” practices.

Perhaps the most important message of the presentation was that both leaders and staff within an organization need to be committed to this concept. This commitment is essential if we are to achieve environmental improvement and sustainability within the health sector. At Bethany we are already doing a number of things to support the environment but we need to support each other to do more. I would encourage you to bring forward any ideas or thoughts you have about this; it is so important on our journey to implement and integrate environmentally responsible practices into the delivery of care.

Regards,

– Nancy

I had the privilege of attending Calgary Orientation this week in which we welcomed new employees to the Bethany family. Meeting our employees and hearing their stories and reasons for joining Bethany is always energizing and rewarding. Bethany has a very strong reputation in our industry for providing excellent care and services to our residents, tenants and families. Our mission of Creating Caring Communities, being recognized as a Top Employer 10 years in a row this year, and creating a culture of service excellence provides us with a competitive advantage in attracting and retaining top talent to the organization. We have an amazing workforce, rich in diversity of culture and experiences, all coming to Bethany for the common purpose of serving others. It is not an accident that so many of our employees have been at Bethany for 15+ years!

Our new employees at Orientation were given a “sneak peek” of our Bethany videos in which Bethany employees tell their stories about working at Bethany. The passion for serving others is very evident from each of our “Bethany stars”, and their positive attitude and pride is contagious! The videos can be found on YouTube by searching “Working at Bethany”, or you can visit Bethany’s YouTube Channel here. Daranne Harris, our VP & Chief Mission Officer, talks about understanding how we can improve the experience for residents, families and each other. We all own the Bethany experience, and it’s up to each of us to shape and create it. I encourage each of you to watch the videos and to consider how you will shape and create your Bethany story.

– Lisa Watson, Vice President, People and Culture