Bethany showed their strength and team spirit at one of Calgary’s most popular summer events, the Calgary Dragon Boat Race and Festival that took place on August 12-13 at North Glenmore Park and Bethany’s enthusiastic team was there to compete! Our team included dedicated and passionate Bethany employees, an Aramark employee and friends and family members. After training for months, Team Bethany posted a best time of 2:37.48 in their first race, and finished third in their final race with a time of 2:41.37. It was an exciting finish with our team showing a burst of speed and pulling their boat from last place to third place during the last few hundred metres of the “C” Consolation race. Congratulations to the team for their dedication and great team spirit! You represented Bethany well!
Blog
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A Message from the VP, People and Culture
My family and I recently spent a week in Orlando and enjoyed the Florida sunshine and lots of heat! We braved the summer crowds with days at Disneyland and Universal Studios, and down time at our rented house and pool. For anyone that has experienced these theme parks, I’m sure you would all agree that customer service is extraordinary! We spent one day at Magic Kingdom, and from the moment we entered the park, you could feel the “Disney magic”. The park was spotless, every Disney person was courteous, smiling and striving to meet all guest’s expectations and deliver service with excellence. They certainly found ways to help everyone and spread lots of joy and happiness! It was contagious and they certainly live into being “The Happiest Place On Earth”.
Sadly, not all of our service was delivered with excellence. We rented a great home through VRBO, which is a Vacation Rental By Owner service. The property was beautiful and there was a welcome message for us, with information about the property management company to contact for any issues. On day 3 our garburator stopped working and the dishwasher was overflowing into the sink and on the kitchen floor. We immediately contacted the property management company and they said they would immediately send someone over to fix it. We arrived home after a long day at Universal Studios to find it wasn’t fixed and no one had come to fix our problem. Our expectations were definitely not met. Despite numerous emails and phone calls, no one came to the house during our 8 days to address our concerns and we had to deal with a blocked sink and overflowing dishwasher for the remainder of our holiday. This lack of customer service was extremely disappointing and such a stark contrast to our experience at Disneyland and Universal.
Bethany is certainly not a theme park, but we too are living into Service Excellence and our Standards for Service Excellence. These standards guide our behaviours to deliver excellent service to all we serve. Let’s all create some of the Disney magic through finding ways to help others and spread joy and happiness. Happy residents, families, tenants and staff create a dynamic and engaged workplace. Imagine a future where Bethany is considered “the happiest place to live and work”. I believe that future isn’t too far away and is absolutely possible.
– Lisa
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A Message from the CFO
I have found this summer to be very interesting. In addition to the fantastic weather we have experienced in Alberta, which has enabled us to do many things close to home, my wife and I took a couple of trips to visit with friends in their new homes out of province. As usually happens when you catch up with old friends we had not seen for a while, much of our conversations were about “the good old days” and the activities and events we shared in the past. These memories are important to us as we build on those relationships which we hope will last, likely from a long distance, for many more years. At work as well, it is enjoyable to think back to the things we used to do, either at Bethany or with previous employers, often thinking back (sometimes enviously) about those “good old days.”
One of the things I have been working on is preparing for a Bethany Care Foundation Board retreat later this month. The purpose of this retreat is to have the Board think of their preferred future direction for the Foundation – to identify the directions that they would like to see the Foundation take over the next decade. At home as well, there are plenty of opportunities to plan for the future; whether it is for the educational course we would like to take, or how we will save to buy a new car or house, or establishing a plan to marry, start a family or retire. These are all times when looking into the future and attempting to build that perfect plan are important.
One of the things I have noticed is we often spend so much time looking back in our pasts and planning for the good times ahead, that we sometimes forget to focus our attention on the present time. What is the task I am doing today, how can I do it better, and what can I do to make sure I enjoy what I am doing? I believe this is true in our personal relationships and activities as well as what we do at work. The Standards for Service Excellence provide guidance for some of the ways that we all can provide the direction to our day-to-day work, as well as in how we interact with people in our personal lives, as we meet the challenges of meeting our day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. Applying focus and direction to those responsibilities is just one of the ways that we can meet Bethany’s mission of Creating Caring Communities.
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
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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
Last year, the town of Cochrane received provincial funding to establish an Elder Abuse Steering Committee. Bethany Cochrane was honoured to be invited to be part of this group, with a common goal of building a collective and collaborative approach to battling elder abuse. Over the last year members have come together to develop a community driven response and are well on the way to having a framework for reporting, training the community and having a 24 hour response line.
On June 15, Bethany Cochrane played an active role in the annual World Elder Abuse Awareness day. Residents from supportive living attended the event wearing purple clothing, (purple is the colour used worldwide to show awareness for Elder Abuse).
The day commenced with a pancake breakfast held at the Cochrane Legion. Speeches from the committee and Cochrane Mayor Ivan Brooker were shared about the progress of the response plan and the vision for Cochrane to become a community free from elder abuse.
Mayor Brooker also planted a purple lilac tree, the symbol chosen by the steering committee to raise awareness. This was followed by an awareness march along Main Street Cochrane involving Bethany residents and community members. It was great event and we thank the residents and staff of Bethany Cochrane for raising awareness on behalf of all seniors in the community.
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A Message from the CMO
Shaping Big Decisions
Life is full of big decisions. What will I do for a career? Who will I marry? What neighbourhood will we live in? For our family, the current big decision is what kind of dog we are going to get. We have done a great deal of research and talked to a lot of people about their experiences. Finding a good match is most important and we are taking our time.
For families with a loved one in care, choosing a care facility is one of the biggest decisions they will ever make. And there isn’t often the luxury of time. Yet, they too are looking for a good match and will be influenced by conversations with others who have loved ones in care and experiences visiting our sites. By approaching the work we do through Service Excellence we are shaping the experiences of current and future residents. We want them to feel that Bethany has been or could be the right choice because they can continue to live their story in a community that values them and surrounds them with heartfelt care.
Each of us is part of this community. I hope the big decision you made to work with Bethany has been a good match also. Service Excellence isn’t a program, but rather the sum of all the positive interactions we have with residents, families, our peers, volunteers and suppliers each and every day. Thank you for the excellence you bring to the ways you serve!
And while I may spend my evenings oohing and ahhing over the latest puppy video, my days are brightened by your stories of the unique ways people at Bethany are creating moments of meaning for our residents and each other. Please continue to send those to me at daranne.harris@bethanyseniors.com.
Blessings,
– Daranne
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Bethany Care Foundation Provides Scholarships to Bow Valley College Students
Two deserving students at Bow Valley College (BVC) received scholarships from Bethany Care Foundation in May. The students are both in the Practical Nursing program at BVC and received the Bethany Care Society Excellence in Practical Nursing Scholarships from the Bethany Care Foundation.
The recipients of the award are passionate about nursing and helping seniors. One of the recipients, Richard Fualekefua is originally from Cameroon and his goal is to become a registered nurse. The other recipient, Nicole Canales, has been working in health care with adults and children with disabilities for 17 years. Nicole worked in home care with seniors and completed her practicum at Bethany Cochrane, her goal is to work as a licensed practical nurse in long-term care.
Thank you to the Bethany Care Foundation for helping these very admirable students make their dreams a reality, to work in the healthcare industry helping seniors.
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CollegeSide Cruisers Raise Awareness for Alzheimer’s
For the third year in a row, 9 caring staff members from Bethany CollegeSide, CollegeSide Gardens and Sylvan Lake participated in the Walk for Alzheimer’s in Red Deer on June 17. The team was called the CollegeSide Cruisers and they were so successful that their team raised the most money – raising $3840. Family members of residents also participated in the event, and staff members showed their support to residents and families with their “People of Bethany” t-shirts. Thank you to the CollegeSide Cruisers for their commitment to the community and to raising awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.
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A Message from the President and CEO
WAVE….Service Excellence at Bethany
Over the last few weeks we have introduced you to Bethany WAVE, our service excellence program. This exciting initiative provides guidance and tools to help all of us who serve the People of Bethany action our values. Great things happen at Bethany every day. When we care, show respect and act responsibly we are living our values and ensuring we deliver on our mission of creating caring communities.
Please take the time to watch our Service Excellence videos where members of the Executive Leadership team and our Aramark partner share their views on the importance of service excellence. As you become familiar with the elements of WAVE, specifically the service standards, I encourage you to work with your team and discuss how these service standards become our way of “being” at Bethany. I remind you of the quote credited to Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Welcome to WAVE…Service Excellence at Bethany!
I welcome your comments and feedback about WAVE or other matters. I can be reached via email at Jennifer.mccue@bethanyseniors.com.
– Jennifer
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Bethany’s Quarterly Employee Engagement Pulse Survey
Please see below information regarding Bethany’s new employee surveys.
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Healthy Summer Eating
It is summertime and everyone wants to make the most of it! The sunny, warm season means eating and/or cooking outdoors. Here are some tips for healthy summer eating.
Keep vegetables and fruit as the main focus on your plate:
- Fill half your plate with vegetables, fruit or a green salad. Use plain yogurt, lemon juice, herbs and spices to make delicious dips and dressings.
- Try cooking vegetables such as eggplant or cabbage wedges on the barbecue grill. Create colourful vegetable kabobs using bell pepper, corn, onion, zucchini, mushroom and tomato.
- Cook a potato, yam or cob of corn wrapped in aluminum foil on the barbecue.
When choosing meat, fish or tofu to grill:
- Look for lean cuts or poultry without skin.
- Use a marinade.
- Cook meat on foil or a grill pan.
- Cook at a lower temperature and trim charred pieces of meat.
- Choose fish and shellfish more often; you can grill a whole salmon fillet on a cedar plank or wrapped in aluminum foil with herbs and spices.
- Marinate tofu cubes and grill them on a skewer with vegetable pieces.
To quench thirst in a healthy way:
- Flavour water with lemon or orange wedges, mint leaves, fresh rosemary or frozen berries. Make flavoured ice cubes by putting a berry in each cube of an ice cube tray and filling it with water.
- Try making fizzy drinks with carbonated water, a splash of 100% fruit juice and frozen fruit.
Include refreshing summer desserts:
- Take advantage of what summer has to offer by choosing seasonal fruit.
- Grilled peaches, pineapple or plums with a dollop of Greek yogurt are a tasty dessert.
- Try homemade frozen desserts by freezing your favourite smoothie recipe in a popsicle tray or small cups with a popsicle stick in the middle.
- For a healthier approach, continuously turn foods over while barbequing and do not overcook.
For tips or answers on food safety, visit: healthycanadians.gc.ca.
Source: Alberta Health Services