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  • Bethany Calgary Hosts Fundraiser

    On June 7, Bethany Calgary hosted a bake sale and “pie in the face” fundraiser to help raise money for the Vertical Ascent, contributing to Bethany Riverview. Staff got involved in the event and had a great time donating money to the cause. Thank you to Bethany Calgary for getting involved in the Vertical Ascent and the Bethany Riverview Capital Campaign in an innovative and fun way.

  • Board Engagement Dinner

    Bethany’s annual Board Engagement Dinner took place on May 25 at Bethany Calgary and was a great success for both the Board, staff members and Aramark. The event was an opportunity for Board members and staff members from each site to engage with each other and celebrate service excellence at Bethany. The theme of the evening was celebrating innovation and excellence in food service with our partner, Aramark. Our path to excellence in food service has taken creativity, hard work and listening to the resident’s needs.

    At the Board Engagement Dinner, guests had the opportunity to visit four “innovation stations” to see first-hand how Bethany and Aramark help create caring communities. The first station had a customer and resident focus, showcasing flexible breakfast times and finger food. The second station was a health and wellness stop, where guests could experience different textures and pureed foods. The third station was a plating station that showcased how we present foods in a pleasant, appetizing way. The final station was focused on technology and showcased Bethany’s new “rational oven”, a German-made appliance that can bake, roast, broil, steam, grill, fry, dehydrate, poach and reheat food. The appliance provides the ability to prepare foods in a variety of different ways to appeal to residents.

    The event was also a chance to thank and show appreciation for our food service partner, Aramark. We are thankful for Aramark’s help and commitment to Bethany with helping us implement improvements to our food services program. Thank you to everyone at Bethany who has contributed to implementing new food service programs, together we have been able to contribute to service excellence for our residents in a very significant way.

  • Project Shift Update

    For the last 6 months the Project Shift team have been designing and building a new electronic and paperless scheduling and timekeeping system known as Kronos Workforce Central. This summer the project team will begin testing the system.

    The new system will begin to be rolled out this fall. A pilot will begin at the Corporate Services building in October, followed by Bethany CollegeSide and Sylvan Lake soon after. Our plan is to have all the Care Centre’s transitioned to the new system by the spring of 2018.

    What does this mean for you?

    • All employees will be able to submit time off requests electronically and are able to access bank time information from their phone or any computer
    • Every two weeks corporate staff will review and approve their own electronic time cards
    • Instead of signing a paper attendance flow sheet each day, hourly employees will confirm their attendance via a Kronos InTouch device
    • Hourly employees will be able to access their work schedule from their phone or any computer
    • Based upon preferences, we will be able to contact hourly employees for relief shift opportunities by phone, email, or text

    android-appWhy we are changing?

    Our current scheduling and timekeeping system (ESP) was first introduced to Bethany over 20 years ago. With a new tool it will help us:

    • Provide employees with real-time access to schedule and bank information
    • Provide managers with real-time access to review and approve overtime and employee time off requests
    • Reduce or eliminate paper scheduling processes
    • Schedule employees more efficiently, while continuing our commitment to pay employees accurately
    • Offer new ways for employees and schedulers to communicate about available work opportunities

    Next steps

    • We will keep you up to date about the rollout across Bethany
    • Training will be provided to all staff to understand all changes and learn how to use the technology
    • Email shift@bethanyseniors.com about any questions you may have about Project Shift
    • Give us constructive feedback about what we can do to make the transition easier for you

    Thank you for helping us make this important organizational transformation!

    – Nancy Hughes, Vice President & Chief Operating Officer,
    Lisa Watson, Vice President, People & Culture

  • A Message from the VP, People and Culture

    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

  • A Message from the President and CEO

    Reaching New Heights!

    Over the course of my career I have been privileged to learn, grow and experience many things. This week I was able to raise awareness about dementia and the wonderful care that the People of Bethany provide everyday and check something off my bucket list. I don’t remember when I decided that I wanted to climb a construction crane but I have been talking about it for several years. To finally be able to do this at Bethany Riverview was thrilling.

    I was humbled by the support I received and so appreciative for everyone who showed up to cheer me on. It was especially exciting for me that my son could come and watch his mom do something that is somewhat out of her norm! I love what I do and when I reached the top of the crane and looked down at our new building, I was excited to see our vision coming to life.

    I have reflected on the experience and I am so happy that I pushed past my fears and allowed myself to experience the excitement of the climb, the beautiful view from the top and a once in a life time opportunity to operate the crane for a few moments (supervised, of course)!

    Thank you to each of you for supporting me by making a donation, cheering me on and for the words of encouragement. Every day I am inspired by the work that you do. I’m honored to serve the People of Bethany.

    – Jennifer

  • Bethany Chaplain Wins Award

    Congratulations to Chaplain Jennifer Hauck (Bethany Calgary) who was honoured with an Excellence in Institutional Ministry award from the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care (CASC). The accolade recognizes a person who has made a significant contribution to and demonstrated excellence in professional practice as exemplified by the CASC Standards of Practice. Jennifer has a depth of knowledge and dedicated presence with residents and family members that makes her a welcome companion on the aging journey. She is also instrumental in cultivating the next generation of chaplains by mentoring students as a preceptor in the Clinical Pastoral Education program.

  • A Message from the CFO

    In the corporate world, companies are monitored and analyzed based on how well they do financially from one period to the next. This is done for each fiscal year and, on an interim basis, for each fiscal quarter. You may have noticed in the media last week that the major Canadian banks, for example, issued their second quarter results, which came with a variety of comments about how well they were performing against their financial plans and in relation to the other banks.

    Although Bethany operates in the ‘not-for-profit’ world – both Bethany Care Society and The Bethany Care Foundation are registered Canadian charities – we also have our financial results reviewed by an independent auditor. Both organizations have a fiscal year that starts on April 1 and ends on March 31. As a result, for the past couple of months, the focus of work for the Finance department has been on closing out the financial records for last year, preparing for the audit team’s arrival at the beginning of May, and responding to their questions about our financial results, the values of our assets and liabilities, and how the information and numbers were determined. I am very pleased to say that this work is now complete and that, once again, the staff met the high standards that the auditors expected.

    For some people, the thought of having their work monitored, reviewed and perhaps even challenged, is not very pleasant. Thankfully, the team is accustomed to this level of scrutiny, and we use this process as one of the ways we monitor the quality of work the Finance department, and the many others who support the department, do for Bethany.

    No matter where people work at Bethany – whether working as a frontline care giver, or as a maintenance or support worker at any of our care centres or housing apartments, or in a Corporate Office position (such as in Finance), or as one of our managers or other leaders in the organization – it is important we celebrate the importance of teamwork. We all have the opportunity to contribute our special skills and experiences in the best ways we can.

    I want to congratulate the employees who were involved in Bethany’s 2016-2017 financial audits, and to thank them all for the pride they take in their work. This is just one of the important ways these People of Bethany contribute to our residents and families in 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

  • Bethany Staff Profile: Janine Ollenberger

    National Nurses Week was held May 8-14. Thank you to all of our caring nurses at Bethany for helping to improve the lives of residents every day.Janine Ollenberger
    Care Services Manager, Bethany Calgary

    How did you start your career?
    I went to the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon and got my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Ever since high school I knew that I wanted to care for others and be of service. I believe we were put on this earth to serve others and that’s why I chose nursing.

    How has your career progressed over the years? When did you start at Bethany?
    Long-term care has always been my passion. I always worked in geriatrics and had another nursing job on the side. I worked in acute care, private nursing, palliative nursing, and I worked with Canadian Blood Services. I am the best nurse I can be when I’m with the seniors. Out of 70 graduates from my university only two of us chose Geriatrics. It’s not a common choice when you’re a new grad. I’ve been at Bethany for over three years.

    What is your favourite part about being a nurse?
    Sometimes, you’re the only smiling face a resident may see that day. Some residents don’t have visitors, and you can be the person that can make them feel loved and cared for and you can bring a smile to their face. We are here as much for the families as we are for the residents. The care I can offer is very fulfilling, providing them with some sense of support.

    What is the best part about working at Bethany?
    Being a part of the Bethany family. Bethany attracts passionate and compassionate people. I feel like I belong here because we have the same sense of values and really care about residents. I work with a great team. We work hard and have fun.

    What does your role encompass? What’s a typical day for you?
    I work as the Care Services Manager on the MDE unit at Bethany Calgary and started three years ago. Every day is different. This is the most fulfilling job I’ve had to date. I feel like I am truly making a difference. Every day I walk around the unit and ensure the wellbeing of residents, family and staff. I attend clinical rounds, facilitate ID team meetings, as well as resident care conferences. I provide ongoing support to residents, families and staff.

    What’s the MDE/SCU unit?
    It is a 49-bed specialized complex dementia program that serves all of Southern Alberta. It is a transition unit for complex dementia residents to come to be stabilized and live a more fulfilling life. Starting on this unit was the first time I worked on a specialized dementia unit. We are a multidisciplinary team, we work together and are supportive of each other. I feel very honoured to be on this team, all the staff are here because they want to be here. I see miracles happen every day because of the expertise used by staff with this population. We are a very cohesive team, everyone works well together and it is actually quite calm and happy – it’s a great place to work.

    What are your favourite hobbies/interesting facts about yourself?
    I love to waterski, snowboard, golf and be outside. I enjoy gardening and running and find it stress relieving to be outside and recharge.

  • Founders’ Bursary Awards

    Every year, Bethany presents the Founders’ Bursary Awards to two very deserving children of Bethany employees. The Board of Trustees established the Founders’ Bursary Awards in 1995 during the 50th Anniversary of Bethany to honour the Founders of Bethany Care Society. Through the program, two $1,500 bursaries are awarded each year to the children of Bethany employees who are pursuing post-secondary education. The awards are an expression of Bethany living its mission of creating caring communities by recognizing staff through the achievements of their children.

    The criteria for the awards include scholastic achievement, outstanding leadership, clear and compelling career goals and a commitment to the community. Bethany has awarded 40 individuals over the years, totaling $60,000. The Bethany Care Foundation provides the financial support for the Founders’ Bursary Awards through the generosity of donors.

    All Bethany staff are encouraged to have their children apply for the Award. Application forms are available on Connections (under “News”) or from Human Resources, and the deadline for applying this year is July 31, 2017.

  • Bethany Staff Profile: Nancy Hughes

    National Nurses Week was held May 8-14. Thank you to all of our caring nurses at Bethany for helping to improve the lives of residents every day.Nancy Hughes
    Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

    How did you start your career?
    I did my Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Calgary. After I completed my degree, I began my clinical practice at the Foothills Medical Centre. I was fortunate to work in many different areas but most of my clinical work was in Nephrology. I graduated at a time when there was a shortage of nurses so there were lots of opportunities.

    How has your career progressed over the years? When did you start at Bethany?
    I have been very fortunate to have had a lot of opportunities in my career. As a result, I have done a lot of different things over the years. I started my career working in clinical practice and then decided to do a Graduate program at the University of Alberta. After graduating with my Masters in Health Services Administration, I worked in quality improvement and then moved into a more operational role. I worked in Admitting and Transition Services and then lead an initiative on Outpatient Services and Planning with the Calgary Health Region. In 2007, I was recruited to the planning team for the South Health Campus. I started being part of the concept visioning for the project and then moved through planning, commissioning and operations on the site for a period of seven years. It is a career accomplishment I am particularly proud of. I joined Bethany in September of 2014.

    What is your favourite part about being a nurse?
    For me, I’ve always had a passion for service. It’s very rewarding to be of service to others, and patients, residents and families are at the core of what I do and think about. Nursing is a versatile profession, there are many things you can do from clinical work, to teaching, research and administration.

    What is the best part about working at Bethany?
    Bethany is a very caring organization and I really enjoy the people I work with. They are very committed and aligned with our mission, vision and values. In the role I have, I have the opportunity to be involved in many
    different things that make the job interesting and exciting. No two days are the same.

    What does your role encompass? What’s a typical day for you?
    As the VP and Chief Operating Officer, I have responsibility for the care sites, housing sites, clinical education, quality and maintenance. I am also involved in the design and operational planning for Bethany Riverview (our newest care centre). While there really isn’t a “typical” day, I generally start my day by checking in with the team and following up on any outstanding issues. During the course of a day, I attend a lot of meetings. In Operations, there are always issues that need attention – it is the nature of what we do. This requires me to juggle a lot and keep very focused on priorities.

    What are your favourite hobbies/interesting facts about yourself?
    I am an avid gardener, I find it very relaxing. I live in Cochrane and enjoy walking and bike riding. I’m an animal lover and have done a lot of work with the Cochrane & Area Humane Society.