I am pleased to share our 2021-22 Report to Community which includes a summary of our accomplishments along with some of the highlights of our work over the past year that reflect the many ways we are leading the way to better living.

For more than 30 years, our family organization has been a trusted provider of care, service and accommodations for seniors and their families, and we are supported by more than 5,000 team members who provide exceptional support to residents in our Shannex, Parkland, Faubourg and Milestone communities throughout Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario. Great People are the heart of our organization and, as you read this report, you will see that their hard work and dedication has allowed us to make good progress on our strategic directions despite the challenges of a global pandemic.

This is the final year of this five-year strategic plan. Two of those five years were spent attending to the priorities of the pandemic which meant we needed to be responsive and adaptable and, as a result, we have chosen to continue some of the goals and priorities of our plan into the next planning cycle. We recognize that delivering exceptional care and service is as important as ever, but how we operate and give back to our communities is also a significant part of our work. We will continue to be guided by resident voices and reflect the priorities of our stakeholders with emphasis on environmental stewardship and social initiatives.

At Shannex, we know we hold the trust of the residents and families who choose to live with us in our licensed long-term care and retirement living communities. We are accountable to the people and to the communities where we operate, and we take this seriously. In this report, you will read about the many ways we are working to improve the lives of seniors and support our sector as it continues to evolve and change. We are improving care and service, laser-focused on support for our Great People, leading the way on innovative approaches to delivering service excellence and growing our organization to meet the needs of our communities.

I am hopeful for the future and confident we will continue to effect positive change through our work. Thank you for taking time to read this report and for sharing in our excitement of what’s to come.

Eskasoni Partnership

We are proud to be the operating partner, alongside the First Nations community of Eskasoni, in the development of Kiknu, which means “our home” in Mi’kmaq. This new long-term care home on a First Nation community will be the first of its kind in Nova Scotia. Home to 48 Elders from the community, Kiknu will honour Mi’kmaq culture and traditions and be a hub for the greater community when it begins welcoming residents late next year. 

Always Improving Quality

Our annual Quality of Life Survey is an important way we hear from residents about their experience with us. Questions include food, privacy, safety, comfort, staff, autonomy, activities, and connections with other residents. We share our results widely with residents, families and team members and every location develops quality improvement plans to respond to the feedback.

Harbourstone Innovates

Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney, NS, is helping people with complex responsive behaviours transition into a home environment as part of a unique pilot project through the Continuing Care Innovation Pilot program. The team at Harbourstone recognized the difficulties families were having finding placement for their loved ones with complex needs. Through a specialized approach developed in partnership with the Breton Ability Centre, Continuing Care Placement for Eastern Zone, Eastern Zone Transitional Units and Nova Scotia Health, Harbourstone has been able to support 22 residents who were previously in the hospital or refused from other nursing homes, find a new and welcoming home at Harbourstone. 

Canadian Institute for Health Information Reporting

In long-term care, the Canadian Institute of Health Information or (CIHI) reports on a series of indicators that are based on data submitted by operators across the country.

Recognizing the value of transparency and sector collaboration, the Department of Social Development (DSD) supported all New Brunswick operators with the technology and resources to begin collecting this valuable data four years ago, which became publicly available in 2021. This information allows us to make evidence-based decisions on clinical practice, benchmarking, planning and resource allocation and we have already seen improvements in pressure injuries, physical functioning, antipsychotic usage and restraints. This information is a valuable resource utilized in our care-based decisions for all our communities.

Resident Voices

Hearing from residents and families is central to the care we provide and is considered in all our decisions. We engage residents and families in many ways. 

Resident and Family Advisory Committee

A group of residents and family members across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario that serves to uplift and reflect residents’ voices.

Resident and Family Councils  

Established in every community to provide input and influence decisions to improve the overall resident and family experience. 

Resident and Family Portal 

An online resource with tools and information to help residents and families stay connected with our communities and access information. 

Resident and Family Liaison

A dedicated resource who is available to answer questions and address concerns from family members related to any aspect of care or service.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Commitment

We are on a learning journey to become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace, and we want to elevate the voices of our community to support us in this work. That’s why we recently brought together an Inclusive Action Committee, an idea that emerged from an internal Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Survey. The Committee is a working group of team members who are actively engaged in strengthening DEIB in our communities. They are working alongside our external partner and educator, Ashanti Leadership, who has provided education for our leadership and management teams and continues to support us in this ongoing work toward leading the way to inclusive communities. 

Working to Well

Our Abilities Management Program, “Working to Well”, was designed to facilitate meaningful and appropriate plans in supporting an employee to Stay-At-Work, Return-To-Work or Remain-At-Work following an injury or illness either inside or outside of the workplace. Our program is individualized based on physical and cognitive abilities to maximize integration and participation. Earlier this year we launched a new educational poster campaign reiterating the philosophy of Working to Well, whereby upon receiving applicable medical assessment and treatment, we will help identify what a team member can do and seek to accommodate what they can’t do as a result of medical limitations. We know that work is an important part of feeling well and staying connected to the workplace through recovery provides a sense of purpose and improves confidence as relationships with colleagues is proven to be beneficial through rehabilitation. Since implementation, we continue to receive feedback that employees feel supported in their healthy return to work options. 

Supporting Recruitment

Our Great People are the foundation of our success, and we are committed to providing them with the resources needed to be successful. Like others in our sector, though, our greatest challenge is recruitment. One of many ways we are working to address this issue is through an in-house training program that offers education and on-site work placement to existing or new employees who want to become licensed Continuing Care Assistants, supporting employees on a journey to certification through the Recognition of Prior Learning program. Last year, Shannex trained 42 people through the program who are now working in eight communities. 

Immigration Services

In 2018, we added a specialized immigration group within our talent acquisition team to enhance our recruitment efforts. Since then, our team of Immigration Specialists, who are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants and Immigration Assistants, have supported international recruits through their immigration journey to permanent residency at no cost to them. Last year, we took our efforts a step further and created an International Recruitment Task Force with a mandate to recruit outside Canada. This year, we began extending offers to candidates outside the country, and we are optimistic that we will see great success from these efforts. 

Centre of Excellence for Health Partnership

As part of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Future NB Initiative, the new Centre of Excellence for Health was launched with Shannex as a founding partner. The centre offers hands-on learning by welcoming students from grade 9 to 12 for co-op placements in our long-term care communities across New Brunswick, educating students on the career opportunities in long-term care while creating meaningful connections and providing firsthand experience into their lives. Fifteen student placements have been made during the last school year and we look forward to welcoming new students next school year. 

Insights Lab

The Shannex Insights Lab is an internal research and analysis hub dedicated to analyzing resident data from various sources. Established last year with the goal of generating insights that help identify opportunities to improve resident care and outcomes, the lab uses data from Momentum, the electronic health records, assessment data and real-time location data available from Tenera, a new alternative call bell technology we are piloting in three provincially licensed nursing homes: Cedarstone Enhanced Care in Truro, Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney and Parkstone Enhanced Care in Halifax. We see great potential for quality improvements through the insights gathered from the work of the lab.

The “Life Journal” Project

Research shows that intergenerational activities can help prevent a decline in seniors’ physical and cognitive well-being. The “Life Journal” project was born to create links between students at the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick and residents of the Faubourg du Mascaret. During the project, students from the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick established a trusting relationship with residents to create a life journal for them. Through their time with the residents, the students came to develop healthy attitudes towards seniors and hear of their long and dynamic lives. After a year’s worth of meetings, phone calls and information exchanges, residents were presented with a personalized journal from a student. We offer special thanks to the students of the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick for their commitment to this important project.

Students Identify LTC Solutions

In March 2022, through a partnership with Pulse, Dalhousie’s Health Innovation Sandbox, we hosted a “Hackathon” with students from several local post-secondary institutions working on real-world-long-term care challenges over two days. Guided by Shannex mentors, the teams explored common issues such as falls, social isolation, disease progression, care transitions and responsive behaviours and presented final pitches to a panel of long-term care judges at the end of the weekend. The winning idea was the development of a system to help identify residents who may be at a greater risk of falling, a Fall Prevention Scoring System. We are considering implementing this approach as a pilot in one of our communities. 

Good Neighbours

The future home of Parkland at the Common is at the corner of Robie St. and Quinpool Rd. in Halifax. The large walls separating the construction site from pedestrians and traffic can be unsightly, so we took this opportunity to provide a blank canvas to local artists. 

Through a partnership with Nocturne: Art at Night and Trackside Studio, the hoarding wall is now home to beautiful murals for the community to enjoy as a source of local interest and pride.

Centre collaboratif d’apprentissage sur le vieillissement

At Faubourg du Mascaret, our first French-language campus, we are proud to partner with Université de Moncton on the Collaborative Learning Centre on Aging (CLCA) (Centre collaboratif d’apprentissage sur le vieillissement). The CLCA features an inter-professional learning environment for health professionals, research opportunities, internships, and jobs for students in the province. The CLCA Partnership Management Committee continues to make progress with plans to hire a jointly funded Liaison Officer to provide oversight and the coordination of the CLCA activities which will support efforts to advance its priorities. 

Leading the Way to Greener Living

Currently, in the second year of a two-year process to achieve ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems (EnMS) certification, we are putting processing in place to adopt a strict set of energy management objectives, guidelines and practices that result in energy efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While certifying each community is a significant investment, we are committed to energy conservation for our existing communities while ensuring all new construction is built to maintain the certification criteria.

Welcome to Main Street

The new communities we create are so much more than a physical space, they are a home that supports residents in feeling fulfilled in their life while maintaining their connection to the greater community. Our innovative Main Street concept is featured in many of our new long term care communities that includes an interior streetscape helping residents maintain independence, restores youthful memories and encourages socialization and a sense of community. Our three nursing homes opened last year in Fredericton, Moncton and Miramichi all feature the Main Street concept. 

As we look ahead at what’s to come over the next year, resident service and care will guide the development of our new strategic plan. Expansion into Ontario is well underway where residents have already made a home in two of our communities, with a third, Ajax, set to welcome residents this winter. We are excited to extend our continuum of service to another province, and that residents are choosing our communities as their homes. We will continue working with partners like the Eskasoni First Nation on the development of Nova Scotia’s first long-term care home in a First Nation community and actively seek opportunities to engage with partners in our communities. The path to blue is bright as we support and uplift our staff through the expansion of our Great People program and roll out of our Blue Book, home to our guiding principles that are designed to inspire staff everyday.  The next chapter is already proving to be exciting, and we look forward to sharing it with you.