Sharing and Caring
Cindy Marble, Manager, Behavioural Health and Carla Clarke, Social Worker at Parkstone Enhanced Care are compassionate professionals who wanted to do something to support family members who are feeling overwhelmed by the transition to long term care and the emotions that come with it. They created a program called Sharing and Caring for families to meet in a safe environment to share their thoughts and feelings and provide insight and kindness to others. The kindness and sharing of knowledge and strategies has been profound and group members have attested to how they are able to continue their journey with more hope and light.
Wading into Life’s Changing Tides
Mary Ryan lives in the heart of Fredericton at Thomas Hall. She is a remarkable soul of 89 years with a lifetime of stories. Recently, she embarked on a new chapter, when she released a self-published book, Navigating Life’s Changing Tides. The title captures the essence of the book: her experiences living at Thomas Hall and reflections on Shannex’s Guiding Principles which serve as a compass for the Great People of Shannex. Mary hopes her book will inspire those awaiting a place in a nursing home and give them a glimpse of what to expect from nursing home living. This important project would not have been possible without the support from the team at Thomas Hall. A special thank you to Caroline McLaughlin, Recreation Coordinator at Thomas Hall for coordinating the book launch event.
Great People Month
The month of May is dedicated to celebrating Shannex’s Great People. Every one of our communities is unique but what is consistent is the presence of teams who make them great places to live, work and visit. The experiences we create in our communities are inspired by our Guiding Principles of being safe, honest, compassionate and professional, and during Great People Month, we recognize and celebrate our team members for delivering on these every day. We hold events and contests, and the month culminates at the Excellence Awards where we come together to celebrate those whose words, actions, and contributions have made a significant and enduring influence on each other and the people we serve.
Accelerated Training Programs
The Nova Scotia Departments of Seniors and Long-Term Care and Labour and Skills Development, and the Nova Scotia Community College partnered with Shannex to pilot a new Continuing Care Assistant program where eligible students will graduate and begin working in six months. Through a shared investment, the Province and Shannex are covering students’ tuition and associated living costs. Shannex’s investment also includes classroom and lab space for instruction, along with guaranteed employment after graduation. NSCC instructors are teaching the program which will graduate 48 students this year.
Path to Blue
Blueprint Standards
The Path to Blue journey ensures our 6,000 Great People are headed in the same direction. It recognizes that every day, people across our organization tell a story to the world about who we are, what we do and what we care about. The Path to Blue was initiated with our Blue Book, a guide for team members that is rooted in our history. Shannex’s Blueprint for Retirement Living and Enhanced Care divisions contains operational standards for service excellence, outlining the expectations for how team members in every department do their work the same way. The Path to Blue will culminate in a Resident Experience Framework which will demonstrate the various ways in which we live our values and remain committed to resident health, wellness, happiness and satisfaction.
Meaningful Meals
Based on feedback from our annual Quality of Life survey, our organization is focused on improving the dining experience for residents. This work is being led by our Culinary Centre team who introduced a new dining feature over the past year to make mealtime more engaging and exciting. Themed dining experiences take place regularly hosted by each community’s wellness, recreation, culinary and hospitality teams. The goal is to make mealtime extra meaningful through focusing on local items, special meal requests and favourite foods.
Shannex Cares
Our community program Shannex Cares supports us in building strong connections between the people who live and work with us and the greater community. Through Shannex Cares, we are proud to align with like-minded Elder Allies in the community to influence real change and make a difference in the lives of seniors. About a year-and-a-half after launching, the program continues to gain momentum. We have seen a high level of interest in our Spirit Grant program and we are deepening our connection with organizations doing this work in the community. Visit Shannex Cares for a full list of the 15 organizations we have supported.
Kiknu
Shannex has been honoured to partner with Eskasoni First Nation to create a warm, welcoming and culturally significant home for the Eskasoni community. Kiknu, meaning “our home”, is Nova Scotia’s first licensed nursing home on a First Nations Community. This beautiful community, which opened in April, will be home to elders and seniors who will be surrounded by Mi’kmaq culture and traditions. The vast majority of Kiknu team members are from Eskasoni, which makes this home even more special. They will be able to provide exceptional care and support for community elders while keeping Indigenous traditions strong. The design of the home is in the shape of a turtle with designated central gathering places for community elders and seniors, families, loved ones, and the community. The front lobby includes seven poles, to represent the seven traditional Mi’kmaq districts and sacred teachings. A healing circle is incorporated with lots of room for ceremonial activities.
2023 Carbon Hero Award
In December 2023, Shannex received the prestigious Carbon Hero Award at BOMA Nova Scotia’s Annual Holiday Luncheon. The award was presented in recognition of our outstanding commitment to environmental stewardship and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We are proud of this accolade which not only commends our efforts, but recognizes our leadership work in the fight against climate change.
We are the first Canadian Seniors’ Living Organization to receive ISO 50001 Certification.
EcoPilot® Drive Change
Shannex is on a journey to transform the way sustainability is prioritized within our organization, and we’ve set ambitious goals to help us deliver on this commitment. In 2020, Shannex installed Ecopilot®’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) for HVAC software in seven communities across Nova Scotia and saw impressive results in the reduction of total building energy consumption. Based on this success, the organization is taking the next step to implement Ecopilot® in 24 more communities across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario. This is an ambitious project that is projected to save 3,830,000 KWh – or the equivalent of powering nearly 350 homes for an entire year!
