Seniors Care in BC – Vancouver Sun Series
Karen Baillie, CEO of Menno Place, was recently featured in part of a Vancouver Sun series on Senior Care in BC.
Income Tax Community Volunteer Program
All appointments are 1/2 hour long and must be booked through Terrace Reception. Please phone 604-851-4004 or come in person to Terrace East Reception Desk. Please bring all relevant tax and personal document including resident ID to this appointment.
Menno Place Duet Bike Changes Lives
One bicycle, four provinces, 1,700 kilometers – this was the journey that Dale Carlisle, Recreation Aide at Menno Place embarked on to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s Disease in Western Canada last fall
An Afternoon of Exceptional Music – Aug 17
BC Country Music’s Female Vocalist of the Year, and granddaughter to one of our very own residents – Karen Lee Batten will be joining us for an afternoon.
Pausing to Celebrate and Remember with our Annual Butterfly Release
Menno Place hosted their second annual Butterfly Release Celebration for seniors, families, and staff in the beautifully landscaped courtyard in the center of the 11-acre campus of care in Abbotsford.
Residents, family members, and staff were encouraged to purchase butterflies for release on this very special occasion…
Canada Day Celebrations – June 30
WHERE: Menno Place Courtyard
WHEN: Friday, June 30th, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Please join us for the 150th Canada Day Celebrations coming up on Friday, June 30th! We will be having a Classic Car Show and entertainment by The Swell Guys at 2:00 PM. Festivities start at 11:00 AM in the Menno Place Courtyard.
World Hand Hygiene Day – May 5th
Menno Place was involved in World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5th. This day is an annual reminder that hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable disease.
Visitors, friends and families – there is nothing as simple AND as effective that you can do to protect the seniors at Menno Place than to wash your hands.
Wash every part of your hand – under your fingernails, between your fingers and even the bottom of your palm. YOU can be a HERO by simply washing your hands frequently and for longer than you usually do.
How long should you wash and scrub?
Sing Happy Birthday TWICE while you move the soap and water around all parts of your hands…. that’ll make ALL the difference!
Thanks for making a world of difference in protecting our seniors at Menno Place!
$500 million for seniors in British Columbia
Photo Credit: BC Care Providers
Health Minister Terry Lake said the government will spend $500 million over the next four years to improve care for seniors, setting a target to average 3.36 direct-care hours daily to seniors in publicly funded private and non-profit residential care homes. This funding announcement is a pivotal moment for seniors and their families in British Columbia.
Menno Place is grateful for the opportunity to participate in bringing attention to the need for increased funding in the long term care sector. Karen Baillie, CEO of Menno Place, is the President of the BC Care Providers. The BC Care Providers was established 40 years ago and represents over 70% of the care providers for seniors in British Columbia (bccare.ca).
Working alongside Daniel Fontaine, the CEO of BC Care Providers, Karen Baillie was an integral member of the team that worked with our politicians to bring awareness of the funding needs of seniors’ care.
The Province will spearhead a number of other measures to improve supports for seniors, such as additional home-support services and hours, increased home-health monitoring, training for staff and funds for quality of life. The Province has also entrusted $10 million to the BC Care Providers Association to allocate to publicly funded care homes to purchase new equipment such as wheelchairs and patient lifts to help people with limited mobility, and falls prevention equipment inlcuding hand rails and alarms for beds to protect seniors at high risk of injury from a fall.
Karen L. Baillie Photo Credit: BC Care Providers
Karen Baillie was elected to the board of BC Care Providers in January, 2016. “It’s great to have someone with Karen’s experience and background take over,” says Elaine Price, Past – President of the BCCPA. “Under her leadership our organization is poised to build even further on the incredible momentum we have generated over the last few years.”
“This is an exciting time to be part of the vision for seniors care in our province,” said Karen L. Baillie. “We are reaping the benefits of working together with politicians and stakeholders who understand what is needed as our population of seniors continues to grow. I am grateful for the opportunity to work together with BC Care Providers to draw attention to seniors’ needs and to work on behalf of more than 300 member organizations who provide care for more than 16,000 seniors in our province. This funding is a historic decision. I’ve worked the majority of my career with seniors for over 35 years and never seen this level of commitment in such practical terms. We are grateful for what will become possible through this $500 million funding commitment.”
BC Care Providers Annual Conference 2015
The 38th Annual BCCPA Conference (BC Care Providers Association) was attended by two members of the Mennonite Benevolent Society Board, along with the entire Executive Team. We are grateful to a member of the MBS Board who offered their place in Whistler to reduce cost, permitting the entire Executive Team to participate.
The theme of the conference was “Sustainability through innovation”. There were more than 24 thought-provoking workshops, 60 speakers and over 70 vendors in the Exhibitor Marketplace.
Speakers included:
- Dr. Darryl Plecas, MLA, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health for Seniors
- Daniel Fontaine, CEO BCCPA
- Robert Ghiz, former Premier of PEI and co-lead of the first Health Care Innovation Working Group (HCIWG)
- Dr. Sacha Bhatia, Director of the Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care at Women’s College Hospital, Evaluation Lead for choose Wisely Canada
- Dr. Samir Sinha, Director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the UHN hospitals, Provincial Lead, Ontario’s Seniors Strategy
- Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, Professor and BC Leadership Chair in Medical Technologies at Simon Fraser University and Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation
- Sharon Simpson, Director Communications and Marketing at Menno Place spoke on a panel on the topic, “Incorporating faith in a non-faith based care home (addressing spiritual needs of individuals in non-faith based care home).”
Topics included:
- The Innovation Paradigm: Delivering Excellence and Sustainability in Continuing Care
- Spiritual Care of People with Dementia: A Creative Approach
- Creating a Change Platform: Quality Improvement in Residential Care “Safer Care for Older Persons in Residential Environments”
- The Changing Face of Residential Care
- Music for Living – Concerts in Care
- How the Smartphone and mHealth Technologies will Transform Healthcare
- Reawakening the Connection: A presentation on technology and person-centered care
- Revisiting End-of-Life in Canada
The conference is a reminder that innovation is necessary in these changing times. As the demand for senior care increases, there is a need to provide care in new ways, to use technology to increase effectiveness and to collaborate in order to create synergy.
Dr. Darryl Plecas announced $50,000 in funding to the Health and Arts Society and Concerts in Care. Menno Place regularly enjoys the musical talents of the Concerts in Care program.
