Woodland Villa staying ahead of the curve

Home is preparing to meet demands of future care needs today

July 5, 2012 -- Deron Hamel

Director of care Debbie Kitchen says that if her 26 years at Woodland Villa have taught her anything it’s that the home is a master in the art of preparing for changing needs.

And being ready to meet the needs of changing resident demographics has never been more important than today, as the Cornwall-area long-term care home is seeing more residents who are younger and who have different care needs than the preceding generation.

For example, Woodland Villa is seeing residents with mental-health and addiction issues who have fallen through the system’s cracks. And staff members are being trained to care for these individuals.

She points to two residents who are affected by Korsakoff's syndrome, a neurological disorder caused by alcoholism, as examples of the different care needs the home is seeing.

“They’re not really dementia residents but they have behaviour (issues) and there’s nobody (in the acute health-care system) who can help them — even the social workers can’t help them,” Kitchen tells the OMNIway.

“They’re in their 50s and they could end up here for another 40 years, (so) we’re doing our best to (meet their needs).”

In order to understand how Woodland Villa will meet the needs of the changing long-term care sector in the future, Kitchen says you just need to look at the home’s history of successes — in other words, when the demand is there, the home will work to meet the demand.

For instance, in recent years, Woodland Villa registered staff members, along with their counterparts at other OMNI Health Care homes, have received training in IV therapy and peritoneal dialysis, resulting in fewer calls to bring community nurses into the home.

“I’ve been here 26 years, and if I look back on my first few years, I think we’ve grown in leaps and bounds through what we’re doing; the fact that residents don’t just come here for their final days — we’re enhancing their final days and we’re making their lives the best that they can be,” she says.

“They are involved in all kinds of activities and it’s a lively place.”

If you have a story you would like to share with the OMNIway, please contact the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.

If you have feedback on this story, please call the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 23, or e-mail deron(at)axiomnews.ca.






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