Engaging communities in the OMNIway

OMNI homes are often community hubs

September 12, 2012 -- Deron Hamel

One of the unique features of OMNI Health Care long-term care homes is their role as community hubs in the areas they serve.

Through OMNI’s presence in communities — often small, rural areas — the organization is creating employment opportunities while providing care to the people living in these regions. Homes are also providing some of OMNI’s core values to the areas they serve.

Woodland Villa’s recent Country Fair is one example of how a home and community come together.

The home, which is located in the small village of Long Sault, near Cornwall, hosted the event Aug. 15. For seven years, the event has been a major happening, not only for the home, but also the surrounding community. And OMNI’s value of fun and laughter is at the heart of the fair.

“I think it's wonderful,” family member Linda Anderson said during the event. “Just seeing everyone so happy. It's heartwarming.”

Leadership is another of OMNI’s core values that recently resonated through the organization’s involvement with local community.

Brenda Cunningham and Bruce Eyre stopped by Riverview Manor in Peterborough as part of their 12-city tour across Ontario to raise awareness about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

During the couple’s visit, they shared information with staff members, residents and the local community about COPD and what people can do to prevent it and mitigate its impact on quality of life if diagnosed with it.

Riverview Manor director of care Kaitlyn Cavanagh notes that staff wellness is important to OMNI’s culture, and having Cunningham and Eyre speak to team members fits in well with the organization’s dedication to employees.

“OMNI’s mission, vision and values are certainly reflected here,” she says.

In some cases, OMNI homes are joining forces with other homes in communities to collaborate on initiatives that enhance quality of life for residents and build stronger community relationships.

In honour of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Frost Manor and four other Lindsay long-term care homes illustrated the value of creativity by collaborating to have their own resident Olympics. The purpose of this event, which ran in August, was to strengthen community spirit through friendly competition.

Each activity was customized to meet residents’ needs. For example, the archery activity was a beanbag toss and shot put saw residents throw water balloons, explains Frost Manor life enrichment co-ordinator Vi O’Leary.

“Personally, I think it’s a wonderful thing,” O’Leary says of the teamwork involved between the homes to make the event happen. She adds Lindsay’s long-term care community has collaborated on events like this for many years.

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






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