Community involvement key to Windsor Elms relocation

BY KIRK STARRATT

The Advertiser

NovaNewsNow.com

The planned relocation of the Windsor Elms nursing home to a brand-new facility in Falmouth will include community and stakeholder consultation and involvement.

The Windsor Elms is one of nine nursing homes to be replaced under a province-wide initiative by the Department of Health. Funding was announced Feb. 5. According to the department, the investment in nursing home facilities will improve the overall standard of living of residents and allow more seniors across our province to remain in their “community of choice”.

Windsor Elms CEO Sherry Keen says the plans to develop the new facility in Falmouth will involve an element of consultation with the community, staff and residents. “There will be continuing outreach,” she said.

The board of directors selected the 20-acre site in Falmouth located at the intersection of the Falmouth Back Road and the Dyke Road from a pool of about 15 potential locations.

“We were really excited to announce that about a month ago,” Keen said.

They want a good partnership with Falmouth and want to involve the greater community in the life of the home. For example, they plan to share recreational space with members of the greater community. Keen said this would foster a win-win environment.

Rare opportunity: Keen

The chance to build a new facility from scratch means that many of the issues currently facing residents at Windsor Elms, such as problems with accessibility in some areas, can be addressed. For example, the new facility will be a one-floor building, taking accessibility into account.

Keen calls it a rare opportunity that will allow them to build a facility to meet the needs of current residents and prepare for future needs. It’s a chance to capitalize on best practices and they plan to incorporate positive elements of the existing facility, including the staff.

Other positives about the facility will include a home-like, non-institutional environment. Each self-contained, 12-bed household will be intimate and resident-centered with a kitchen, dining area and living spaces. Each will have an outside entrance that leads into a garden with sitting areas and parking. The households will be made up mostly of private rooms, each with a washroom.

Partners in care

Keen said their philosophy includes supporting residents and families to be partners in care by promoting choice, empowerment, autonomy and independence in everyday life; encouraging decision-making as close to the resident as possible; enabling flexible scheduling of activities of daily living; and supporting innovative and alternative models of care delivery.

She said small group living would promote close resident, staff and family relationships, a greater understanding of residents’ lifestyles and needs and overall improvement over resident care.

Staff will benefit greatly from the new design and philosophy because their roles will be enriched, job satisfaction will be promoted, and recruitment and retention will improve. Experience with similar models in western Canada shows that staff waiting lists sometimes develop and Keen said that would be an excellent outcome.

“Lots of studies show this model will enhance quality of life,” she said. “We’re looking at it being a great place to work as well as live.”

She said studies and research show the design will improve quality of sleep for residents, reduce infection rates, increase family involvement and improve roommate compatibility.

The Department of Health’s timeline for completion of the project is March 31, 2010, but Keen said they would aim to have it finished sooner if possible.