On Friday, March 6th, Sharon Simpson, Director of Communications emceed a roundtable discussion on seniors’ trends and issues in Abbotsford, BC. Hosted by Minister Ed Fast, MP, the event included a lunch (with more than 150 seniors), keynote address by Minister Alice Wong and roundtable discussion with health and service leaders in Abbotsford.
Joined by Darryl Plecas (MLA, Abbotsford), Parliamentary Secretary of Seniors to the Minister of Health, and Patricia Ross, Deputy Mayor of Abbotsford, the conversation was collaborative and passionate.
In her remarks, Minister Wong highlighted the programs and activities that the federal government is championing to address; social isolation of seniors, caregiving and the expectations on caregivers, age-friendly communities and seniors aging in place.
With the new pension income-splitting initiative, more than 600,000 seniors will no longer pay income tax in Canada.
In addition, there are significant initiatives Canada-wide to promote Age-Friendly Communities. Abbotsford has recently been awarded an $18,000 age-friendly community planning and project grant to help support local strategies to help seniors stay mobile, physically active, socially connected and healthy.
This grant will be used by the city for its Take a Walk! – Improving Walkability for Older Adults program.
The roundtable discussion brought out the passion that Abbotsford health and service leaders have for creating a supportive, vital NOW – and a sustainable FUTURE for seniors in this community. It was exciting to hear the collaboration and unity as each leader shared with Minister Wong the trends and issues they face as they relate to seniors in Abbotsford.
In addition to this, the roundtable tackled the topics of social isolation of seniors, caregiving and caregiver expectations, age-friendly communities and aging in place.
The event took place at Garden Park Tower, hosted by Minister Ed Fast, MP. It was organized by Ron Willms, Executive Director, Clearbrook Golden Age Society and Sharon Simpson, Director, Communications and Marketing, Menno Place.
Thank you to all who participated in the luncheon and roundtable. It was invigorating!
Limited Visitor Parking – March 30, 31 & April 2
/in Family and FriendsMONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY – MARCH 30, 31 & APRIL 1
The Douglas Fir trees in the south parking lot (between Pavilion and Menno Hospital) were taken down on March 18th and 19th. The equipment will be returning in order to excavate, grind down the stumps and clear the area of the remaining wood.
30 parking stalls in that area will be closed for three days (March 30, 31 and April 1) in order to accommodate room for the tree removal equipment.
If you usually park on this side of the parking lot, be aware that there will be limited parking for visitors on those days. If possible, please choose an alternate day to visit your friend or family member.
Concert in Care – You’re Invited – April 7
/in Family and FriendsFamilies & Friends are invited to enjoy the April Concert in Care
Since 2006, over 8,000 high-quality professional Concerts in Care have brought the rich experience of performance arts to people in residential care across Canada.
Date: April 7, 2015
Time: 10:30 am
Location: Hospital Chapel
Musicians
FABIANA KATZ
STEPHEN SMITH
This event has been made possible by: Menno Place, BMO Financial Group and Health Arts Society
A soldier and a Dutch nurse
/in NewsToday, two residents at Menno Place celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Netherlands from German occupation during the second world war. Gera, a 20 year old at the time thanked her dear friend (and liberator), Bruce, a Canadian soldier who fought to liberate Netherlands from German occupation. More than 7,600 Canadians died in the nine dreadful months it took to liberate the Netherlands. Gera, age 20 on May 5, 1945, will never forget the day that they were free. Hungry, war-tired and filled with gratitude, they celebrated with tears and joy. Bruce walked through the streets of the Netherlands sharing smiles and gratitude from the dutch people. One woman was out on her patio putting laundry on the line. She smiled from ear to ear at Bruce. I’ll never forget how that felt, he says. It was the best feeling in the world.
Bruce shows us his medals of service – from France, Canada and the UK. Along with his service medals, he shares a “Thank You Canada” medal that he received in 1945. Brought together in their home at Menno Place, Bruce and Gera share memories and gratitude. Gera can’t believe that it is almost the 70 year anniversary of a day that forever changed her life. She affectionately smiles at Bruce – grateful that, at 98 years old, he is here to thank.
A new concrete ramp makes dental work easier!
/in Family and FriendsToday, the Silver Valet Dental Care and Menno Place partnership went to another level! The inagural ride on the new concrete access path via wheelchair was taken by Karen Baillie, CEO – guided by Matt.
When we noticed that the Silver Valet Dental Care van was parked far from our entrance in order to accommodate wheelchairs, we knew it was time to make an access path.
Bas Kervel, Manager of Maintenance and Facilities – along with his maintenance team – created an easy access path that allows the dental patient to easily make their way under cover into the mobile dental van.
Silver Valet Dental Care provides comprehensive, on-site oral health services for residents and tenants on the Menno Place campus. They have state-of-the-art equipment and wheelchair accessibility, providing safe, convenient access to preventative and therapeutic oral healthcare.
What a great day! Creating a pathway that allows residents to remain under cover (especially in the rain) was a WIN!
Roundtable with Minister of State (Seniors), Alice Wong, MP
/in NewsOn Friday, March 6th, Sharon Simpson, Director of Communications emceed a roundtable discussion on seniors’ trends and issues in Abbotsford, BC. Hosted by Minister Ed Fast, MP, the event included a lunch (with more than 150 seniors), keynote address by Minister Alice Wong and roundtable discussion with health and service leaders in Abbotsford.
Joined by Darryl Plecas (MLA, Abbotsford), Parliamentary Secretary of Seniors to the Minister of Health, and Patricia Ross, Deputy Mayor of Abbotsford, the conversation was collaborative and passionate.
In her remarks, Minister Wong highlighted the programs and activities that the federal government is championing to address; social isolation of seniors, caregiving and the expectations on caregivers, age-friendly communities and seniors aging in place.
With the new pension income-splitting initiative, more than 600,000 seniors will no longer pay income tax in Canada.
In addition, there are significant initiatives Canada-wide to promote Age-Friendly Communities. Abbotsford has recently been awarded an $18,000 age-friendly community planning and project grant to help support local strategies to help seniors stay mobile, physically active, socially connected and healthy.
This grant will be used by the city for its Take a Walk! – Improving Walkability for Older Adults program.
The roundtable discussion brought out the passion that Abbotsford health and service leaders have for creating a supportive, vital NOW – and a sustainable FUTURE for seniors in this community. It was exciting to hear the collaboration and unity as each leader shared with Minister Wong the trends and issues they face as they relate to seniors in Abbotsford.
In addition to this, the roundtable tackled the topics of social isolation of seniors, caregiving and caregiver expectations, age-friendly communities and aging in place.
The event took place at Garden Park Tower, hosted by Minister Ed Fast, MP. It was organized by Ron Willms, Executive Director, Clearbrook Golden Age Society and Sharon Simpson, Director, Communications and Marketing, Menno Place.
Thank you to all who participated in the luncheon and roundtable. It was invigorating!
MSA Museum hosts spring lifewriting seminars
/in NewsThis spring, aspiring memoirists, lifewriters, and family historians in the Fraser Valley will have a chance to learn about the finer aspects of the craft thanks to a series of lifewriting seminars that the MSA Museum in Abbotsford is hosting. The first event in the increasingly popular “Lifewriting Made Easy” series is a free, two-hour information session on March 21(9–11 a.m.) that provides an overview of the planning, writing, editing, and designing process along with a question and answer session.
Subsequent seminars include a three-hour session on book design and production ($30, March 28), an all-day seminar on writing ($60, May 23), and a three-hour session on interviewing family members and friends ($30, June 27). The seminars will be held at the MSA Museum (Trethewey House) at 2313 Ware Street in Abbotsford. Parking is free, and pre-registration is mandatory.
“The winter seminars were a great success,” said Dorothy van der Ree, outgoing executive director of the MSA Museum Society. “Participants tell us how helpful it is to learn about the skills and strategies that they need to start on their personal or family histories. Most of all, however, they speak of how encouraged they feel — they come away enthusiastic and ready to start. I’ve attended several of the seminars, and the level of engagement is amazing. The instructor’s enthusiasm is contagious.”
Leading the seminars is Abbotsford writer / editor / personal historian Philip Sherwood, whose company lifewriters.ca specialises in helping individuals, families, organisations, and communities tell and preserve their stories in book form.
In addition to the seminars, the MSA Museum offers other services to lifewriters. These include free one-on-one consultations, a list of do-it-yourself resources, and several fee-based services.
For more information about the seminars and to register and receive a syllabus, contact the Museum at 604.853.0313 or by email at info@msamuseum.ca, or visit www.msamuseum.ca.
For more information:
Kelly Railton,
Interim Executive Director,
MSA Museum Society
2313 Ware Street
Abbotsford BC V2S 3C6
Tel. 604.853.0313
Email: Kelly.R@msamuseum.ca
Emily Carr + Menno Place = Innovation
/in NewsIn September 2014, Menno Place launched a two-phase project with Emily Carr University of Art + Design – specifically with their Health Design Lab.
Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECUAD) has found a way of providing innovative solutions to “wicked problems” – these are the kinds of problems that have complex answers or no clear answers at all. The students in the Health Design Lab have provided insight, innovation and solutions for multiple Health Authorities throughout BC, including Fraser Health.
One solution that the students created was an innovative, interactive method to motivate hospital visitors to sanitize their hands. They created a technical app that linked the foyer hand sanitizers in Vancouver General Hospital with televisions mounted above. Each time an individual sanitized their hands, a hand icon was added to the graphics on the TV along with the new total number of hands that had been sanitized that day. It was a type of game – sanitize your hand and the TV recorded your effort.
This type of success and innovation motivated Menno Place to approach ECUAD to engage with our project – “Promoting Well-Being Within a Retirement Community”.
We agreed on a direction and have been working with ECUAD since September on Phase 1. The project will consider ways to engage with Menno Place’s residents and the public around issues related to the comfort and well-being of current and future residents. While Menno Place has a strong reputation within the community, parts of the infrastructure are aging and a new facility is being planned. This provides Menno Place with an opportunity to consult with their own resident population as well as the public in order to create meaningful dialogue on what a healthy, positive residential care environment might look like. The overarching goal is to provide a healthy, comfortable and positive space for the residents.
We completed Phase One in the fall of 2014. This included three co-creation sessions. These interactive processes took place with several groups: residents, staff, families and the public.
ECUAD also interviewed key personnel about their work at Menno Place. This was a confidential opportunity to establish existing barriers to change as well as to identify key opportunities.
We are entering Phase Two of the project. This phase begins from an evidence-based context. Students will look for genuinely innovative approaches to the problems created by aging infrastructure. They will apply research findings to a range of suggested solutions: both practical and immediately realizable, as well as recommendations for long-term systemic changes to infrastructure.
The music of Van Django – Concerts in Care
/in Family and FriendsToday, we enjoyed the magical gypsy jazz, waltz, old time swing music and ballads of Van Django. Performing for the residents of Menno Place, this acclaimed quartet brought us gypsy jazz, waltzes, old time music, swing music and ballads. These four talented musicians inspired by the music of Django Reinhard & Stephane Grapelli’s 1930’s gypsy jazz group “Quintent Of The Hot Club Of France”. Their arrangements and original compositions draw on a galaxy of musical styles while remaining true to the classic sound of the quintet. The lads are forging an original west coast sound, featuring virtuosic solos, bouncy rhythm, witty arrangements and an infectious sense of fun!
Over 110 residents and their family members joined us for this Concert in Care. If you are a family member or friend of a resident, we encourage you to come out for the Concerts in Care.
Since 2006, over 8,000 high-quality professional Concerts in Care have brought the rich experience of performance arts to people in residential care across Canada.
Family Council Meetings – You’re Invited
/in Family and FriendsA family council is a group consisting of resident family members, friends and representatives who work together with staff to maintain and enhance the quality of life of residents and to provide a voice in decisions within the facility that affect them.
Family council meets every third Thursday of the month.
From February 19, 2015:
Members met in the Menno Home Chapel for an informative presentation by Nelson Cordoco and Joanie Dunn from Dignity Memorial Funeral Services. Research states that the most stressful event in one’s life is the death of a spouse. The presentation was a reminder that planning ahead is so important in order to protect our loved ones. Filling out a pre-planning guide ahead of time is highly recommended so you do not have to once your loved one has passed on. It is a huge stress reliever.
Education resources, and a time of reflecting on residents that have passed away in the past few months were shared with the group.
Next meeting, family council will have presenters discussing the topic of Polypharmacy. Sometimes, too many medications cause side-effects and drug interactions may cause more harm than good. Every medication that is put in our body involves a balance between risk and benefit; the more medications involved, the more complex the balance is to figure out. Come and bring your questions for this intriguing presentation.
Next family council meeting:
March 19, 1:30pm-2:30pm in the Menno Home Chapel. We hope to see you there.
—–
Dan Janzen, BSW, RSW
Social Worker
Menno Home / Menno Hospital
604.853.2411 Ext. 441
Compassionate Care – Henri Nouwen
/in Family and Friends, NewsHave you discovered Henri Nouwen’s writings?
Henri Nouwen was an internationally renowned priest and author. After leaving his professorship position at Harvard University, he worked with the L’Arche Daybreak community near Toronto, Canada. It was there that Henri served those with development disabilities, most notably Adam who became his dear friend and gateway to understanding the Jesus Story.
Henri says this to caregivers (and the rest of society, too)…