Leisureworld-----Long Term Care With A Difference

A Nice Place To Visit
What does a Long Term Care Facility have to do with wine one may ask! The answer is nothing! However it just so happened that while coming home from a wine tasting trip in Toronto, I decided to stop in and see my wife Darlene who happens to be an Assistant Director of Care at Leisureworld just south of Kingston Road on Midland in Scarborough. I wondered for a long time what this facility was like and what sort of place she was spending those long hours at.
Now, I have worked in the Mental Health and Geriatric system during my younger days when I was working on my Social Service and several other community relations diplomas. So I had an idea of what to expect. What I found was something of a surprise.
I walked into the entrance of Leisure World and entered a setting that immediately made me comfortable. No idle residents here! No sour faces----or blank ones for that matter.
What greeted me were smiles. The receptionist smiled. The residents smiled. The staff smiled. This could not possibly be true. I stood and watched as staff, residents and guests interacted.
In the large room just opposite the main door (which I presumed sufficed for the dining area) was a group taking active part in a sing-a-long. Residents were busily active in either reading books or news papers or----in active discussion with each other. This was impressive.
As I stood waiting for Darlene to come down to say hello, the Administrator came over and introduced himself as Terry. Could he be of any help? I replied and we were into a discussion about Long Term Care.
Terry struck me as the ideal person for the job. He was an idea person who knew his business and what was even more important, knew people. While he spoke to me, his eyes were always on the move to detect what people were doing and how they were doing it. He said some nice things about Darlene but then went on to say that the team that worked at Leisureworld was a thoroughly dedicated group of people who did their jobs and gave 120 percent. He seemed proud.
Why shouldn't he be? It was obvious to me that in spite of being an older building, this place worked. It worked because of commitment and dedication. It worked because the staff had an ethic and felt needed. It worked because each knew that they were part of a team----an important one at that. Very important I felt that the Terry was an approachable person that listened. One needs a leader who knows how to lead and listen. Terry led and listened. You could tell.
I met many of the Directors and associate staff and never failed to be impressed. It must be hard to work in a building that had over 300 residents. Considering the high activity on an on-going basis, I couldn't imagine how each kept up to their jobs. Remember, I did work in the field.
Darlene finally came down to greet me and say hello. That is all the time that we had---a hello! She was busy and like the others who worked there, needed the time to keep up to the needs of those in her care. She apologized but none was needed. I found out where she worked and saw that what she was doing was meaningful and it was done in a meaningful place. I left feeling good!
My congratulations go to Terry and his skillful staff of Long Term Care Workers. A job well done at Leisureworld Scarborough!