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Editorial
 Frost’s
approach
to governance something
to keep an eye on
Monday September 2, 2003
When Abraham Lincoln spoke about government “of the people,
by the people, for the people” 140 years ago at Gettysburg,
he helped catalyze the very idea of democracy in a nation reeling
from
civil war.
That democracy should flourish only when a nation’s
people are engaged has become a quiet, self-evident truth in the world.
And one
can apply this reasoning to almost any organizational level.
For instance, as OMNI adopted a communities-of-practice model across
all of its homes, for all of its management positions, this did not
yet address the potential of extending the idea to personal support
workers (PSWs) and health care aides.
Several administrators spoke to the OMNIway about there being potential
for PSWs to organize to become more effective, after the communities-of-practice
model was adopted by OMNI. But it was Gary Sims, administrator of Frost
Manor in Lindsay, who both saw it and seized upon it quickly.
In the relative anonymity of the hot summer months, he encouraged
a group of PSWs to act. They quietly went about creating their own
structural entity that would allow them to effectively organize and
creatively catalyze new initiatives in the long-term care home.
The front line of PSWs and health care aides, in a
very immediate way, embodies the hope, purpose and belonging that
OMNI reaches out
to define every day. They are, inarguably, the sentinels of long-term
care. Under the facilitation of Rochelle Chevrier (a PSW), the group
quickly took it upon themselves to redevelop the home’s orientation
package as their first task.
They have streamlined it, focused it and have also
introduced a self-evaluation section into the orientation, always
an effective tool to address challenges
early. Their work should clearly be shared in an official capacity
with home office to see if it can dovetail with OMNI’s own plans
to reinvigorate orientation in all homes.
Once the PSW committee was established, Gary’s next exercise
in long-term care home governance was to create a multidisciplinary
committee. This team – officially called the staff advisory committee
-- links all departments together. It has representatives in management
but its focus, again, is on representation from the front lines. In
fact a front-line health care aide chairs the new committee, Maxine
Ball.
This team will formally meet for the first time this month, ushering
in a new way to identify and adopt best practices.
Early priorities for the new staff advisory group
will include a new orientation package, recruitment and retention
issues, the employee
assistance program, fundraising, budgets, the therapy gardens and grounds
and absenteeism, according to member Vi O’Leary, who is Frost’s
life enrichment co-ordinator.
If one has any kind of vested interest in OMNI, or in long-term care
home leadership, one has to appreciate what Frost Manor is doing. By
concentrating on governance issues during the summer, Frost is signalling
that it wants to get its foundation right in its highly competitive
market. And by concentrating on its front line, especially, Frost is
signalling that resident care is at the top of its list.
From what has been seen so far, its democratic, organized and innovative
approach will allow staff members to make meaningful contributions
in a democratic environment. Just how many long-term care home leaders
can say that with a straight face?
Prepared by:Roderick Benns, Corporate News Correspondent.
Email: roderick@newsroom5.com
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