Residents connect with
old friend
‘It makes them feel they’re
still a part of the community’
Friday, November 3, 2006 -- Natalie Miller
Armed with Chinese takeout and warm wishes, residents
of Maplewood connected with an old friend and
former co-resident recently.
Residents at the Brighton long-term care home
missed Keitha Lowe, who moved to the Warkworth
Community Nursing Home in September to be closer
to her family. Current Maplewood resident Dorothy
Breeze, Keitha’s former roommate, was particularly
interested in meeting up with her friend again.
Learning this, life enrichment co-ordinator Chris
Charlebois arranged for a trip to Warkworth to
see Keitha. Chris first took Dorothy on her own
to visit and then a group of six residents who
wanted to reconnect with Keitha as well.
“They all chatted,” says Chris, noting
some of Maplewood’s residents knew other
residents of the Warkworth long-term care home
too.
“A lot of them liked that.”
Chris says neither this outing, nor a recent
trip to the Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial
Museum in Trenton and the Quinte Mall in Belleville,
would have been possible without access to the
OMNIway van.
The freedom for residents to go out on outings
more frequently improves quality of life, says
Chris. For instance, people who use wheelchairs
or require portable oxygen would never be able
to get out before. “Without the van, we
wouldn’t be able to get people out.”
The outings have social benefits for residents.
“It gives them something to look forward
to,” says Chris. “It gives them something
to talk about.
“It makes them feel they’re still
a part of the community. It makes them feel they’re
important. I think anybody would go downhill if
they were stuck inside and couldn’t go out
anywhere.”
In 2005 OMNI Health Care purchased three 2005
Chevy Express 3005 vans, which are wheelchair
accessible and feature recessed lifts that allow
residents in wheelchairs to enjoy the view while
riding. OMNI’s 16 homes made creative presentations
to determine which homes would get access to the
van first.
Pleasant Meadow shares the van with four neighbouring
OMNI homes and will have access to it on a rotating
two-week basis
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