Editorial
A year of achievement
Thursday December 20, 2007
This year was  a year of transition, change and maybe even the foundation for future possibilities.

With the acquisition of OMNI Health Care Ltd. by Abacus Private Equity there have been many changes and successes that will pave the road for a future of possibility. We bid farewell to the  era built by committed individuals and welcome a future with a belief in our capabilities.

The Long-Term Care Act (Bill 140) has kept us intrigued at what regulations would be built into the Act to support it.

OMNI celebrates the achievement of training 100 per cent of staff in Supportive Measures by the end of 2007. Shawn Riel has been the guiding light for OMNI in this endeavor and fully supported the efforts of all the homes throughout the year.

We have been adapting to a new Local Health Integration Network environment and created an engaged team of committed OMNI managers to help increase the level of awareness and act as a resource for our homes. Our goal is to ensure a long-term care voice is heard and partners in our health care environment know who we are and what we are about. The focus for the New Year will be revitalizing our Strategic Plan to align it with the Integrated Health Service Plans while focusing on maintaining our culture and integrating new acquisitions into our OMNI family.

In 2007 there have been visits to local secondary schools to try and recruit our next generations to enter the nursing field. This tied in to the development of a very comprehensive, dynamic and innovative Human Resource Strategy to add new talent to our homes. 

This has been a year of safety. The culture of safety that has been fostered in our homes demonstrates the success and diligence of the Safety First Program. Our goal going into 2008 is to ensure Safety First is top in mind and build on the culture we have created.

OMNI’s core educational programs such as Safety First, Scope of Practice, Healthy Living, Healthy Skin, Pain and Comfort and Supportive Measures have been building blocks. We have positioned ourselves to enter the New Year with engaged, empowered and enlightened staff who mentor others to follow their lead in these programs that have been such an essential building block for OMNI and its people.

The crowning achievement of 2007 be the finalization of the OMNIway brochure which introduces the Way We Care. This brochure will act as a teaching tool and will be introduced at an OMNI retreat early in 2008. It introduces our Mission, our new Vision and our new Values as well as highlighting our core programs. It tells a story of who we are, what we stand for and what we expect of our people. It is the OMNIway.

Candace Chartier
Chief Operating Officer