Education programs help put OMNI on top: RPN
Monday November 5, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
It was while working at a hospital during her time as a nursing student that Valerie Mahoney decided she wanted to make long-term care her career.

Mahoney, a full-time registered practical nurse (RPN) at Burnbrae Gardens, wanted a job where she could make a difference, and long-term care seemed like the natural choice, she says.

“I met so many great seniors when I was at school . . . that I didn’t want to work in a hospital, I wanted to work in long-term care,” says Mahoney.

Mahoney came to the Campbellford long-term care home in March 1999, starting as a health-care aide for the first six months she was there. She later moved into a part-time RPN position, which would eventually lead to a full-time job.

A 13-year veteran of the long-term care sector, Mahoney says the fact OMNI puts a strong emphasis on promoting from within provides staff members with the impetus to continually improve themselves.

“I think we’re very lucky as staff members to be a part of OMNI, because most companies don’t have the initiatives that OMNI has,” she says.

What sets OMNI apart from other long-term care homes she has worked in is the support and encouragement staff members regularly receive.

“OMNI is very supportive, all the way from head office down to staff in the homes, including the directors of care and administrators. It’s totally resident focused with great initiatives for education,” she says.

One such initiative she’s glad to have taken is the manager training program.

The manager training program is a six-day course taught by staff members from head office to provide information about what their jobs entail and what qualifications employees need to have if they wish to some day have that position.

“It was amazing. It was a really good learning experience,” she says of the program.

OMNI is also intensely resident focused, Mahoney adds. And when you make residents top priority, everything else falls into place.

“Start from the ground up and you get a good quality home that way,” she says.