Caregivers enhance, enrich lives for residents
Changes within sector have made homes extensions of families
Tuesday April 29, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Susan Cymbaluk says if there’s one thing she’d like potential nursing recruits to know about long-term care it’s that people who pursue work in geriatrics personally make a difference in the lives of others by helping people live longer, healthier and more enriching lives.

Cymbaluk, administrator and director of care at Burnbrae Gardens, adds that the landscape of long-term care has changed over the years. The days of homes having an institutional atmosphere where people went for end-of-life treatment are long gone.

“I think that’s a new viewpoint that needs to be put out there: that residents do not come into long-term care because it’s the end of their life,” she says. “Yes, circumstances arise where they cannot be in their own home but they can look at this as their new home and a new phase in their life — long-term care extends their family.”

Cymbaluk says Burnbrae Gardens does its part to help attract nurses to long-term care by offering a “homey atmosphere (and) a lot of fun and laughter.”

She describes the Campbellford long-term care home as a place where residents come to begin a “new phase” in their life.

As part of this transition, all of the home’s frontline staff — personal support workers (PSWs), registered practical nurses (RPNs) and registered nurses (RNs) — and all the other team member in a long-term care home provides quality for residents.

Valerie Mahoney, an RPN at the home, says she has seen a lot of changes in the long-term care sector in her 15 years as a nurse. More than ever, long-term care is more resident-focused and individualized, she says.

“Our plan of care reflects that,” she says. “We try to bring in as many things that are familiar to residents . . . and to learn about their likes and dislikes, which helps us to get to know the resident more completely.”

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