Every year, the BC Care Awards celebrate care providers who go above and beyond delivering care to our seniors.
This post features finalists for BC Care Provider of the Year (Assisted Living), with an explanation of why they deserve to win, in the nominators’ own words.
Stay tuned for finalist profiles for BC Care Provider of the Year (Residential Care and Home Health). Winners will be announced in January. The awards will take place on February 19th, 2019 in Victoria.
Kiyoko Hammar – Freedom Place (Strive Living Society)
Kiyoko is deserving of this award because she is hard-working and thoughtful in her work. She consistently treats both staff and tenants in a respectful and caring manner whenever she is working at Freedom Place.
She is proactive about bringing up issues and concerns before they become bigger problems and is great at helping to come up with solutions, rather than just bring forward complaints.
She has a great attitude and influences others positively both through her actions and words.
Tenants recognize these amazing qualities in her and the majority asked that she be put forward for this award when asked.
Carrie-Ann Dambrowitz – Mariposa Gardens (Sienna Senior Living)
Carrie-Ann loves her career as an RCA. She is truly resident-centered in all of the care she provides. She demonstrates leadership with her co-staff by taking on extra duties.
She takes the time to listen to residents. On several occasions Carrie-Ann has volunteered her time to organize events for our residents’ enjoyment during evening and weekends.
She is an artist and has held classes on her off-duty time to involve the residents.
She has participated in conferences to increase her learning. She is our MSIP (Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention) champion and sits as Co-Chair on our O&HS Committee.
Brian Winger – KinVillage
For Brian, his work at KinVillage is deeply personal. He gives 200% because he genuinely cares for and about the assisted living residents. He knows that what he does and how he does it will make a difference in their day. It’s why he’s here.
He supports residents to live their lives fully by offering creative and appealing programs designed to enhance physical, cognitive, spiritual, social and emotional health. He reminds and gently encourages residents to participate. He continually adapts and changes programs and activities in response to changing resident needs and to their feedback and input.
He is fun and full of surprises. He is compassionate and kind, always and to everyone. He makes our residence a home and welcomes every resident to it as part of the family and every visitor as a friend.
Brian has consistently provided high quality recreation services at KinVillage for over 12 years, never faltering in his dedication. He is very much deserving of this award; each and every resident living in the Assisted Living Residence would without doubt say the same.
The residents, staff, and family members would be thrilled if Brian was to be formally recognized for all his contributions and his dedication.
Gail Aslin – Pioneer Lodge (The Good Samaritan Society)
Gail provides support and workload assistance allowing both assisted living workers to spend quality time with residents. Proving quality “non-rushed” care for all residents at Pioneer Lodge.
Gail is very considerate and caring while assisting the residents at Pioneer Lodge. She is their “go-to” person, always open and willing to assist.
She will stay extra time if a resident requires assistance, even when she is on her way out the door. She always has a smile on her face, even when overcoming personal struggles or mishaps.
Marilyn Kirkpatrick – Benchmark Lifestyles Incorporated
Marilyn is truly a unique and rare individual whose leadership traits and caring personality has made the difference for hundreds of assisted living residents over the past 16 years. She is competent, organized, dependable, caring, empathetic and kind. Marilyn is innovative and always willing to think outside the box.
She doesn’t subscribe to a “one size fits all” approach and is committed to supporting and finding appropriate solutions for the needs of each resident. She treats residents and family members with empathy and you can rest assured that each resident is given the quality of care and attention as if they were her own family member. Their needs, whether they are physical, emotional, social or spiritual, are part of her holistic approach to care.
Staff are also given every consideration and while excellence of care and service is expected, she always strives to give others the benefit of the doubt, to be fair and just when dealing with staff issues and challenges as they arise. She is willing to sacrifice her own time and interests in striving to meet the needs of others, both residents and staff. She is definitely a team player and a positive role model. Always an example, she doesn’t ask anything of her staff that she would not do herself. She has on more than one occasion rolled up her sleeves and stepped up to the plate, whether it was a recreational activity that residents were looking forward to, or a holiday dinner that needed cooking, because of an urgent or unavoidable circumstance.
She is aware of the needs of her staff and continually finds ways to provide appropriate in-service training, counselling, and recognition of outstanding effort. She works hard to be inclusive with community and outside resources/agencies to ensure that the well-being and needs of residents and staff are being met.
Her sense of responsibility and her deep commitment to the needs of others makes her a rare gem and certainly one that deserves recognition in the industry.
The BC Care Provider of the Year Award (Assisted Living) is sponsored by Care RX.
