Every year, the BC Care Awards celebrate care providers who go above and beyond delivering care to our seniors.
In this profile, we feature Care Provider of the Year (Long-Term Care) award winner Crystal Clark from Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre in Kamloops.
Here’s what Crystal’s colleague and nominator Shelly Cantelo had to say about her:
Crystal has demonstrated commitment to quality, compassion and excellence through the creation of an Intergenerational Mother Goose Program within the home. This programs receives registration from parents in the community and family members of individuals living at Gemstone. The Mother Goose programs involves singing songs, rhythms and stories with multiple generations.
Crystal spearheaded the idea of creating an intergenerational group to provide the opportunity to create a link between seniors and the community, and also to provide the opportunity for families to engage with their loved ones in a safe, inviting way. Through this program, relationships have been made, and we have seen up to four generations of families singing and enjoying time together. Crystal has since received training to become a facilitator of the Mother Goose program, which is in its 4th year running.
Crystal has impacted the staff, residents and the organization by providing an amazing opportunity for people to connect. Staff are welcome to join the group with their children, and families of residents are encouraged to participate. The organization is able to provide the space and opportunity for the community to be interactive with residents in long-term care.
This opportunity also gives residents a chance to reminisce back to when they had children, and to relive those feelings they had when their children were small. These thoughts create feelings of happiness as they live their current lives.
Crystal is deserving of this award because of the passion and innovation she has shown in implementing this program. It has provided opportunities for not only staff to be involved with the life in our home, but multiple generations of families and residents are able to bond and build relationships in a fun way.
Crystal has ensured this program thrives and continues to grow. It has been an example within our community — other homes have started to embrace and look to Crystal for recommendations and support. We feel she has seen the vision of what an Intergenerational Mother Goose Program could look like and exceeded it.
The Care Provider of the Year (Long-Term Care) award is sponsored by Marquise Hospitality – Compass Group Canada.
