Our Stories

Giovanna first began cooking when she was 12 years old. Today, she continues her life-long passion for food at Villa Da Vinci Retirement Residence in Vaughan, ON, where she lives. She holds cooking demonstrations, complete with delicious tastings, at least once a month. They are always well attended by fellow residents.

Snow filters down through the branches and onto the head of a fluffy bird preparing to turn south for the winter. The painting, titled “First Snowfall,” was completed by Helen Banzet, 90, almost a year ago.

At Astoria Retirement Residence, people and the warmth they share make all the difference. A tight-knit community, they believe strongly in living every day to the fullest and helping each other to reach their full potential. This is the sort of place where everyone knows your name and a good friend is never far from sight.

If your product doesn’t meet Kam Dhillon’s standards, she doesn’t want it, and as the Senior Executive Chef at both Peninsula and Pacifica retirement residences in Surrey, BC, her standards are hard to meet.

The waves coming over the bow of the ship would often be over 15-feet high. For someone who couldn’t swim well, it was not a welcome sight.

I guess that one would have to go all the way back to 1936; the year when the Royal Canadian Navy first called out to me. I was only 12 at the time, so I had a few years to wait. At 16 I filled out all of the required application forms, including my parents' consent and several letters testifying as to my character and moral conduct. Alas, the Navy replied that they were no longer enlisting Boy Seamen, so just wait and try again. At 17 I tried again, but received the same reply. At 18 I received a reply to the effect that, because I wore glasses, they turned me down again. Now by this time it was 1942; the war had been going on for a bit over two years, and I was getting desperate.

Ken was born in Sunderland, England in 1925. When he was 15 years old, Ken’s father enlisted him in the Air Training Corp in the hopes that it would give him some structure. Ken can remember riding his bike up the hill as a kid and watching the trainee pilots. Occasionally they’d take him up with them, even though they weren’t supposed to.

Ronald first joined the military in 1952, when he was only 17 years old. He served during the cold war, and was deployed to the Middle East from1960-1961. During that time, he was part of the Special Forces unit. He drove a large tractor truck and transported supplies between Egypt and Israel, driving across the large Sinai Desert, which is 61 thousand square km and separates the two countries. He stayed with the military for 20 years.

Residents and team members had a spook-tastic time coming together to celebrate Halloween. Look below to see some of the best moments!

Bill Hopkins loves horses.

Orpha Macasa, RAI Coordinator at Silverthorn Care Community in Mississauga, Ontario, was recently honoured with a Nursing Leadership Award from the OLTCA. She has worked as a nurse at Silverthorn since 2006, and has consistently grown in her leadership capacity. She was promoted to an MDS nurse position, MDS Coordinator and then into a managerial position as RAI Coordinator. “Orpha is a leader who will identify a gap, offer solutions to trial and takes accountability for seeing those trials through. Because of her history working on the floor, she always includes the care team’s perspectives when problem-solving,” says Justine Welburn, Silverthorn’s Executive Director. “She has earned trust from the team because of the way she supports them. She is transparent, follows through on commitments and is generous with her time.”

Janet has been the Executive Director at Bloomington Cove Care Community in Stouffville, Ontario, for 10 years and is a passionate advocate for residents with dementia.  Janet recently recognized by the OLTCA for Leadership Excellence. The home is devoted exclusively to dementia care and since Janet joined, she has made it her mission to implement a person-centred approach to caring for this population. Her goal is to balance the combination of medical and personal care, based on the unique needs of each resident. Janet and her team have implemented impactful forms of therapy for residents with dementia, including the use of personalized playlists on iPods, lavender therapy to support sleep, doll therapy, cranial massage and many more.

Isma Besic has been a Personal Support Worker at Granite Ridge Care Community in Stittsville, Ontario, since 2002. She was recently recognized with a PSW Leadership Excellence Award from the OLTCA. She has an amazing ability to communicate with resident with dementia, stemming from both her incredible passion for these residents, and her continued drive to learn. She participates in any educational opportunity she can, including G.P.A., P.I.E.C.E.S., and several leadership workshops. She has also been a mentor to many new team members and students, who have always spoken highly of her professional, patient and respectful way of teaching.