Understand their needs and their story, and high-quality care follows | Specialized dementia care at Extendicare Rouge Valley

When you walk around the Behavioural Support Transitional Unit, or BSTU, at Extendicare Rouge Valley in Scarborough, Ontario, beautifully painted murals of nature landscapes and cityscapes mark the hallways.

Sensory boards offer sounds and textures. There are TTC bus stops that serve as resting places.

The artwork goes far beyond aesthetics. It is thoughtful, intentional, and helps to engineer the environment for residents with advanced Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Alzheimer’s and dementia: How to plan a holiday visit with your loved one

Visiting a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia during the holidays is an important time for family and friends to connect. While celebrations together are meaningful, they can also be challenging for the person who has dementia, as well as caregivers.

Extendicare Columbia Forest on CTV Kitchener

CTV Kitchener featured a recent celebration at Extendicare Columbia Forest filled with holiday cheer!

Residents, families, and team members came together to “Light Up the Season” with festive displays, which included thousands of mini bulbs and decorations, and fun activities, including a visit from Santa.

Three ways residents’ councils help provide support in long-term care homes

Elouise Cunningham is the president of Extendicare Hillcrest’s Residents’ Council, in Alberta. She says residents’ councils help give residents an even stronger voice in their long-term care homes.

“All of the residents feel it’s their home and want to be able to express their feelings, concerns, and thoughts about living in a long-term care home,” says Elouise, who has been the home’s president for five years.

Extendicare Leduc residents attract local coverage for cultivating kindness

A group of residents at Extendicare Leduc in Alberta have been featured in their local newspaper for spreading kindness.

The article in The Leduc Representative highlights the “Cultivating Kindness” group at the long-term care home. The group meets each month to find ways to give back to their communities inside and outside of Extendicare.

Celebrating Pride in long-term care | Supporting LGBTQ2+ communities all year long

Amy, a social worker from one of our Greater Toronto Area (GTA) homes, recently spoke with us about what it means to be a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity (all year long) in her community.

The evidence of her impact is visible across our Extendicare homes in the GTA.

June is Seniors’ Month | 104 year old Extendicare London resident Vera gives back to her Extendicare family

Each Seniors’ Month, we celebrate those who have built our communities, shaped our families and who continue to share their wisdom with those around them.

Strengthening quality of care | Nurses across our Ontario long-term care homes receive specialized skin and wound care training

We're happy to announce that 22 nurses at our Ontario long-term care homes have graduated from a specialized training program for skin and wound care, ostomy, and continence management, expanding our advanced practice capacity in this critical area of seniors’ health care.

Happy Mother’s Day! Extendicare Viking team member starts each day with a hug from a very special resident: her mom

In celebration of Mother’s Day, we talked to Christina, the Office Coordinator at Extendicare Viking in Alberta. Every day, when Christina goes to work, she gets to spend time with one very special resident: her mom. 

Celebrating Nurses | Nursing team at Extendicare Tri-Town motivated by personal connections to residents in their care

It’s National Nursing Week! We are joining the Canadian Nurses Association in celebrating the commitment of nurses and the important role they play in their communities.

In long-term care, nurses are highly trained members of our teams, and their clinical expertise helps to ensure residents receive quality care.

Extendicare women continue to lead the way to improve seniors' care

For the second year in a row, Extendicare has been named to the Globe and Mail’s Women Lead Here list, an annual benchmark of executive gender diversity in large Canadian corporate organizations.

Celebrating Black History Month | Tameca's story: A lifetime of caring for seniors

As Black History Month comes to a close, Tameca, a Personal Support Worker at Extendicare Scarborough, shared how she grew up serving seniors in her home country of Jamaica. Some of her earliest memories include helping her mom deliver food to community elders.

Celebrating Black History Month | Rekia's story: An honour to care for seniors

Continuing our Black History Month series, we spoke with Rekia, a Personal Support Worker at Extendicare Scarborough, who shared a personal story with us.

The first half of Rekia Omowumi-Azeez’s surname means “I love children”, but she’s just as passionate about caring for seniors.

Marking Black History Month | Hazel-Ann's story: nursing is in her blood

February is Black History Month – an important time to honour and celebrate the legacy of Black Canadians, and their rich contributions to our communities.

We spoke with Hazel-Ann, Director of Care at Extendicare Scarborough, who shared a personal story with us.

Hazel-Ann Frank always knew she wanted to be a nurse. Growing up in St. Vincent & the Grenadines (or SVG) – a chain of 32 islands in the eastern Caribbean – Hazel-Ann was inspired to follow in her Mom’s nursing footsteps.

Why remember? What Holocaust Remembrance Day means to Fern

Fern Ginsberg considers her family lucky: by the time the round-up of Jewish citizens in Germany began before World War II, her grandmother had safely escaped to Canada from Austria.

Approximately six million Jewish people were not so fortunate: they were killed by Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust, between 1941 and 1945.

A dementia care journey | Commitment to compassion and understanding at Extendicare Cedars Villa and Hillcrest

January is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month – an important opportunity to highlight the impacts of a disease that takes an enormous toll on thousands of Canadians and their families.

At Extendicare, we have the privilege of being entrusted with supporting many residents and their families as they navigate the impacts of dementia, including Cedars Villa resident Mal and his wife and caregiver Mada.

Transforming Care to Serve People Better | A conversation between Dr. Michael Guerriere, Extendicare CEO and Cameron Love, CEO of The Ottawa Hospital

This past fall, in partnership with The Ottawa Hospital, our Transitional care unit (TCU) at Extendicare West End Villa in Ottawa doubled in size to care for up to 95 patients as they transition from extended stays in the hospital to an Extendicare care setting that better meets their complex care needs and supports improved quality of life for both them and their families

Year in Review | Improving Care in 2022

A year-and-a-half since we launched our Improving Care Plan, we continue to take action to enhance the quality of the care our residents receive. It’s time to look back and reflect on what we have accomplished together this year.