Hello everyone,
A resident reminded me the other day that it had been a long time since I had sent out one of my love letters. She was of course referring to my occasional CEO’s newsletters. So I promised Lorraine that I would get down to business and send one out before the end of the week.
As you all know, our Board Chair and good friend, Roger Legal, passed away suddenly in December. René Dupuis graciously accepted to take over as president while Pat Danylchuk replaced him as vice-president. Just in case you wondered, Villa Youville board members receive no financial benefits. They are true volunteers, giving freely their time, talent and energy to their organization. I take this opportunity to thank René Dupuis, Patricia Danylchuk, Lise Charrière, Hubert Gagnon, Robert Gosselin, Claude Perrin, Nicole Trudeau and Lucianna Yestrau for their wonderful contribution. We are lucky to have them working for us.
We reviewed our Strategic Plan in March, as we do on a yearly basis, and we have reaffirmed our intention to become the preferred destination for francophone and catholic seniors in Manitoba. In other words, we are giving ourselves a provincial mandate and we will make sure that Villa Youville is known throughout Manitoba as one of the very best seniors’ residence in the province. Our values of tender loving care, friendliness and joie de vivre will be our trademark. At Villa Youville, there is no place for frowns and grim faces. As we grow older, each day becomes more precious and must be filled with laughter and happiness. Smiles, friendly greetings and willingness to be of service are the order of the day, every day!
In our effort to make Villa Youville better known, we are setting up a bilingual WEB site and printing new brochures. All publicity products feature our residents and staff members. Who knows, some of you may end up being TV stars! We should be ready for an official launching in June.
You will be happy to know that the latest survey of our Nursing residents and family members has given us high marks. Residents have told us that they appreciate the staff’s friendliness and constant willingness to be of service. They appreciate the francophone and catholic milieu that we provide. Our two resident grey nuns get special praise. One survey respondent told us that they were worth their weight in gold! (At $1300 an ounce, that’s a lot of dough!) Residents also value the cleanliness of their physical environment and by and large, are quite satisfied with their meals. This is great feedback. We will keep on doing these surveys so that we make sure that we keep on providing high quality care and service.
As most of you know, we plan to add a new residence to meet the needs of our growing list of people who hope to be able to live at Villa Youville in the near future. We were hoping that the federal and provincial budgets would provide some support for seniors’ lodging. Unfortunately, seniors are not at the top of the political agenda. With baby boomers starting to retire, we can expect that the demand for seniors’ lodging will grow significantly. The Board has given the green light to proceed with plans for a new residence which will be added to our existing complex. We are assessing our financial capacity and municipal support to determine if we can indeed go ahead with the project. If things work out, we would start the project next year with a possible completion date in 2020. I will keep you posted as we move forward.
I have had the pleasure of being invited as guest speaker at the Club Jovial’s annual meeting. I was impressed by the large number of attendees and the keen interest that members have in their club. I shared with them my personal belief that seniors must remain involved in all matters that concern them. They should not be taken for granted by politicians who come to visit them only at election time. Seniors’ opinions and wishes matter. They should also keep on being active and involved. Growing old is no reason to lose interest in the world around us. I wish Club Jovial the very best in its brand new facility!
Until next time!
Paul (Ruest)