Our Difference

We understand the decision to transition to long-term care is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. We want to ensure your decision is a positive one. Below are some of our home’s points of difference:

The calendar is always full. You can be as active as you like.

For some people, the key to living better is filling every day with meaningful activities that bring people together, build bonds and create shared experiences.

Whether it’s tapping the power of music to engage a resident with dementia, attending worship services, participating in exercise classes, or reminiscing with a friendly volunteer, there’s always something going on at Extendicare Van Daele.

Here, residents lead active and engaged lives.

This is home. Your home.

We want you to feel at home. We’ll support you in becoming an active and engaged member of your new community and enjoy life to the best of your ability.

We have a welcoming and inclusive environment.

Not only do we work very hard to integrate residents into our community and feel at home, we’re also committed to making families feel at home here too. The following are some of the measures we take to help our residents settle in and also help family members feel comfortable and get involved:

• Guardian Angel Program: We have a Guardian Angel program where a staff member is assigned to help new residents and their family members feel welcome and to make the transition as comfortable and stress free as possible.
• Personalize Your Room: We encourage new residents to personalize their rooms with items from home.
• Welcome Lunch: We hold a welcome lunch for new residents and their family members where they can meet staff and other residents and family members.
• Family Council: Our Family Council hosts a quarterly meeting and invites new family members. They can ask questions, raise concerns, and learn about relevant topics from guest speakers.
• “Come and Go” Meeting : Our management also hosts a quarterly “Come and Go” meeting where family members can meet our management team and other staff.
• Resident Care Plan: Family members and their loved one are involved in developing the individualized Care Plan and attend the 6-week follow up review of the Care Plan to ensure everything is in order or to make any necessary adjustments.
• Open Door Policy: We have an open door policy so whenever a family member wants to talk, we’re here to listen. Plus, our Social Worker is always available to talk privately about coping with the stress and emotions of caregiving.

We connect you to the community.

Maintaining strong connections to others is essential to keeping people active and involved.

Getting you out into the community and bringing the community into our home is important to your quality of life. Here are some of the ways in which the residents and staff get involved with the community, and how the community connects with us:

• Movie Matinees: Once a month our residents take in a movie matinee.
• Hockey Game Outings: During hockey season local business groups regularly donate tickets for residents to attend Sault Greyhounds games.
• Summer Outings: In summer, we organize a once a month summer outings that include picnics in the park, trips to St. Joseph’s island on Lake Huron, heading down to the harbour to see the Tall Ships and in spring we always head out for some pancakes and fresh maple syrup.
• Wings & Beer Night: Once a month there’s a men’s only night where they head to a local restaurant for wings and beer.
• Ladies’ Shopping Trip: Once a month it’s a ladies only shopping excursion to the mall.
• Student Placement Opportunities: We provide work placement and co-op opportunities for students in the RN, RPN, PSW social work Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy programs at Sault College and other colleges and schools. We also work with St. Basil’s high school to provide work placements for special education students who come with their instructor.
• Community Service Opportunities: We give local high school students opportunities to earn their credit 40-hours of volunteer service in the community.
• Community Meeting Space: We provide free meeting space to the Algoma Stroke Survivors Group for their monthly meetings.
• Community Polling Students: During elections our home is one of the community polling stations.
• Community Fundraisers: Our staff is always participating in local charity events and fund raisers such as the relay for life, united way and more.
• Christmas Tree Drive: Every fall, the Algoma Residential Community Hospice erects a Christmas tree in our building decorated with tags identifying items that are needed. People come in, take a tag, purchase the items and at the end of November the gifts are presented.