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 Vulcan.

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:

• Welcome Home: Staff members meet and greet new residents to make them feel welcomed and included.
• Welcome Teddy Bear: Each new resident receives a “Welcome Teddy Bear”.
• Family Accommodation: We have a special Family Suite, which is available to family members free of charge to spend the night so they can stay close to their loved one.
• Monthly Newsletter: To keep residents and their family members informed about our home we produce and circulate a monthly newsletter.
• Quarterly Memorial Service: We invite family members to join us at our quarterly Memorial Service to celebrate their loved ones who have passed away.
• Family Council: We tell all new family members about our Family Council and encourage them to get involved.
• Annual Western BBQ: We host an annual family/resident western themed barbeque complete with live country music and delicious ribs.
• Christmas Dinner: As well, we host a very special Christmas Dinner each year to which residents can invite 2 guests. It is a formal dinner with wine, Christmas Carols, Santa Claus and slide show from the previous year.
• Personalize Your Room: Residents are encouraged to bring some personal items and furnishings from home to make their rooms feel more familiar and comfortable.
• Residents Council: We tell our new residents about Residents Council and encourage them to join and participate.
• Family Involvement: Family members are encouraged and welcomed to participate in activities with their loved one.
• Resident Care Plan: Family members, along with their loved one, participate actively in all aspects of the development of the resident’s Care Plan.
• Open Door Policy: Our Open Door policy means we are always available to listen should a family member or resident want to talk.

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:

• Resident Outings: Weather permitting; we have up to 4 outings a month for residents. These excursions include everything from trips to the Air Museum, the Miniature Train Museum and Whoop Up Days in Lethbridge, to picnics in the park, touring the Black Foot Museum and going to the Calgary Zoo.
• Christmas Lights Tour: During the holidays, we arrange a Christmas Lights tour of the community.
• Vulcan Chamber of Commerce: Our home is a member of the Vulcan Chamber of Commerce.
• Spock Days Festival Parade: In 2007, our home designed and built a U.S.S. Extendicare star ship float for our Spock Days Festival parade. It was such a hit that we donated the float to the town and, after a 2013 facelift; it was entered in the Calgary Stampede parade and won the Best municipal Float Award.
• Mother’s Day Tea & Bake Sale: We also host the Annual Auxiliary Association of Vulcan Extendicare Mother’s Day Tea and Bake Sale.
• Western Pancake Breakfast: During Stampede Week, our home hosts a western style pancake breakfast.
• Intergenerational Visits: We have quarterly Intergenerational visits from the local elementary school students.
• Neighbourly Visits: We have a monthly “Neighbourly Visits” program with the Peter Dawson Lodge Retirement Home in Vulcan when residents get together and socialize.
• Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike fundraiser: Staff members participate in community charity events such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Big Bike fundraiser.
• Alberta Health Services Committee: Our Administrator sits on the Alberta Health Services committee focusing on issues related to long term care and services for the elderly.