My elderly mother resided at Mountain Lake seniors home for almost a year and I can’t say enough good things about the staff there (particularly at Beachview cottage).
During my frequent visits to the facility, I witnessed a team of competent professionals giving the most compassionate, conscientious care to residents that you could possibly imagine. Doctors and administrators, RNs LPNs and recreation leaders, janitors and cooks, and most of all the frontline care workers… all treated the elders in their charge with dignity and respect, even in the most extreme circumstances.
Many who reside there, in residential care, are in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s and dementia and are often disoriented, anxious, unreasonable or aggressive. The facility has a policy of not restraining or over-medicating them so the responsibility falls on the staff, mainly the care workers and LPNs, to creatively manage a whole variety of ongoing challenges. Sometimes it’s singing along with a favourite song from the war to help march someone to their bath… or dressing someone up in their finest gown to have a tea party on the terrace.
Over and over again I witnessed many staff going beyond the call of duty to provide quality care to residents… showing up on a day off to bring a card or flowers to someone on their birthday… staying on a “little extra” after their shift to read from the Bible to someone who is dying.
In my opinion you can’t pay these people enough to do what they are doing and they deserve our utmost respect and appreciation for really caring for our elders.
Mountain Lake staff I thank you from the bottom of my heart for making the final year of my mom’s life so honouring and gracious… and for making our family feel so at home when we visited.
Our city can be truly proud of such a rare high quality facility and the team of noble angelic citizens that staff it!
Ashala Yardley
Nelson
