Interview with Chartwell Longworth Retirement Residence management, Glenda Cumming

The three things I love about my job at Longworth Retirement Residence are that I get to come to work every day and feel that I am helping people, I have created wonderful relationships with not only the residents but also their family members, and the staff are amazing to work with. I feel like my day is valuable.

I used to be in advertising. I worked for an advertising agency for 10 years. Unfortunately, that agency closed. So I was looking for a way to use my experience in marketing to do better, I guess you could say, to do good. I saw this ad and thought to myself, well, I don't have any experience in seniors living, but I love working with people, so I thought that might be a really great way to use my experience in a different sector.

Every day is different, which is a great thing. A good portion of the day is spent taking phone calls from people who are looking to help their parents. They see that they're struggling in their home, so they reach out to start the research and find out how they can help. A lot of people really don't know anything about seniors living and what they should be asking and looking for. So I really do see myself as someone who can be a resource for them.

There are many times when the phone conversation ends with, “Thank you so much for all your help, because I really didn't know where to start.” So that's very rewarding. The rest of the day is spent dealing with the residents, spending time with them, and helping them. We are very much a team there, so even though my position is sales and marketing, I never forget that the residents who are living there still need support as well.

A great deal of our resident base does come from this area. We honestly don't do a whole lot of advertising. We have a very good reputation in the city, and that comes from word of mouth, which we all know is the best form of advertising. Friends talk to friends, residents talk to old neighbors. So that common thread is pretty much living in the Byron-Westmount area.

Many people have also moved here from other parts of the country, and they're coming to be closer to their kids. That's also a very common thing. So if they can once again be part of their kids' lives, if they've been living in Vancouver and have come to a point where they need some support, and their kids would like them to move closer, it's really nice to see them become part of their kids' lives again on a regular basis.

One of the great things about Longworth Retirement Residence is that people come to us for all different reasons. There may be people who have been living alone for a long time, and they are in need of more social interaction. So we have a fabulous recreation program that provides for everybody. There are some residents who get involved in everything, some residents who do some things, and we have other residents who are happy just to read their books and do their own thing.

We are also different in that we are only two levels. We are only two floors, which I find really does lend itself more to a community feel. It's easier to get around. On top of that, our most unique feature is our front lobby. We have a very open concept, large lobby with a water feature. It's very nice when you see residents sitting in a comfortable chair nearby, reading a book and listening to the water.

Longworth Retirement Residence is very much family-oriented. Our umbrella company, Sifton Properties, has a culture. It's a family-owned and operated business that has a real strong history in the community. There are lots of guiding principles that we follow and operate under at all of our locations, such as trust, collaboration, and support.

We use those principles on a daily basis to help us serve our residents and family members. The result is that we are like a big family there, and that is very important to us.

A common question would be, "What makes you different than other residences in the city?" There are a number of options in the area. My answer is that it is that family-based culture, and that we are not a corporate chain, so we operate with a little bit more flexibility in being able to make day-to-day decisions.

One of the things I also say is that at Longworth we are lucky enough to have quite a variety of room layouts. We have nine different styles of one-bedrooms, in addition to our studios and two-bedrooms as well. Having nine different options for one-bedrooms is pretty rare. I would say we also have the most beautiful courtyard in the city. Residents are out there all the time and participating in the upkeep of the flower beds, so it's really a nice spot to be.

My most favorite thing on the menu would be our Chicken à la King lunch feature. Sunday meals at Longworth are fabulous. We have a great reputation for our food. Our Red Seal chefs are incredibly passionate about what they do on a daily basis. We pride ourselves on having good food, and that's part of our reputation in the city as well.

They can wake up and have the choice of whether or not they come for breakfast. We offer three meals a day as part of our regular base services, but being an independent living building, people can choose whether or not they want to have a slow start to their morning and stay in their housecoat and make their own coffee or toast in their suite.

In the morning, there are always morning programs. That can range from exercise classes four times a week to trivia. We go on bus trips twice a week. We have our own transportation coach, which is fabulous. Then there's lunch in midday. Then we have afternoon tea every day at 2:30, and there are always afternoon programs as well, whether it be cards, euchre, bridge, or physical fun games.

On nice days, the recreation team will be out in the courtyard using it as much as they can for recreation programs. Dinnertime is always a really nice time because it's very social. Sharing meals with other people is very important. In the evenings, we'll do evening programs throughout the week, but the energy ebbs and flows through the day. The great thing about being an independent living building is that they get to choose what they do.

Being an independent living building, Longworth Retirement Residence has many residents who still drive and come and go as they please. That is one thing that I always make sure that somebody coming in for a personal visit understands. This is independent, and they can come and go as they please. We are not telling them what they can and cannot do.

Our bus goes out often. Today, actually, they're on a country drive. So there are always opportunities to go out and about. Family members are coming in all the time to enjoy meals with their family and take them out as well if they don't drive. They can come and go as they please

Every family is different. Sometimes, there are family dynamics involved, so you provide support in different ways. Just this morning, I had a tour with a couple where she wants to make a move, and he does not, which is fairly typical for couples. It tends to be that the husband doesn't really want to come out of the home, and that's fine. I try to provide different perspectives to prospects and educate them that this is independent, and they can come and go as they please.

What I find is that when people do move in, shortly after they say, “Oh my goodness, I don't know what I was so afraid of.” So I really talk about the emotional side of the change and let them know that what they're feeling is absolutely normal because not many of us like change. As we get older, it becomes a little more difficult as well.

I try to let seniors know that their decision to stay in the home does affect the whole family, because in order for them to stay in their home, it does require support from other people. So I try to get them to see that at some point it does become a family decision and not just their own, and that perhaps they owe it to themselves to try.

One of the questions that I often get is whether we are assisted living. My answer is that terminology has become very gray throughout the years. Assisted living can mean many different things. Our goal there is to help people as they need more support as the years go by. We review care plans every six months. If we see that somebody is struggling a little bit and needs some additional care, we will talk with them and their family and put in that support.

Our goal is to keep people there in their home for as long as it is safe for them. So we do help them through that continuum for as long as we can and for as long as it is safe. We have lots of connection with family and discussions with them in order to provide a safe environment for them as they age.

We have a Goodwill Ambassador program, and it's actually fabulous. We have a group of residents who really enjoy helping residents make that transition because they were once in that same position. So we connect them with residents who have similar interests and really do want to help new residents.

They join them for meals and call them and invite them to programs. They really help them to make that transition in. In addition, of course, to us as staff as well. When someone new moves in, we're always following them very closely and making sure that all their questions are answered and we can help them down to programs as well.

That Resident Ambassador Program helps them meet new residents through that ambassador as well. So it's a great program.

A number of years ago, I was sitting down and getting to know a lady and her daughter who had come in and were researching retirement options. Her mom was very, very reluctant, of course, and that's okay. I asked her how long she had been living on her own, and she said 10 years. I asked her, really genuinely, are you happy? She said, "Oh yes, I'm very happy. I enjoy my own company, and I don't have any problem with that." 

She did end up moving in. A couple weeks later, I was sitting there visiting in her suite with her, and she said, “Do you remember when you asked me if I was happy?” I said yes. She said, “I realize now that I wasn't. It took making the move for me to see that I wasn't.” She said she had just adapted to living a life alone.

That made me really happy that she did face her fear of change, and she moved in and really had this new lease on life. It made me feel good that that question stuck with her and that she brought that question full circle to me.

Every year in the London area, the London Free Press runs Best of, and the community votes. We have been voted best retirement residence seven years in a row. So we are very proud of that.

We have accomplished that because of our employees. Our employees are the heart and soul of Longworth. We do our best to go above and beyond every day. The result of that genuine caring has resulted in the number of years of being voted best retirement residence in this area. So very proud of that.

When you're going on your personal visits, stop and talk to the residents. That's who you want to hear from. Ask them about the food. Ask them about the recreation programs. Those are the people you want to hear from, and they'll tell you the truth. Absolutely, they will.

Also, talk to the employees, too. Your instinct matters, and go with your instinct. I often say to new residents who are touring that when you first walk into a property, you're going to know shortly thereafter whether or not this is the place for you. You get that gut feeling, and going with that instinct, you'll know pretty quickly if that's the place where you can be comfortable and call home.