Interview with Delmanor Elgin Mills management, Michelle White

First and foremost is the ability to build relationships with the people that live within our community, by far number one. Working with an exceptional group of people who all have a common goal of providing the most compassionate, respectful care possible to these individuals is number two. Every time I walk into the building, I have a smile on my face.

Next month marks the 26th year I’ve been in this industry. I like to consider it more of a calling than anything else. When I initially started, it was, I was quite young, but within one month, I was like, "Wow, I can see myself working in the retirement field forever!" It’s absolutely 100% gratifying.

Every little chance you have to put a smile on someone’s face, to take a concern and turn it around, to make it a positive experience, just to be able to enrich the lives of the people living within these communities, that’s enriching, that is purposeful. It’s why I do what I do.

For the most part, what takes up the most amount of my time, but I don’t actually consider it taking up time, is just being able to speak with the community members, their family members, and just kind of make things as good as possible for them. 

Anyone who does move in, the first thing we ask is, why did you pick us? Right off the bat, and I’ve experienced it myself, when you walk in the front door, there’s something different about this community. There are smiles on everyone’s face. The warmth and friendliness are there. We definitely have a service culture here. The people working there are really working for our residents, and you can see that and feel it through every interaction you have.

We actually have something called the Delmanor Experience, where people go the extra mile. We ensure that every interaction we have, we go the extra inch in service. We try to anticipate service needs. So if we know that Mrs. Smith really enjoys having oatmeal every morning, we ensure that we have it there. If she likes cinnamon with it, the cinnamon is there. It’s not an ask, it’s an expectation, and the expectation is to go above and beyond.

That’s actually par for the course. Finding a retirement community is a lifestyle change in a lot of ways. I find the easiest transition point is when somebody makes that decision for themselves. They have a need, they have a want, and they are open, but they also know what they’re looking for. There are a lot of different choices out there, so you really have to figure out what the most important items are that you’re looking for in a community, and then the matchmaking starts from there.

People's preferences and priorities are totally personal. It’s a personal choice for each individual. Some want to be able to come in, make friends, and have a social aspect to their life that may have slowly dwindled over the years. For others, it’s a health-related decision. Perhaps they’re frightened of being alone. It really, really depends on the person.

We have a process in place. They may have met our community relations manager originally, and slowly they’re transitioned over to myself so I can act as a lead on their behalf to the move-in. Then we pair them up with our move-in coordinator for the actual day, and our move-in coordinator is fantastic. She’ll walk through the whole process of the move-in.

We also have a resident ambassador program. We pair the new resident with our resident ambassador, who’s available by phone if they have any questions and usually escorts them down to the dining room for the first time because that’s definitely a nervous point. At least they have a first point of contact. They have a name. They have been paired with someone to help them through the process.

Lobster mac and cheese. But I think our most popular items are the hand-battered fish and chips, if you’re into a lighter fare for lunchtime, and the other big one is prime rib with delicious Yorkshire puddings as fluffy as pillows.

To create the menu at Delmanor, we work collaboratively as a team. Between our sites, all of our chefs have input through our corporate chef as well. They work together, they speak with the residents through meetings, and figure out when we do our seasonal changes, what items our residents would like to see.

On a daily basis, we have a lot of options available. We may feature two or three items, but we always, always, always have additional items available for special dietary needs, or if somebody just doesn’t feel like what’s on the menu, we have something available for them.

We’ve tried both, actually, but we do have set times. We found the times work best for the residents. In our particular community, that’s what works for our people there, and that’s their voice. So we do it that way.

We have an amazing LivingWell team. When somebody moves in, we meet with that individual within the first week or so to go over hobbies they may currently have and what they may be interested in, so we can help pair them to activities and programs that are going on.

We also have on a monthly basis a calendar review and the opportunity for any community member there to voice their opinion or give some insight into things that they would like to see. We want to keep things fresh, we want to keep them engaged, and where we can, we like to try new ideas as well.

We do have tryout nights when it comes to entertainers. The residents know that this is a new person. They get to vote whether or not they would like to see them back. So it allows them a voice to continue on, especially if they enjoy something and want to know about it.

We actually have a family portal, so they are able to log on, see what’s on the menu, see what our events are for the week or the month, whatever it may be. That way, they can have that conversation with their parent as well if they have some concerns, or say, "Mom, Dad, you really should check out what’s going on later this week. I know you’d be interested." We are transparent with communication.

If it’s a little bit more sensitive, that’s a point of conversation that would happen with our health and wellness team. So that is a one-on-one open conversation.

I like to think Delmanor Elgin Mills is a great ambassador for Richmond Hill, and we do our part as well. We have an active partnership with the McConaghy Centre. Anywhere we can support our community, we do. During the year, several times when we have fundraising events, we like to keep our donations local. We’ve also done some sponsorship work with the food bank and provided some of the donations from our drives directly to them. It’s important to keep things local.

Most Delmanor Elgin Mills residents enjoy taking a walk right up to Loblaws. It’s just steps away. So we have a lot of amenities available, and we also have a bus that we set up for local trips, shopping, banking, and anything that’s really important to the people living there.

Actually, it’s unique and individual to each person. We do have a lot of individuals who have lived in Richmond Hill for decades, and then we have others who’ve moved to Richmond Hill to be closer to family members. We’ve actually had family members move in because of family members. So it’s a rich tapestry, and I think that’s one of those beautiful things that happens. It keeps us all unique.

The lifestyle at Delmanor Elgin Mills is tailored to the individual who lives there. If they were social and they came there for social reasons, they’re part and parcel of our programs that go on. They’ve made new friends. They’re connecting. For individuals who literally came there just because they wanted to feel safe, they can do that. And if they choose to be social, that is their choice. We’re not going to force it. It’s all about how they want to spend their retirement, not how we see they should be enjoying it.

I have one wonderful man I’m thinking about. He was just an exceptional gentleman. This is a few years back. The one item he had to leave behind when he moved in was his piano. So when he came to us, he saw the baby grand in the lobby and made his way into my office and said, "I understand you’re entertainers through there. I’m not much of a professional, but would it be okay if I practiced?" Of course, you can practice!

He was just amazing! Almost every day, he’d come down after lunch, and he’d, what he would call, just tinker around a little bit. Sometimes he brought sheet music, sometimes he didn’t, and it only took two weeks before he started getting a crowd of ladies sitting around enjoying what he was playing. It gave him purpose, and I enjoyed it because it was maybe 50 feet from my office, so I could see him playing and hear him clearly. On occasion, he’d let me throw in a request. He was incredible. I just miss him.

Within the past five years, we actually had a massive renovation. We created more amenity space. So I’m hoping that will be good for at least another five or 10 years. I think the biggest change we’re going to see is just with the next wave of retirees. I know there’s a different mindset, and I can tell you over the past 26 years, even the original people from then who were residing in our retirement residences were different. Our current clientele is different, and I know the next 10 years are going to bring on a more active, more consumer-savvy resident. 

I’m starting to see the beginnings of it now. We have a lot of individuals, whereas even 10 years ago, they didn’t have computers in their suites. Now there are tablets, there are iPads, and just at the drop of a hat, you can Google anything. So we’re finding we’re getting more tech-savvy individuals who do their homework, check things out, and see what’s out there. So they have a very, very good idea of the different choices that are available for them.

My advice is do your homework. Go to retirement homes, tour places, and get information, but not that you want to inundate yourself with a whole bunch of different places to look at. Pick three, typically, that would spark your interest. Have a look at what they have to offer and see what’s really important to you.