Interview with St. Elizabeth Village management, Tanya Pirie

I love the people there. It is an amazing place to work. It’s such a community-based place, and everybody cares so much about one another and looks out for one another. I love both the people I work with and the people who live in The Village, the residents who support us every day.

I love the beautiful setting. We’ve got 114 acres, 14 ponds, and especially right now with the fall colors, it’s stunning. I also love that no two days are the same. It’s always interesting. There’s a lot of variety, lots going on, and there’s always something to do.

We’re always organizing events and activities for the residents. We just finished refreshing our library areas so that the residents can access books and those kinds of things. We’re planning some light shows and things to happen after dark, and we’ve got a new series called Village After Dark with activities that happen at night.

There’s lots going on in addition to some new buildings going up and those types of things. Then there’s the maintenance of roads and all of those good things.

I have been in the healthcare sector for most of my career, and started working with seniors probably about 15 years ago. Through that, I had done some consulting work in St. Elizabeth Village when I was with a different agency, and then moved over there because it was really just the beautiful community, the people, and the work I was doing. I wanted to be able to expand on that. I started off just working there as a consultant and loved it so much that I moved over. I’ve been there for four years now.

The size and scale of St. Elizabeth Village and the number of residents surprised me. There are over 800 residents, and there is one of you. So it’s a big learning curve to learn who people are and get familiar with people. It’s also a big site, 114 acres, with a lot of streets. I was lost, I think, for the first month of my job.

I have an excellent team of people who make it happen. We find different ways to reach out to the residents. We have a lot of in-person stuff, but we also have a lot of things that are not in person. We put out a village newsletter every month that goes to every single home and lists updates and activities, and I write a column in that each month.

We also have our own TV channel there in St. Elizabeth Village that goes directly into everybody’s homes. Any changes or updates about things that go on there, and any announcements, go on there, so that we can be pretty current. We can add videos and things like this. We’ve got a few ways to reach out to people.

I have a fantastic customer service team who are available to take direct phone calls and speak directly to the residents. That’s still the favorite way to communicate. Some residents prefer email, but mostly we still just like to chat with people. I try to drive through The Village several times a week and go out and see people and make sure that we’re staying in touch. It’s an amazing team of people that makes it all happen.

It’s sort of a campus of care. We have 558 beautiful Garden Homes where you can live independently, and they will look after your roofs, your lawns, and your snow clearing, and you can just enjoy your beautiful renovated home. We’re also building a 76-unit building right in the center, and that will be more of a condo-style building for people who want to live where the amenities are.

That new building will include a pool and spa area, a new fitness club, and all of those things. We also have a retirement home on site. So if it gets to the point where you need more care than what is available in your home, you have the option to stay in your own community rather than having to leave. A lot of people really value being able to stay near their neighbors, friends, and family rather than having to move far away. Once you’re here, you don’t need to leave.

They were aiming for July or August of 2021. It was well on its way, with the top story already up and the project soon moving to interior finishes. They were really excited about that.

The Garden Homes themselves are 55+. Some people still work, some people are retired. It’s basically your own home where they look after the property maintenance, so you’re not shoveling snow or cutting your lawn. If there is an external structural repair, like if your roof needs new shingles or your windows or doors need replacing, they will do that. You’re just looking after the interior of your home.

Some of the residents do get PSW support through the community, but most of the residents are just living there and knowing that they don’t have to worry about those things. If they need support, they can certainly get it. Or if it gets to the point where they’re not able to stay in their own homes, then they can look at the retirement residence where there is full meal service, PSW services, and all of those things. So there are all the options anybody could want, really.

They have what Zest calls the 5-star values. The first value is service. They really believe that service is super important. They want to make sure that their customers are happy and that they’re providing the highest level of service. They know what it’s like to get bad or good customer service, and they want to make sure that they’re providing the kind of service that they would want to receive.

The next value is trust. Trust is so important in The Village. The Village has been there a long time, and people need to know that they’re going to do things in a certain way and can be counted on to follow through on what they say. Then there is accountability, making sure they hold themselves accountable to one another and to the residents.

St. Elizabeth Village also focuses on respect and superior quality. They want to honor the history of The Village, the history of the residents in The Village, celebrate all the diversity there, and respect the beautiful land as well. They want to make sure that when they do something, they do it well. Those are the values that all of their staff live and breathe.

All of the homes operate on a life lease basis. You purchase your home, live in it, and get to enjoy it. Then, if at some point you wish to sell it, or leave it to your family members, you’re able to build up that equity and sell it, and that equity is yours. It’s sort of like selling a condo, but with a life lease, you also have the age requirement, so at least one of the people living in the home has to be 55. It’s a great model that lets you buy at a rate that is reasonable, but also gain equity.

They have so many activities. There is Japanese exercise, a fantastic woodworking shop, a swimming pool, lots of painting groups, stained glass groups, pickleball, bocce, shuffleboard, movie nights, book clubs, and card games. There’s something to suit everyone, whether you want to be super active or prefer nature walks and staying close to home.

They also have a beautiful landscape and lots of trails. Some people go to every activity there is, coffee clubs and movie nights, and other people prefer to keep to themselves. There’s something for everybody.

They always kind of joke that they are the best-kept secret because they’re really tucked away there. When you drive by, you don’t realize how large they are. They definitely have a relationship with the rest of Hamilton, but they very much feel like they’re not in Hamilton. They feel like they’re in their own little escape, their own little retreat resort area.

They have a lot of amenities, so if you don’t want to go out into the big city, you don’t have to. They’ve got a bank there, a pharmacy there, a café there, their own massage therapy clinic and physiotherapy clinic, so there are lots of amenities there if you don’t want to go out and about. But they are also in a great area on Hamilton Mountain, close to grocery stores, shops, the mall, golf courses, and all kinds of things.

They make excellent cabbage rolls there. Fish on Fridays and fish and chips are always wonderful as well. There’s lots of variety.

For the retirement home, they absolutely find out what people like, and sometimes they try new things and see if that’s a hit. The food is fantastic at the retirement home. It’s one of her favorite places to visit because it always smells so good. The last time she was over there, they had a beautiful pineapple upside-down cake that had just come out of the oven, and it smelled amazing.

They absolutely work to make sure that they’re doing something that’s really appealing. If what’s on the menu at the retirement residence isn’t what someone wants, they can always have something else. There’s always a backup item. If the item of the day is not appealing, there are always soups and sandwiches, and fresh fruit is out all the time. At the café, they have a regular menu just like any restaurant.

In the Garden Homes, the café is open to everyone and to the public, so it’s a very popular spot. It sits on a beautiful square with a fountain, so in nice weather you can sit outside and enjoy your lunch, listen to the birds, and stare at the fountain. It’s lovely.

There is a lot of communication that happens with the staff and the families of the retirement residents. There’s also lots of visiting going on from those family members. There is a TV channel there as well, so they are able to share their information and updates there, and menu plans are there too. They can email them, and they have a website as well. So there are lots of great ways to communicate.

The staff there are fantastic and really make sure that all of the people who are living at the retirement residence are able to communicate. They’ve also added some extra iPads so that people can do virtual calls, keeping up with technology. There are iPad stations on every floor, so if residents’ families are not able to come and visit, they can give them a video chat and be able to see them in person. Technology is a wonderful thing.

That's up to them. It is completely independent living. If they think they may need some additional care, they may reach out to them or their family members, but most likely, the families are involved, and they make those decisions on their own without much involvement from The Village. Many of them have care in their home and may not need to go to a retirement residence at all.

Because they have a beautiful bungalow, they’re able to get around, and somebody is already doing all the other things. So sometimes they’re fine to stay at home. Some people may live their entire lives here and never have to move to a retirement home, and some people do choose it. Some like the fact that it’s all in one building and more accessible, but it’s really a very individual choice.

St. Elizabeth Village has a very exciting long-term plan. They are going to finish the new building, and then they are also looking to add a town square over the next several years. That town square will have about 50,000 square feet of commercial space, so things like restaurants and grocery stores will be right there in The Village, and people will be able to head on over.

It will also add more residential space as well. They would love to have more doctors there, and they already have doctors on site. They are even talking to a dentist about coming permanently on-site. They have a hair salon on site, but they are always looking to increase the amenities based on what the residents are seeking. Restaurants will be a big one, and they’d love to have a small grocery store that is close and convenient.

It really is a village in every sense. There has never been a more appropriate use of the word village when it comes to St. Elizabeth. They really are a village. It’s a true community. Everybody cares for each other and everything is there. If you just want to stay there, you can.

There are so many stories. A lot of activities at St. Elizabeth Village are run by the villagers themselves. There’s a resident who teaches Japanese exercise twice a week every week. They have residents who do the aquafit lessons and teach that as well. It truly is a village. They do it together. It’s not all staff. It’s very much a partnership.

There are villagers who make sure that they check on each other. They’ll do a telephone tree. They know who's home alone and whose car hasn’t moved in the driveway. Their Resident Society, which helps make decisions and deal with tough situations, is an all-resident board. They help solve problems and come up with ideas about what they should do next in The Village.

They have people as young as 55 and people up to 100 years old. They really do look out for one another. They help plan events and figure out what they could do next. In the summer, there is always a peach festival, and they all get together and peel all the peaches and set everything up so that the whole village can participate.

It’s really important to make sure that you go and visit a place and feel comfortable with it. You want to think about what you would want on a daily basis for your loved one, what kind of support they need, and what kind of living environment they want.

You want to retire where you can enjoy each day to the fullest, the way you want. At St. Elizabeth Village, you can be super-involved every day, or you can enjoy your beautiful backyard overlooking a pond and watch the birds. There is so much to do, but it’s really important to make sure you get a sense of what the community is like and what's available to people.

It’s the one thing that differentiates them from a lot of places, the amount of amenities they have and the activities available. It’s probably more than most places would have.