TechTalks in CMMS

Dan Roberge interviews Jolanta Linde, the Executive Director of Dom Lipa, a Slovenian Linden Foundation Care Home. Jolanta discusses the multifaceted role of an Executive Director in long-term care, highlighting the need for adaptability, a willingness to grow, and the ability to wear "many hats." She shares her unconventional path to the position, revealing how her background in stage management unexpectedly prepared her for organizational leadership. Jolanta also touches on Dom Lipa's use of Maintenance Care software, specifically praising the value of the automated temperature sensors for compliance and workload reduction.

Dan interviews Mike Dier at the Advantage Ontario Convention in Toronto. Mike, representing Sherwood Park Manor, a long-term care facility, discusses his role in running a full-time, seven-day-a-week physiotherapy program. He highlights their proactive approach to integrating physical exercise into daily care for all residents, regardless of their initial needs, rather than it being a specialized program. Mike explains how they adapt exercises to small spaces and individual needs, and looks forward to a new, larger physio department as part of a redevelopment. He emphasizes the benefits of their program in reducing falls by improving balance and mobility, and in promoting overall health and even reversing decline in some residents, noting that their unique full-time physiotherapy program offers consistent care that many other long-term care homes lack.

Dan Roberge talks with Sasha Johnston, who is attending the Advantage Conference in downtown Toronto for the first time as a partner of Age Inc., a company that develops educational programs. She is a master coach for Age Inc., where her primary role is to coach other coaches who deliver the Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) and Dementia Care program. This eight-hour in-person, hands-on education is taught across Canada to frontline workers caring for individuals living with dementia, focusing on communication and practical techniques for de-escalation, especially in situations of risk. Age Inc. recently released a new program called GPA Bathing, which addresses the challenges of bathing or showering individuals with cognitive disorders. Sasha, an RN with a background in behavioral nursing, gained her expertise working in a secure unit with major neurocognitive disorders and other complex conditions, finding the work meaningful and impactful in spreading cultural change within the care system.

Dan chats with Melissa, who is attending the Advantage Seniors show for the first time. Melissa, from Clinton, Ontario, works at Huron View Home for the Aged as the manager of IPAC and environmental services, overseeing laundry and housekeeping for about 15 staff members. She finds communication challenges with maintenance regarding room turnovers. With only six months in her current role, Melissa notes the significant differences between long-term care and her prior experience in hospital emergency nursing.

Odelia shares insights into modern care home facility operations. She discussed navigating the "exciting times" of COVID-19, highlighting the significant difficulty in admitting new residents due to lengthy waitlists and a lack of system capacity, which often forces people to move far from family. Odelia details a recent overhaul of their facility's maintenance care system, where the building was divided into areas and assets categorized for better reporting, ultimately aiming to predict future maintenance needs and optimize capital investments. Finally, she touched upon evolving sector regulations, noting that new requirements mandate a social or healthcare background for certain care home administrative positions.

Dan speaks with Tara Morelli, Director of Care at a Long Term Care Home. She shares her experiences at the Avantage Ontario Long-Term Care Conference in Toronto, marking her third year attending. She actively networks, checks out vendors, and has spoken at the conference for the past two years, despite finding public speaking challenging. This year, she presented to an audience of around 120 people. Having started her role in 2020, Tara navigated significant changes in the long-term care sector, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the industry has learned valuable lessons, and become more responsive. She finds the use of maintenance reports from the Maintenance Care CMMS software across multiple sites incredibly useful for tracking operations and identifying barriers. Tara identifies managing various departments and constant communication as the biggest challenge in her role.

Dan speaks with Katelyn Burns, the acting administrator of Shalom Village in Hamilton. She is currently overseeing the entire long-term care home, managing numerous department heads, and approximately 260 staff across 127 long-term care beds and 81 assisted living rooms. With a background in recreation and leisure services, including experience as a recreation manager, business manager, educator, and an administrator course, she unexpectedly found the biggest challenge in her new role to be the implementation and integration of various software systems, such as Maintenance Care and PointClickCare. While she mainly submits work orders through Maintenance Care CMMS, the maintenance team heavily relies on it for reports and task tracking. Katelyn also highlights the significant stress of ensuring compliance across all departments, which often interlink, necessitating extensive auditing to keep track of all required information for ministry reports.

Dan Roberge and Phil Boone discuss Phil's three-year tenure at Maintenance Care, where he's become a product specialist, completing over 500 demos, and mentoring new staff on strategy and setup. Phil's daily responsibilities include client outreach, customer service, new business acquisition, and live demonstrations.

In this video, host Phil Boone talks with Kinsey Lehigh, a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) with Stay at Home Nursing, where she's been since 2019. The company provides personal support and in-home care in the Niagara, Hamilton, and greater Toronto areas. Kinsey, who started in the field and worked her way up to management, values her "foot on the ground" experience, which helps her understand the logistics of home care from both the client and administrative perspectives. She also mentions their sister company, CHAH Technologies (CHAH.ai), which focuses on integrating AI programs, wearable devices, cameras, and lidar machines to help individuals stay in their homes longer. Stay at Home Nursing can be found at stayathomenursing.com

Phil Boone interviews Daniel Beard, a representative from Lion Health Care, a staffing agency that provides essential personnel for long-term care and retirement homes across Canada. Daniel, with five years at the company, explains their services range from nurses and housekeeping to dietary staff and security, including unique one-to-one security agents who offer companionship and specialized care for residents, especially those with dementia. He shares his background in security and social work, even mentioning his non-profit, Exercise Success, which promotes physical activity for mental and physical well-being.