Earlier this month, 60 grandchildren-crafted cards were dropped off at Ladner’s Augustine House as a big thank-you to staff caring for so many families’ loved ones.
Each construction-paper card contained a personal thank you written in adorable children’s scrawl and was accompanied by individual chocolates and hand sanitizers.
“The staff have done a fabulous job throughout the entire pandemic … When you get that added ‘thank you’, it just boosts everyone’s morale,” says Jackie Reiners, the executive director at Augustine House.
Jill Calvert and her mother Terri Calvert work together at the residence for seniors, and they both agree that they were very touched by the family’s kind gesture.
“I like that [these families] know how much we care about all the residents here. I think all the workers feel like they’re family members at this point because we’ve all been here so much,” says Jill.
As they worked to get through the rougher, scarier waves of the pandemic, Anne Sanders, marketing manager at Augustine House, says staff felt incredibly supported by the friends and families of residents, as well as the Delta community as a whole.
“They understood that we were doing our best to care for the seniors here, for our community,” she says.
Whether that was through gifted vitamins and individual hand moisturizers, encouraging phone calls or, most recently, the 60 handmade cards, they are all incredibly appreciative.
Since the beginning of the month, Augustine House has been able to bring live music performances back to residents, and though it’s been from the patio so far, it has been a huge hit.
“They really enjoy getting together with their friends, and enjoying music, and getting up and dancing. They’ve really missed that. It was probably the thing that I was asked about most often from residents, of ‘when can we have music?’” says Reiners.
Augustine House are still encouraging guests to make appointments to visit their loved ones for organization and screening efficiency purposes, though it is not mandatory anymore. They have also increased their visitor limit to 10 people for assisted and independent living areas of the building, but will continue to keep Haven House at a maximum of two adults and two children as the space is more limited.
