Sherbrooke care home in Saskatoon keeps seniors active, creative

A care home in Saskatoon isoffering a plethora of programs for senior residents who want to stay active and feel part of a community.

The philosophy at theSherbrooke Community Centre is the centre's organization and its commitment to its clients, said Suellen Beatty, CEO with the centre.

She said the bulk of suffering for people who are frail or disabled is caused by three things; loneliness, helplessness and boredom. At Sherbrooke, she says the staff works hard to ensure no one ever feels any of those feelings.

"Our vision is to be the best place to live and the best place to work, in that order," Beatty told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.

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That's why Sherbrooke offers a wide variety of programs including an art class, access to its own greenhouse, musical programs, happy hour and much more, just to keep all resident involved and active.

Beatty said the reason they offer so many programs is because they follow the Eden Alternative philosophy.

"We create a culture, we empower the staff so they can make decisions so staff can do what they're supposed to do. It's a different focus, we're always putting the resident first," Beatty said, adding the culture created at Sherbrooke comes from nearly 400 volunteers who make it all happen for the residents.

"Without them we couldn't offer all the extra things and when I say extra things, they're extra in the nursing home but they're the norm in the real world so in order to create all those real-life experiences the volunteers are essential," Beatty said.

Clients show improved health at Sherbrooke

Scott Bray's father and mother were both residents at Sherbrooke. His mother, Betty Bray is still a resident suffering from dementia.

"When she was admitted to Sherbrooke she actually got better," he said, adding the atmosphere is one of a kind and he wouldn't recommend any other place for anyone looking for a long-term care home.

The same glowing recommendation comes from Sheila Morgan, who takes her dad to see a friend at Sherbrooke every Sunday.

"He's 93 and he was in the hospital and basically they had given up on him and he's now there, moving around in his wheelchair. He's responsive, he's happy and it's just that facility, there's so much going on there," Morgan said.

Morgan's mother was a resident at Sherbrooke and the one thing that stood out to her was the security and the knowledge that the same staff members were looking after her, so she didn't have to keep reminding different staff about her likes and dislikes.

"At the hospital she was fearful that information wouldn't be passed so she had to always tell her story to everybody and it got tiring, whereas at Sherbrooke the same core group of staff, they knew her. They didn't have to learn her every shift," she said.

Beatty said vacancies at Sherbrooke are dealt with the same as every other care home, through a client-patient access service, and despite all the programs, residency costs are income tested so it's not any more expensive to stay there.

The Sherbrooke Community Centre is located 401 Acadia Drive in Saskatoon.