2020 Annual Report
Message from the Board Chair, Glenda Kerr and CEO, Karen Gayman
Greetings to all the members of the Mennonite Home Association of York County, Parkview Village Retirement Community Association of York Region, and Parkview Village Cluster Homes for Seniors Association of York.
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you'll ever know.” — A.A. Milne
The Parkview Services for Seniors 2020 Annual Report is presented in a historic time in our history. The Global Pandemic has pushed us to adapt with new practices and procedures. Many tasks were re-worked and processes changed in order to deliver care and services safely and effectively. This time period has given us a new vocabulary, with new words including physical distancing, self-isolation, IPAC and Zoom technology.
We are grateful to the Parkview community who heeded warnings and advice from Public Health and Government directives to control and contain the spread of COVID-19. Parkview management and staff rose to the challenge of change, often daily, with new directives and orders when the Pandemic was declared. The exceptional and fearless staff, supported by the management, worked tirelessly and relentlessly to ensure that our main priority remained focused on the health and safety of our residents and staff.
With 2021 halfway over, there are still many unknowns about how much longer the pandemic will last or what the full impact of the pandemic will be. Until such time, it is expected that public health measures will continue to maintain public safety.
We are also extremely grateful for the support of the Stouffville and area community. PSS was the recipient of several generous donations and bequests. In addition, many businesses in the Stouffville community and families donated hot meals and lunches for staff during lock down periods. Many, many thanks for this generous support.
The Board of Directors continued to move forward with strategic priorities and planning work. Stouffville has changed dramatically in the past 20 years, and will no doubt continue to change long into the future. As a result of these changes, we need to assess how PSS can serve our seniors as the community continues to grow and evolve.
It has been 20 years since the last building was added to the Parkview Campus. In light of the above, the Board is engaged in a process to discern what the Parkview of the future will look like. This leads to a significant question: Should we build and add to our campus? Preliminary studies are already underway and this potential project will be a focus and priority of the Board.
Thank you words do not seem to be big enough to express our deep appreciation to the community, residents, tenants, staff and management, and Board for your courage, strength and unwavering support. It is an honour and a privilege to serve and to guide PSS. We look forward to the future!
Regards
Glenda Kerr, Board Chair
Karen Gayman, CEO
Message from the Senior Management Team
Since Parkview’s last Annual Report was released in October 2020 for the year of 2019, I think we can all agree that the world is now in a different place than where we were in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Parkview, like all other Long Term Care Homes and Seniors Residences, was in the beginning of a global pandemic that affected every person, family, business, and sector in society, at a time when there were no vaccines in sight to help us overcome this virus and the resulting crisis that occurred. With unprecedented international science and technology collaborations arising, vaccines were developed, and by mid-December 2020, a major system effort to initiate the vaccine rollout was underway. On December 22, 2020, the first Parkview Home staff members were vaccinated and on January 3, 2021, Parkview Home residents and more staff were vaccinated on-site with a first dose of vaccine. To say the least, an extraordinary system effort brought a new level of protection to our most vulnerable citizens and our workforces who care and provide services. Fast forward to seven months later and we are seeing the effectiveness and the results that vaccines are having on the COVID-19 virus. With the ever-increasing pace to have second dose vaccines administered, we are in a different space than we were a year ago and the light at the end of a very long tunnel is in sight.
As the province cautiously moves forward to the next phase of re-opening and the promising road to recovery over the next months, Parkview will be adjusting and pivoting our operational planning efforts towards the next phase of a new normal. It has been a year of consistent change and challenges and yet the one thing that has kept us focused is the commitment to the common goal shared by our Board of Directors, Management and Staff: guided by our purpose and values, that goal was, and still is, to protect the Health and Safety of all those within our Parkview Community. This goal has kept us focused and has guided all our actions and decisions, especially during times of uncertainty, anxiety, and stress amongst our community. The resiliency of our leadership team to lead in a crisis, the profound dedication of our staff to trust and follow processes and protocols, and the commitment and support of our residents and families is extraordinary.
Our community has overcome so much but we know we must continue to stay focused on our goals of health and safety until such a time when this pandemic is finally declared over. Undoubtedly, the lessons that we have learned and the perseverance that we have had to develop through the course of this pandemic will help us as we move ahead into the future.
