Compassion

Compassion is the Centre’s fundamental value that defines and influences all other core values. Compassion means caring for the well being of our residents, families, volunteers and colleagues. Staff demonstrates true compassion for our residents by understanding their unique emotional, spiritual, social and health needs and striving above all else to meet their individual needs to promote optimal personal well being and happiness.

Respect and Dignity

George Derby Centre is committed to treating residents, families, staff and volunteers with respect and dignity. We encourage our community members to maintain their sense of self-worth during their daily interaction with others and are respected for their contribution to the Centre’s affairs. To the extent possible, staff will actively support the residents’ and families’ right to:

• Make as many choices and personal and health decisions about issues affecting their lives;
• Maintain their independence and freedom of movement;
• Assume reasonable risk;
• Be treated as worthy individuals who can safely express their personal beliefs, attitudes and personal goals without infringing upon the rights of others.

Commitment to Quality

George Derby Centre is fully accredited with the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation. Therefore, we:

• Use established national quality improvement standards to measure our performance and guide improvement plans, priorities and decisions.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with Veterans Affairs Canada and our community partners to ensure that our residents have access to excellent programs and services.
• Participate in research at an organizational, regional and national level to establish best practices for elder care, programs and services.
• Complete monthly financial reports and annual audited financial statements to ensure effective resource management.
• Maintain a risk management program that is closely monitored to ensure resident, visitor and staff safety. Management and staff are responsible for identifying actual or potential risks and for taking corrective action. The risk management program provides staff with clear direction and is used for health and safety training.
• Maintain a staff education program and performance review system to ensure their ongoing competency and knowledge of elder care.
• Conduct resident, family, community and staff surveys to monitor George Derby Centre’s progress. All responses remain confidential and will be used solely for the purposes of identifying priorities for improvement.

Community Commitment

George Derby Centre is committed to maintaining a community of caring. Residents, families, volunteers and staff are entitled to live, visit and work in an active and involved community. Our community includes:

• Maintaining a comfortable and home-like environment that promotes a sense of belonging, acceptance and fellowship;
• Providing support to our community members when and where they need support, to the extent possible;
• Actively encouraging and supporting the health, safety and security of all community members;
• Ensuring that all community members are treated with justice and fairness by listening and responding to their concerns and using clear processes to resolve differences and conflict;
• Honoring and respecting diversity and individual differences and accepting people for who they are without discrimination;
• Encouraging active participation in the community’s daily affairs and recognizing and celebrating the contributions and successes of our community members.

Excellence

Our community strives toward excellence through the provision of quality care, services and programs for our community members within available resources.

Excellence is achieved by:

• Having a strong vision with a focus on growth and ongoing improvement in all services and programs;
• Maintaining a commitment to the well being of our community members by providing the best quality of care and work environment possible;
• Retaining competent staff through excellent recruitment, selection and credentialing practices;
• Promoting a culture of continuous learning by using research-based, best practice information for all programs and services and by providing ongoing staff development, education and training opportunities;
• Maintaining a community that encourages creativity and supports those members who have the courage to make positive changes; • Expecting that all staff act with consistency, integrity, honesty and loyalty to foster a sense of trust within the community.

Involvement

George Derby Centre is committed to engaging the active interest and involvement of all residents, families, staff and volunteers. Our community members are encouraged to contribute to and participate in the community’s daily affairs by:

• Becoming active members of established groups, committees and advisory councils;
• Joining and supporting quality improvement teams to promote goal achievement and excellence in resident care and services;
• Using an inclusive team approach to seek resident, family and staff input, identify areas requiring improvement and implement positive solutions;
• Having access to information, clear policies, standards and procedures and transparent communications that support a shared understanding across the organization;
• Being accountable and responsible for contributing to the community’s commitment to quality, excellence and vision for the future.