blog

We are most resilient in community

By Deborah Bakti / March 13, 2023 /

This was a statement I heard on a podcast (and so sorry, I wrote the quote down but not who said it) and it got me thinking about seniors care living and the communities they create. When someone makes the decision to move their loved one into long term care, they are painfully aware of…

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“What if everything I’ve been reading in the news about long-term care is true, and they don’t take good care of my mom?”

By Deborah Bakti / February 7, 2023 /

“What if everything I’ve been reading in the news about long-term care is true, and they don’t take good care of my mom?” This is the concern families have when they’re faced with the tough decision of moving their loved one into long-term care. Families are coming in, before even meeting you, with skepticism, doubt,…

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The time Ty cooked for a celebrity chef

By Deborah Bakti / September 28, 2022 /

When Ty was living in long-term care, most of the staff and residents didn’t know Ty cooked for a celebrity chef! It started with introverted me stepping WAY out of my comfort zone one day after church service. There he was – Graham Kerr (aka The Galloping Gourmet) standing with his wife Treena, and before…

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Lessons from Lawn Bowling

By Deborah Bakti / July 22, 2022 /

For the first time in my life, I lawn bowled! When I was in my twenties, I’d drive by the Seniors Centre and see the ‘old folks’ lawn bowling. I had the common misconception that lawn bowling was for old, retired people. I’m five weeks into my relocation and starting to get my bearings. I’m…

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A major life transition

By Deborah Bakti / July 6, 2022 /

I’m in my first month of a major life transition. I decided to move from the city I spent three quarters of my life (starting at age six) to another province that I had visited just a few times. I went all in, moving my stuff (most of which is still in storage), and drove…

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The Limiting Belief

By Deborah Bakti / June 20, 2022 /

“Difficult families are just another cost of doing business in seniors’ care. There’s not much we can do about it. We just have to deal with it”   If you work in seniors’ care and have thought or said some version of this, you have something I like to call The Limiting Belief. Let me…

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What exactly IS Admission Anxiety?

By Deborah Bakti / May 5, 2022 /

I can still remember the pain in the pit in my stomach while I wheeled Ty into his new home – the long term care facility where he would live for the rest of his life. I felt nervous, worried and scared, and what I didn’t realize at the time, what most other families feel…

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Do families have unrealistic expectations of long term care?

By Deborah Bakti / February 16, 2022 /

If you’ve attended one of my workshops you’ve seen this formula:   “Disappointment = Expectations – Reality“   It’s that simple.   When expectations and reality don’t line up, disappointment happens.   I had this experience when I was a family member, with an advantage most don’t have. I worked IN the seniors’ care business for 11…

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Is your Above & Beyond backfiring?

By Deborah Bakti / January 28, 2022 /

Have you ever heard or said something like this? “Let’s face it. There are some residents’ families that just aren’t ever going to be happy. It’s our job to make them as happy as we can. And if that means going above and beyond what we normally do, then so be it.” Wait. What??? Yes,…

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Supporting your ‘seasoned’ families

By Deborah Bakti / January 17, 2022 /

On a recent call with LTC Administrators, this story was shared. One of the homes has given copies of Now What? to families who have been a part of their home community for a while. They’re hearing that families are taking their time reading it because “It’s such an emotional read.”  As she explained, it’s been…

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