Grey County’s innovative approach to long-term care is earning high praise.
The County has been awarded the Innovation and Excellence Workplace Quality award from AdvantAge Ontario for its Colour It Coach program — a mentorship initiative supporting students and new healthcare workers in local long-term care homes.
The award, presented at the AdvantAge Ontario Convention in Toronto on May 2, recognizes creative strategies that promote workplace excellence in the healthcare sector.
The Colour It Coach program provides hands-on support and guidance to students and new staff working in Grey County’s three long-term care homes: Grey Gables, Lee Manor, and Rockwood Terrace.
“Grey County is committed to building a safe, vibrant workplace where staff have the tools, support and trust they need to provide the very best care and teach the next generation of caregivers,” said Jennifer Cornell, Grey County’s Director of Long-Term Care. “I’m so proud of the work we have done to champion resident-led care, and of all of our coaches who have enthusiastically embraced the program.”
The program enhances healthcare workers' confidence and skills, improves resident care, and helps with recruitment and staff retention.
"The prep LTC program provides structured learning and coaching on what makes a good coach," she added. "We receive funding to be able to backfill them so that when they're working with a student, it's not on the side of their job that they're trying to get done, they can dedicate their time and attention to the student."
Through partnerships with Georgian College Owen Sound, and other educational institutions, Grey County supports students in Personal Support Worker programs by offering placement opportunities.
"We supported 260 clinical placements last year across the three homes. That's 29,000 placement hours," said Cornell. "We have entered into a partnership with 12 additional educational institutions to support students across Ontario, actually, and we onboarded and hired 35 of our students as permanent team members."
Warden Andrea Matrosovs praised the program’s community impact.
“Supporting and mentoring students in our long-term care homes is great for our services and for the community at large,” she said. “We’re encouraging young people to stay in our communities and showing them that healthcare is a rewarding career option.”
The Innovation and Excellence awards are presented annually by AdvantAge Ontario, an association representing over 500 non-profit long-term care, seniors’ housing, and community service providers.
For more information about Grey County’s long-term care services, visit www.grey.ca/long-term-care.