Trillium Villa administrator Jennifer Allison contacted Axiom News in December to feature a story for Steeves & Rozema’s website about resident “Mrs. K,” who returned home with improved mobility after a month at the Sarnia long-term care home, because she wanted to publicly highlight the role the sector can play in the greater health-care system.

The story about how the home helped Mrs. K improve her mobility after only a month of care was published Dec. 2 on the S&R Today site, and another article about this success was featured in the Dec. 22 edition of the Ontario Long Term Care Association’s Morning Report.

Providing this wide scope of exposure is valuable to Trillium Villa, says Allison, because more people can potentially gain understanding of what the home is capable of achieving, as well as how Trillium Villa and the sector are championing restorative care.

Allison, who works closely with the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network, says highlighting Mrs. K’s story demonstrates how Trillium Villa can help decrease alternate level of care (ALC) days in hospitals.

“We’re always looking at ways to make sure the right people are in the right place, and so if we can be a part of the system that helps alleviate the pressure in the hospital, that’s where I want to head. That is fundamentally what I’m trying to do here,” she says.

“It’s important, for me, that we get the message out that ALC isn’t just the hospital’s problem, it’s the community problem, so what can we do to try to mitigate that for our local hospital.”

Allison says what she liked best about Mrs. K’s story is the fact she came to Trillium Villa with a plan to improve her mobility, and was able to do so with staff members’ help.

“It was her personal goal that we were able to help her achieve,” says Allison.

Another success from the sharing Mrs. K’s story is that Trillium Villa made a new connection after the story appeared on the Morning Report site.

Shortly after the story was published on the OLTCA website, Allison got a call from a representative from NeuroGym Technologies, an Ottawa-based manufacturer of mobility equipment designed especially for long-term care residents.

“They’ve got some new equipment that will facilitate our rehab program in different ways, so that was fantastic to have that (contact made) after the information was shared publicly,” she says.

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