Fraser Wilson, CEO of OMNI Health Care, says corporate journalism has been a driving force in promoting a positive image of long-term care by providing success stories about the organization and about the residents in OMNI’s 16 long-term care homes.

The news provider is trusted to produce independent news to the Peterborough-based long-term care provider.

“It’s a wonderful way (to) promote our culture, because it’s these anecdotal stories that bring to life what it is that we’re trying to accomplish as an organization and it keeps alive the spirit of possibility and potential,” says Wilson.

The website – together with a monthly print piece – has been a valuable tool in making OMNI “one of the most recognized long-term care providers in Ontario,” says Wilson.

“It’s not because (residents) are walking in our doors. It’s because of what (their families) hear, what they read, and I believe that as other people read, they will talk to other people and so it goes with the reputation.”

Mainstream media has long painted a negative image of the long-term care sector, says Wilson. Their news program reporting has challenged that view and has helped alleviate fears people have about long-term care, he adds.

“It constantly provides a positive image of long-term care, in light of a perceived public negativity,” says Wilson. “We have lots of stories where we literally have been able to give people back their lives.”

Corporate news stories also help promote the innovations and creativity of individual homes, says Wilson.

“(When) one home has taken on a wonderful accomplishment, it’s there for other homes to (simulate) that same innovation, so were creating a community of caring and not just single homes of caring,” he says.

News appears on the front page of OMNI’s website. The page is regularly visited not only by OMNI staff, but also by residents’ families, the public and by OMNI’s regulating body, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

The news on OMNI’s front page, says Wilson, has also helped market and brand OMNI as a transparent organization, full of life, creativity and promise.

“OMNI is now recognized for that front page,” he says. “It’s recognized for people – not pictures of buildings – but of people, of care, of hope, purpose and belonging.”

Wilson says the print piece gets a lot of positive feedback. Like the website, the print piece, says Wilson, has played a major part in promoting OMNI’s mission, culture and accomplishments.

The OMNI print piece is distributed throughout long-term care homes, family members, colleges and churches.

“If ever I get comments when I’m with my peers within the sector, it is the print piece that they make reference to.”