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New PWL Lloydminster cottage names are
strictly for the birds!

April 9th, 2018

After almost ten years named as colours, Points West Living Lloydminster's five cottages have new names. Some of the colour themes have been retained, but the new names are… strictly for the birds! Residents gathered to celebrate the new names that they played an active role in choosing.

Time to give the cottages a name makeover

Shortly after she became General Manager in January 2017, Sarah Walker decided it was time to give the cottages homier, more memorable names. Yellow, Salmon, Green, Limon, and Blue are colourful but they are so much more memorable when applied to a feathered friend.

The Bird theme won

“We have been working on it for a year now,” says recreation coordinator Rose Baranek. “Last March, we got everyone to submit their choice for new names, then our Eden working group narrowed all the ballots down to four themes; birds, trees, flowers, and ‘other’. Then we held another vote to narrow it down to the final new cottage name, and the Bird theme won.”

The new names are:

  • BlueJay Cottage (was Blue Cottage memory care)
  • Hummingbird Cottage (was Limon Cottage memory care)
  • Lovebird Lane (was Green Cottage)
  • Robin Lane (was Salmon Cottage), and
  • Yellow Bird Cottage (was Yellow Cottage)

When residents and employee care partners cast their votes for their preferred cottage name, their ballots were entered into a draw for a potted plant – a gift for the newly named cottage.

Ten year anniversary in May

“We had a party to celebrate,” says Sarah. “Our kitchen care partners made a delicious spread of snacks and cake for the day. We called it our 'soft opening' and just celebrated with ourselves. Our big cottage-name signs to replace the small name plaques will be here in the next month, and we will unveil them at our ten-year anniversary at the end of May.”

It will be a learning process

“We put the small plaques up the same evening as the party, and changed our care partner service time schedules to the new names,” says Rose. “The residents love the new names, but it will be a learning process to call the cottages by their new names. The other day a family member that attended the party called and asked to be transferred to Hummingbird Cottage. That caught us by surprise!”

Photo: General Manager Sarah Walker, along with Health Care Aide Rhodalyn Mendoza, present resident Nancy Showers with her prize for naming Hummingbird Cottage

More photos at Flickr: New PWL Lloydminster cottage names are strictly for the birds!

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