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New CEO looking forward to a productive 2020

January 9th, 2020

Linda Revell has been the CEO for Points West Living and Connecting Care for four months, and during that time, she visited many communities and met with managers, employee care partners, residents and their families. Those visits and consultations have played a significant role in her vision for the year ahead.

Many community visits; more to come

“I have been able to get out to a lot of communities,” Linda says, “but not as many as I wanted to. It’s important that I see them all.” So completing those community visits is high on her list of commitments for 2020. So far, she’s visited five of Points West Living’s 12 communities. She hopes to soon complete her visits to the remaining seven: Cold Lake, Lac La Biche, Peace River, Slave Lake, Stettler, Wainwright, and Penticton (Athens Creek).

Impressed with each community

“I’ve been extremely impressed with the feel of each place,” she says. “In every community, the atmosphere is warm, the residents are happy, the homes are extremely clean, and I’ve sensed a real pride of ownership among the management teams.”

“I have been interacting with residents each visit,” Linda says, “and they seem quite happy to be where they are.” Whenever families were present, Linda visits with them as well. “Any family feedback on things we might be able to improve always starts with a positive, ‘Mom and Dad are really happy here…’”

Resources for managers

As a result of her meetings with managers, Linda has planned the first ever management education week in April. “One of the biggest feedbacks from managers is that they want to connect more frequently and have more information on management, labour relations and Occupational Health and Safety.” The education week will be delivered via video conferencing, so managers can still interact without having to travel to the classroom.

2020 vision

On the corporate side of things, Linda plans to enhance the management team to provide more support in 2020 for Information Technology, systemic maintenance coordination, and Human Resources. Her leadership focus will be on four key areas: 1, to provide excellence in care and service; 2, to create environments in which people can be their best; 3, operating efficiently and effectively (organizational viability), and 4, growth to add value.

Good to be back

Linda says she is looking forward to the rewards and challenges of the year ahead, for Points West Living and for herself. “Personally,” she says, “it’s really good to be back where I’ve spent most of my career – within care and service.”

Photo: CEO Linda Revell