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Employee orientation is filled with learning and laughter

September 7th, 2021

Employee care partners at Points West Living Drayton Valley can’t wait to welcome the community’s first residents. The group of thirty new employees has just completed a two-week orientation where they learned the fundamentals of caring and working together as a team.

First week remote...

The first week of orientation took place with employees logging in from their own computers. “The days were long,” says office administrator Lydia Carter. “However, the enthusiasm the new care partners showed after learning more about Points West Living and the Eden Alternative philosophy of care really helped keep spirits high and made that week go by fast.”

Second week happily together

“Week two of orientation took place in-house at PWL Drayton Valley,” says Lydia. “It was so exciting to finally be able to meet in person. Our team is already very comfortable with each other. Our hallways were filled with lively conversation and laughter during breaks from the training schedule.”

Employee care partners learned health and safety fundamentals, including musculoskeletal injury prevention, and tools for effective communication. Lydia says one of the orientation highlights was watching Alive Inside, a documentary about the power of music and its ability to positively impact the lives of people living with dementia. “We are so excited to utilize music within our community to help our residents feel joy!” says Lydia. “All of our care partners feel it is a must-see.”

Team building

Another highlight was team-building. “The question being considered was: What do you need to make a strong foundation?” explains Lydia. “Its purpose was to demonstrate to our care partners the importance of building a strong foundation with each other so we are better able to work as a team. Each team was given dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows and asked to construct a stable structure.” One team’s results are shown above, with employee care partners Edyta, Grace, Chelsie, Bev, Laura, and Ali posing with their 'structure'.

“We all agree that orientation was wonderful,” Lydia says. “There were a lot of emotional moments, particularly when discussing the Eden Alternative. But, there was also a lot of laughter. Our main facilitators Marlon Cruz and Parvez Khan, were absolutely hilarious and made sure we had fun while we learned.”

The team is highly anticipating welcoming PWL Drayton Valley’s first resident on September 15, 2021.

Photo: Team builders, Edyta, Grace, Chelsie, Bev, Laura, and Ali may not have nailed the structural foundation, but they aced the fun in one of PWL Stettler’s orientation activities. The community’s first resident is expected to join them on September 15.

More photos at Flickr: Employee orientation is filled with learning and laughter