New HavenGroup CEO aims to expand care for our seniors

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This article was published 03/09/2023 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“I’m very content and happy here,” said new Rest Haven resident Mary Wiwcharyk.

She just celebrated her 90th birthday at her new home.

“You don’t walk into a personal care home, you walk into a hotel,” beamed Wiwcharyk, who moved into the Steinbach care home from Zhoda and has found herself busy taking care of flowers and feeding the birds.

She also had a great time this past Monday dancing with Tannis Nickel, who was recently named the new HavenGroup CEO starting this October.

That type of contentment and comfort — and yes, fun — is exactly what Nickel plans to build on as the top job is passed onto her from retiring CEO David Driedger.

Purpose, comfort and hope are the mission values for the 12 care homes with room for 143 residents in the expanded Rest Haven three-floor facility in Steinbach, and 55-plus living in its other facilities.

“It’s living until you die, right? So you’re taking that resident who loves to cook and helping them cook a fresh rhubarb pie; having activities like last night — they had painting night,” explained Nickel.

They also get in a few dances with live music, car shows, and even trips to Winnipeg for a Goldeyes game.

“So the purpose and the comfort and the hope comes in every day in their life,” she added.

Three of those 12 care homes are to be soon filled. Nickel and Driedger said expansion of palliative care is also coming.

A big part of that is training all the new staff in the organization’s culture and service to people all along the spectrum of care. That is a lot of work for the new CEO and her staff, considering 160 new staff members have been hired in the last 18 months.

Driedger said a relatively low job vacancy rate in his 15 years at the helm has put the operations in a good place to succeed in retaining its employees. Fewer vacancies equal fewer tough decisions in care, creating a more pleasant working experience.

He said new facilities attract some new workers, but their own staff are the best recruiters.

This adds up to a staff of 250 maximizing independence for a new generation of seniors who see more options to stay at home as long as possible, and then move into care homes that help avoid time in a hospital.

Independence is for people with dementia, too.

“You have a prepared environment for them to be able to do the things that they love until they can’t anymore, and then it’s our turn to help look after them,” said Nickel.

She has been looking after those residents for 16 years as director of resident care. HavenGroup social worker Esther Reimer will be taking over Nickel’s role.

Hiring from within as staff upgrade their experience and training brings a level of consistency and cultural knowledge that heightens the living experience for residents, and the working experience for staff, according to Driedger.

“As a CEO leaving the facility, I’m very confident that the next season will, for example, have an increased emphasis on palliative care, which we already do a good job of, but we want to do it with further excellence,” said Driedger.

Nickel explained there is a full complement of physicians and a nurse practitioner on-site. Nickel described how she viewed palliative care.

“Some residents know this is their final place of where they are going to live, so making their home as comfortable as possible and doing that focus on palliative care I think brings a sense of comfort to the family and to the resident that they can live their life to the fullest in their home until they become unable to,” explained Nickel.

He said Nickel’s dedication shows through her research of best concepts, and her ability to get staff buy-in.

“The HavenGroup board and I are quite pleased that an insider is stepping into the CEO role. I think the continuity of the vision, the continuity of services, are all in play. And Tannis has the skill set and the heart to advance HavenGroup overall,” praised Driedger.