As buds appear on the trees around us, we rejoice that the vaccine will be available to all Quebecers 18 years and old by the middle of May! If you haven’t already done so, click here to book your appointment. Spring is a great time for new beginnings, and this particular spring is exactly that for me, both personally and for our caregivers’ and seniors’ support services at the community Wellness Centre. I will be retiring in the weeks ahead and passing the torch on to some key members of our team. These very competent professionals are looking forward to accompanying you on your caregiver journey.
Allow me to introduce you to Marie-Christine Beaulieu
Some of you may already know Marie-Christine Beaulieu. In her role as coordinator of Wellness Activities at Saint Brigid’s Home (SBH), Marie-Christine will be taking over our Caregivers’ Circle program. She has been a part of the Jeffery Hale – Saint Brigid’s family since 2004 when she began working at SBH as an intern, and then as summer student. Eventually, she was hired to work there as a special educator, and she took on the role of coordinator of Wellness Activities at Saint Brigid’s in 2018 for Jeffery Hale Community Partners.
As such, Marie-Christine has been working side-by-side with caregivers for 17 years. She has been also a caregiver herself, so she is uniquely qualified to support our English-speaking caregivers. What’s more, she certainly proved that she will always go above and beyond during the tragic COVID-19 outbreak at SBH this past winter. Marie-Christine helped to develop important tools for the psycho-social support workers that enabled communication between residents and their caregivers, keeping families connected during the crisis. She has a bubbly personality and is one of the kindest people I know! I am sure you will enjoy getting to know Marie-Christine better in the weeks ahead.
And now, please meet Claire Queneville
Jeffery Hale Community Partners (JH Partners) recently created a new Well 50+ program coordinator position to enable us to do more outreach to seniors in our community. Claire Quenville has been selected to fill this role. Also as part of the community Wellness Centre team, Claire will oversee our Community Health Education Program (or CHEP for short). In addition, she will be coordinating ongoing activities at McGreevy Manor, as well as heading up a local Networking Table. The goal of the table is to help various local non-profit English-speaking organizations work more closely together in support of the older members of our community. To learn more about Claire and Marie-Christine, please visit the “our team” page on JH Partners’ website.
30 years and still growing
This year, JH Partners is celebrating 30 years of serving our community. Officially opening under the name of Holland Centre in September of 1991 with a staff of three, our team has expanded to over 30 including the staff at Jeffery Hale Community Services. I am delighted that our services are growing to serve our community better. I am also looking forward to retirement and more free time to play with my darling grandkids, ride my bike and, hopefully, travel the globe once my vaccine kicks in!
I will dearly miss my daily interactions with each of you. You have taught me so much over the years about caring for our seniors. Don’t worry, you’ll definitely see me around volunteering here and there!
Take care of one another and be well,
Jan
