Sunnyside Home Long-Term Care

Providing essential services that support quality of life for each and every person in Waterloo Region.

• Private rooms are occupied by one resident with a private washroom.
• Basic rooms are occupied by two residents with a shared washroom.

View rates (set by the province of Ontario). 

For more information on rates, eligibility, and to apply for Sunnyside Home, visit the Ontario Health atHome website or call 519-748-2222.

Home and Community Care Support Services can help you determine if you need long term care, or if you are able to stay in the community with care and support in your home. If it becomes too difficult for you to live on your own, they can offer long-term care options.

• Nursing and personal care
• Medical services
• Recreation programming 
• Physio and occupational therapy
• Dietetics and food services (view sample menu) 
• Laundry
• Support from registered Social Workers
• Spiritual and religious care
• Housekeeping
• Banking and administrative services

• Haircuts and styling
• Phone, cable TV and internet
• Foot care
• Registered massage therapy
• Community outings
• Transportation to appointments

Sunnyside Home is the first home in Waterloo Region certified in The Butterfly Approach®, an innovative model of person-centred, emotion-focused dementia care.

Sunnyside Home has achieved a Level 1, "Outstanding" accreditation from Meaningful Care Matters, an organization based out of the United Kingdom whose mission is to create meaningful care cultures where people are ‘free to be me’. 

Two home areas at Sunnyside Home that provide care for people living with dementia have achieved Butterfly accreditation. 

Read more about the Butterfly Approach at Sunnyside Home in the Region of Waterloo's 2023 Yearbook.

• Central dining area on each floor
• Common activity rooms
• Courtyard gardens
• Separate tub-spa and shower rooms
• Free parking for visitors
• Fabulous Finds Gift Shop
• Sunnyside Auxiliary Tuck Shop
• Sandhills Community Café
• Located on a public transit route

Tours

Take a virtual tour of Sunnyside Home.

Come in to Sunnyside Home! Call 519-893-8494, ext. 6360 to schedule a tour.

The Sunnyside Foundation is a registered charity whose mission is to secure financial support to help enhance the well-being and quality of life for the residents and community served by Sunnyside Seniors’ Services.

For more information about the Sunnyside Foundation, please follow this link

Volunteers are valued members of our community who help in all areas of Seniors' Services. Every year they give over twenty-one thousand hours of their time to support older adults!

Your skills and experience can have a positive impact on someone's life. Your support will:

• Enrich lives
• Keep people we serve connected to the community
• Create new friendships
• Support people when they need it most

For more information about volunteering at Sunnyside, please follow this link

Sunnyside Family Council is a group of family members and friends of the residents of Sunnyside Home Long-Term Care who gather together for peer support, education, and to improve the experiences of all people living at the Home.

They strive to improve the quality of life for residents by:

• Providing Support: Family Council can be a great source of mutual support to family members and offer guidance to new families during their transition to long-term care. By being involved in a Family Council, you can give and receive emotional, informational, and practical support
• Education: Family Council provides a mechanism for family members to learn and gain an understanding of the home and how it operates
• Problem-solving: Also called advocacy, the Family Council advocates regarding collective concerns to improve residents’ quality of life

The commitment to this group is approximately 1 hour per month for meetings.

The Family Council is always looking for new members. If you are interested in joining Family Council or if you would like more information about the group, please email SunnysideFamilyCouncil@gmail.com

For more information about Family Councils, please visit the Family Councils Ontario website.

The Residents' Council provides an opportunity for residents to be involved and contribute to the decisions which impact their lives. The Residents' Council at Sunnyside Home meets monthly. All residents are welcome to attend and to share feedback and suggestions.

RAVE is an employee recognition tool that is used throughout the Region of Waterloo. Sending a Sunnyside staff member a RAVE card is great way to let them know how much you appreciate their hard work!

If you would like to send a card online, please complete this form. We will make sure that your message gets to the appropriate staff member.

If you would like to send a card in person, please visit the RAVE station onsite at Sunnyside Home.  After you write your card, you can put it into the mailbox at the RAVE station or into any of the Resident Suggestion Boxes. On the envelope, please make sure to write the staff member's name, their role, the home area they work on, and any other helpful information so we can make sure it gets to the right person. You can also give the staff member the card directly.

Whenever you feel like a Sunnyside staff member has gone above and beyond, please consider sending them a RAVE card to let them know how much you appreciate their actions.

A Strategic Plan identifies the kind of community we want to build together and what decisions we need today to make this vision a reality.  The Strategic Plan outlines the roadmap the Seniors' Services program area will follow from now through 2027.  

View the Seniors' Services Strategic Plan for 2023-2027

The Quality Improvement Report identifies some of the things that Sunnyside will work towards in the coming year (2025/2026). The intent of the report is to promote continuous quality improvement across all long-term care homes in Ontario.

View the Continuous Quality Improvement Plan

A sincere thank-you to the 102 residents and 144 care partners who completed the 2023 Sunnyside Home satisfaction surveys last Fall. We are pleased to present the results and action items emerging from the surveys.

Resident Survey Results:

• 88% of residents rated Sunnyside Home as a “good” or “excellent” place to live.
• 82% of residents like the food served at Sunnyside Home
• 90% of residents get help when they need it in a timely way
• 93% of residents agreed that the people who work at Sunnyside listen to them
• 97% of residents would recommend Sunnyside to someone who needs care

Most Care Partners (97%) rated Sunnyside Home as a “good” or “excellent” place to live. 

The satisfaction ratings listed below reflect the percentage of care partners who selected the ratings of “very good” or “excellent” in rating Sunnyside Home on the items listed below.

• 97% satisfaction rating: Allowing you to provide help or care to the resident
• 96% satisfaction rating: Not counting on you to provide more help than you want to provide
• 96% satisfaction rating: Making the home a pleasant place to visit
• 95% satisfaction rating: Quality of care provided in the home
• 95% satisfaction rating: Respect for the resident’s dignity
• 93% satisfaction rating: Resident safety
• 93% satisfaction rating: Staff’s attitude towards the resident (respect, concern, caring)
• 92% satisfaction rating: Smell of the home
• 92% satisfaction rating: Making you feel welcome when you visit
• 92% satisfaction rating: Making you feel confident in the care the resident receives
• 91% satisfaction rating: Staff respect for the resident’s privacy
• 91% satisfaction rating: Communicating with you about the resident’s health status
• 90% satisfaction rating: Cleanliness of the home
• 90% satisfaction rating: Allowing the resident to choose to receive or refuse care
• 88% satisfaction rating: Answering questions that you might have
• 87% satisfaction rating: Comfort of the resident’s room
• 87% satisfaction rating: Having staff who know the resident
• 87% satisfaction rating: Personal care and attention given to the resident
• 86% satisfaction rating: Including your thoughts and opinions in planning the resident’s care
•  86% satisfaction rating: Management responding well to your concerns
• 85% satisfaction rating: Staff going the extra mile to resolve problems
• 82% satisfaction rating: Staff doing what they say they will do
• 81% satisfaction rating: Being able to see nurses when needed
• 81% satisfaction rating:Quality of food served to the resident
• 80% satisfaction rating: Atmosphere at meal time
• 80% satisfaction rating: Having the same staff assigned consistently
• 78% satisfaction rating: Offering activities that are interesting to the resident
• 77% satisfaction rating: Menu choice of food available to the resident
• 68% satisfaction rating: Being able to see physicians when needed

Action Plan:

The following action items have been identified based on the survey findings:

1. Increase staffing levels through the hours of care funding.
2. Implement person-centred dining guidelines.
3. Seek guidance from the Resident Leadership Team on supporting a person-centred approach to care.
4. Promote resident’s choice and seek resident feedback in the selection of menu items.  Residents may mix and match items from the show plates or may choose one of the "always available" items.
5. Engage residents in the design of recreational programming.
6. Conduct a review of the resident clothing labelling process to determine if there are ways in which it could be improved. 
7. Provide education regarding how physicians work in Long-Term Care.

For more information of the results of the 2023 Sunnyside Home Satisfaction Surveys, please contact Kelly Buxton: 519-893-8494 extension 6388 or by email: kbuxton@regionofwaterloo.ca

Complaints Policy Statement

Sunnyside Seniors' Services adheres to the highest standards of professional and personal conduct. There may however, from time to time, be concerns or complaints regarding our service from residents, their care partners, service providers, or the community.

Receiving feedback from those we serve is an integral component of our quality improvement process and supports us in identifying areas where we need to change our policies and practices. 

Sunnyside Seniors' Services is committed to ensuring that any complaint we receive is handled in a way that is timely, fair, and respectful.

Making a Complaint

If you have feedback on the services you received or a concern related to any area of the Home, we encourage you to speak with a member of our team so that we can address your concerns promptly.

1. You are welcome to speak with any member of our direct care staff as they be able to quickly resolve your concern. If additional steps are needed to resolve your concern, the staff member will explain what the next steps are and may ask you to speak with the Registered Nurse.
2. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, we encourage you to speak with the Manager for the appropriate Home Area. You can contact the manager by calling 519-893-8482 and asking to speak with the Manager assigned to your Home Area.
3. If you still have an unresolved concern, you are welcome to contact: Marie Belanger, Manager, Resident Care (Director of Personal and Nursing Care) at 519-893-8494 ext 6312.
4. If your concern was not addressed to your satisfaction, please contact Angela Steadman, Administrator Long-Term Care at 519-893-8494 ext 6055.
5. If after following the above steps your concern has not been resolved to your satisfaction, please contact Julie Wheeler, Director Seniors' Services at 519-893-8494 ext 6310.
6. Issues, concerns or complaints not addressed to your satisfaction can also be directed to the Ministry of Long-Term Care by calling: Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line at 1-866-434-0144 or in writing to Director, Long-Term Care Inspections Branch, 119 King Street West, 11th Floor, Hamilton, ON L8P 4Y7.
7. If you have already contacted the Home directly and the Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line and you were not able to reach a satisfactory resolution, you may also contact the Patient Ombudsman by calling 1-888-321-0339.

All formal concerns and complaints received in writing will be documented, including a list of the issues, date expressed, follow-up actions taken, final resolution of the concern and the date that feedback was provided to the complainant. We will respond in 10 business days to all written complaints and the Ministry of Long-Term Care will receive a copy, including a description of the follow-up action.

Legislative Requirements

Since 2010, long-term care homes have been required to have written emergency plans for specified emergencies. Emergency planning requirements were expanded in 2021 under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act (O. Reg. 246/22). Emergency plans are written with the intent of meeting and ensuring compliance with a variety of applicable Acts and associated legislation. Key applicable legislation can be found in the following Acts.

• Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021
• Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997
• Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1990
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
• Health Protection and Promotion Act, 1990
• Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, 1990
• Health and Safety Act, 1990
• Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997

Emergency Defined

An Emergency is defined by the “Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, 1990” as: "A situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident, or an act whether intentional or otherwise."

Process for Managing Emergencies

To ensure that Sunnyside is prepared for dealing with the legislatively designated emergencies, a management plan has been created that reflects the listed legislation in O. Reg 246/22 s 268. (Fixing Long Term Care Act, 2021)

The emergency plans include five key components to effectively manage an emergency:

• Prevention: actions taken to prevent emergencies from occurring
• Mitigation: actions taken to minimize impacts to the organization that cannot be reasonably prevented
• Preparedness: actions completed in advance to ensure the organization is ready to deal with the emergency issue as it arises
• Response: actions taken before, during and immediately after an emergency to manage related consequences
• Recovery: steps taken to return the organization back to normal operation

List of Primary Emergency Procedures at Sunnyside

• Code Red: Fire
• Code Green: Evacuation
• Code White: Violent/Behavioural Threat
• Code Blue: Medical Emergency
• Code Brown: Chemical Spill/Release
• Code Purple: Hostage Taking
• Code Grey: Loss of Essential Systems
• Code Black: Bomb Threat
• Code Silver: Active Shooter/Assailant
• Code Orange: Natural Disaster/Extreme Weather
• Code Aqua: Hold and Secure in Place

List of Secondary Emergency Procedures at Sunnyside (Not Colour Coded)

• Outbreaks of communicable diseases, outbreaks of a disease of public health significance, epidemics, and pandemics
• Boil water advisory
• Floods

Stakeholder Consultation

To support emergency policy development and oversight of necessary changes, Sunnyside engages internal and external stakeholders, as applicable. Stakeholders engaged include, but are not limited to staff, residents, and community partners.

Internal stakeholders include:

• Management
• Staff
• Resident Leadership Team
• Residents
• Joint Health and Safety Committee

External stakeholders include:

• Health Organizations (Ministry of Long Term Care)
• First Responders (Police, Fire, Ambulance)
• Region of Waterloo (Health and Safety, Emergency Management, Public Health)
• Contractors
• Other Long Term Care Homes
• Legislative Bodies

Emergency Plan Content

Emergency plans, at Sunnyside, follow a standardized format to support comprehension and an effective response should an emergency occur. Each emergency plan articulates:

• Plan Activation: defines how the plan will be activated
• Lines of Authority: defines the roles and responsibilities of individuals/positions
• Communication: defines processes for communications
• Roles and Responsibilities: defines roles for all responders
• Recovery: defines the processes to return back to normal operations after dealing with an emergency
• Debrief: learning from the emergency and updating emergency policies and plans as applicable

Testing/Evaluating and Improving Emergency Plans

Emergency plans at Sunnyside are tested/evaluated, and improvements to the plans are made as necessary. Testing of emergency plans at Sunnyside aligns with the requirements of the FLTCA:

• Either annual or every three-year testing of emergency plans completed (based on an internal schedule).
• Testing takes the form of table-top exercises, drills, and functional exercises/simulations.
• If an emergency response takes place, an evaluation is conducted within 30 days following the emergency being declared over and necessary plan improvements are made.  

In addition to internally facilitated testing of emergency plans, annual testing of Sunnyside’s fire and evacuation emergency plans are led by the local Municipal Fire Department. This testing tests and evaluates the organization’s response to fire and evacuation. For all table-top exercises, drills and functional exercises/simulations an audit and evaluation is completed and corresponding documentation about what went well and what needs improvement is captured and followed up on.

Training

All staff regardless of discipline or position in the organization receive education at time of hire and annually thereafter via Sunnyside’s online learning modules. Further training on emergency procedures, for staff, is provided by Sunnyside’s Staff Education Coordinator and the Coordinator, Quality Improvement and Risk Management. This training uses diverse modalities including: table-top exercises, drills, and functional exercises so that staff understand how to respond in the event of an emergency. Volunteers are also oriented to emergency plans.  This is led by Sunnyside’s Volunteer Coordinator.

Access to Information

Emergency plans can be accessed via multiple means:

• Emergency posters with information on all colour coded emergencies (located throughout facility in direct care areas and meeting rooms)
• Hardcopies in Master Emergency Binder (onsite)
• Hardcopy in Café Library in Emergency binder (onsite)
• (For Sunnyside staff only) Sunnyside’s Policy Manager online application

Staff Direction

Follow these steps during a building-related emergency

Our team has developed a plan based on direction of the Ministries of Health and Long Term Care, as well as Public Health to support communities to connect residents with family, friends and the community in a safe and meaningful way. Please review our Public Policy for Visiting.

If you have any questions about this information, please call the Sunnyside hotline at 519-893-8494, ext 6868.