Vision, Mission, and Core Value

Vision

A compassionate community that cares for all people, stewards the land for future generations and where everyone has the opportunity to live a good life.

Mission 

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

Core Value

Care for people and the land we share.

We are committed to delivering the highest quality of care and service. Everyone should expect a safe, caring, and inclusive environment in all of our spaces.

The Sunnyside Seniors’ Services Code of Conduct is as follows:

Respect

·       Respectful words and actions. Words or actions that are disrespectful, racist, discriminatory, hostile, or harassing are not welcome and will not be tolerated. Examples of these include:

• Offensive comments about others’ race, accent, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other personal traits
• Refusal to see a clinician or other staff member based on these personal traits
• Physical or verbal threats and assaults
• Sexual or vulgar words or actions
• Unwelcome physical contact or disrespecting a person’s personal space
• Disrupting another person’s care or experience
• Discrimination of any form

• Respect public property and the property of others. This includes respecting all posted signs, not trespassing, not littering or damaging property, and not moving or taking personal property without consent

• Smoking is only permitted in designated outdoor areas

• Follow the directions of the Security Guards. This can include anything from evacuation orders to enforcing smoking rules and sign-in procedure.

• Illegal behaviour will not be tolerated, including violations of municipal, provincial and/or federal laws

• Solicitation for personal, political or religious purposes will not be tolerated

• Be mindful of your surroundings: ensure that any noise that you create is not disruptive to others

Safety

• Follow all Infection Control and Outbreak Measures

• Young children must be supervised at all times

• When bringing pets into the home, make sure to adhere to the Pet Policy

• Wheelchairs and any other motorized equipment must be operated in a slow and safe manner

• Confidentiality must be maintained at all times

If you experience behaviour that concerns you, please speak with a Registered Nurse, Team Leader, or member of the Management staff right away.

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

A sincere thank-you to the 106 residents and 115 care partners who completed the 2025 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.
• 84% of residents like the food served at Sunnyside Home
• 85% of residents enjoy mealtimes
• 88% of residents get help when they need it in a timely way
• 84% of residents agreed that the people who work at Sunnyside listen to them
• 95% of residents would recommend Sunnyside to someone who needs care

Care Partner Satisfaction Ratings:

Most Care Partners (93%) 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.   

• 95% Satisfaction Rating: Allowing you to provide help or care to the resident
• 91% Satisfaction Rating: Staff respect for the resident’s privacy.
• 91% Satisfaction Rating: Making the home a pleasant place to visit
• 91% Satisfaction Rating: Quality of care provided in the home
• 91% Satisfaction Rating: Not counting on you to provide more help than you want to provide
• 90% Satisfaction Rating: Respect for the resident’s dignity
• 90% Satisfaction Rating: Comfort of the resident’s room
• 88% Satisfaction Rating: Making you feel welcome when you visit
• 88% Satisfaction Rating: Resident safety
• 87% Satisfaction Rating: Staff’s attitude towards the resident (respect, concern, caring)
• 87% Satisfaction Rating: Cleanliness of the home
• 86% Satisfaction Rating: Allowing the resident to choose to receive or refuse care
• 86% Satisfaction Rating: Smell of the home
• 86% Satisfaction Rating: Including your thoughts and opinions in planning the resident’s care
• 85% Satisfaction Rating: Making you feel confident in the care the resident receives
• 85% Satisfaction Rating: Answering questions that you might have
• 85% Satisfaction Rating: Communicating with you about the resident’s health status
• 84% Satisfaction Rating: Having staff who know the resident
• 84% Satisfaction Rating: Staff going the extra mile to resolve problems
• 84% Satisfaction Rating: Personal care and attention given to the resident
• 84% Satisfaction Rating: Management responding well to your concerns
• 81% Satisfaction Rating: Being able to see nurses when needed
• 80% Satisfaction Rating: Staff doing what they say they will do
• 79% Satisfaction Rating: *Being able to see physicians or Nurse Practitioner when needed
• 79% Satisfaction Rating: Quality of food served to the resident
• 77% Satisfaction Rating: Atmosphere at mealtime
• 75% Satisfaction Rating: Menu choice of food available to the resident
• 73% Satisfaction Rating: Offering activities that are interesting to the resident
• 73% Satisfaction Rating: Having the same staff assigned consistently

Action Items

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

1. Develop and implement a person-centred care strategy.
2. Train staff in Quality Dining Guidelines to improve the mealtime experience.

For more information on the results of the 2025 Sunnyside Home Satisfaction Surveys, please contact Kelly Buxton: 519-893-8494 extension 6388 or by email: kbuxton@regionofwaterloo.ca

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

Sunnyside Seniors’ Services has an Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) team who are dedicated to the wellness and safety of the Sunnyside community. Learn more about Sunnyside’s IPAC program.

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.

We respect your right to confidential care. Please see our Information Practices Statement for details.

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.

This committee gives counsel and advice to Sunnyside staff on planning activities and the operation of the home. It is made up of five residents, three family members and two volunteers. 

The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care oversees the inspection of all long-term care homes in the province. Inspectors from the Ministry visit Sunnyside Home each year to conduct a Resident Quality Inspection (RQI). The Ministry will also visit Sunnyside Home as needed to review mandatory reported critical incidents or to follow up on recommendations to ensure they are being implemented. Visits from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care are unannounced. More information can be found on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Quality Inspection Report website.

Ministry inspection results are publicly reported online. We encourage you to view our inspection results

What is the Palliative Philosophy of Care?

·       It is a philosophy of care in keeping with the Fixing Long Term Care Act, 2021, Ontario

·       It takes seriously the natural process of aging, and the impact of life limiting illnesses

·       It supports quality of life right to the very end of life, through a continuum of care

·       It promotes early conversation about values, goals and preferences

·       It encourages reflection and conversation about Palliative Services and End of Life care at the time of admission

What are Palliative Services?

·       They are person-centred services that are integrated with restorative care in different ways at different times for the benefit of those living with life limiting illnesses

·       They focus on quality and comfort rather than prolonging life

·       They are intended for residents with illnesses or conditions with no cure, or for residents who are declining

·       Palliative Services include in-home treatments for curable conditions, as well as new treatments to reduce pain and suffering

·       They allow for better care at Sunnyside and can prevent unnecessary hospital and emergency room visits

·       Early Palliative Services are beneficial and can begin months or years before the end of life, or at admission

·       Palliative services can provide an opportunity to reflect on life, bring closure, celebrate, and pursue final goals and wishes

·       They can enhance the quality of life and a sense of wellness

What is End of Life Care?

·       The goal of End of Life care is comfort in all spheres of life: physical, emotional, spiritual and cultural.

·       Caregivers and friends are invited to be present and are offered support.

·       Some treatments may be discontinued if they do not add to resident comfort while other treatments will be initiated in order to make the person more comfortable.

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.