St. Patrick’s Home: 25 Years of Person-Centred Care
St. Patrick's Home of Ottawa is a Catholic long-term care facility providing assisted living & respite care for close to 300 residents.
Affectionately known as St. Pat’s, the home has history on its side. Founded in 1865, the long-term care home was originally run by the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. Its longevity is a testament to its culture of care and the values it embodies; in fact, St. Patrick’s Home is the first choice for many residents waiting for long-term care placement.
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A large part of the quality of life in a senior care community revolves around the dining experience. St. Patrick’s Home has partnered with Sodexo for the resident culinary experience for 25 years.
At St. Patrick’s Home, the nutritional services team works closely with the Residents' Council to understand the needs of the residents. The menu evolves thanks to the feedback they receive, either from the Council or the yearly Quality of Life survey. Here are just some of the programs that have been developed throughout the years:
What started as a nutritional and clinical nutrition services contract evolved into a full spectrum of support services, including housekeeping, laundry and building operations.
St. Patrick’s Home by the Numbers
- 288 residents
- 10 full-time Sodexo team members
- 140 St-Pat's employees
In 2011, St. Patrick’s Home received funding to design and construct a new building to serve the existing residents as well as expand capacity to serve an additional 80 residents. It takes a qualified team of experts to build or redevelop a care community. As St. Patrick’s Home embarked on this journey, they recognized the valuable input their operational partners could provide throughout the design process, to ensure that the new building included innovations and well thought-out flow to ensure operational excellence, risk mitigation, and cost-effectiveness. Because operational excellence ensures a high standard of care for their beloved residents.
Leveraging the long-standing partnership with Sodexo, St. Patrick’s Home engaged its team of experts from the beginning. They leaned on their culinary and environmental services expertise to design a building aligned with their shared values around person-centred care.
The Sodexo team was involved from the inception of the new building plan and participated in the focus group established to inform and support the new build. Sodexo’s experience with various contractors was essential in designing the kitchen space for the type of delivery model and service required. This enabled St. Patrick’s Home to plan for and implement the following innovations:
Safety First. Always.
The move from the old building to the new building occurred on December 31, with temperatures reaching -40 degrees. A covered passage was built between both buildings to safely transfer all residents, avoiding health concerns and risks such as slips, trips and falls.
Planning is in the works to develop a new affordable and supportive seniors housing building that will serve as an option between retirement and long-term care.
Although there is no finalized plan, the development of this project continues. It will include up to 133 beds that are a combination of one- and two-bedroom apartments and urban cottages, which include 10 studio apartments, with a communal area for meals and a shared living room and kitchen area, creating a home-like environment. Residents who need it will have personal support workers (PSW), and St. Patrick’s Home has already chosen to partner with Sodexo for this project's food and facilities management.