St. Joseph’s Villa received the GOLD Workplace Wellness Champion Award in October from the Sudbury District Health Unit for demonstrating a commitment to workplace health by promoting and supporting healthy lifestyles in the component areas of Healthy Eating, Active Living, and Coping with Stress. St. Joseph’s Villa employees were provided with awareness raising activities, education, the development of new policies/guidelines and a supportive environment within the three components of workplace wellness.

On behalf of the Administrator, Jo-Anne Palkovits and Board of Directors, we are pleased to congratulate the Villa with the news that we have "no unmet standards". By providing quality resident care and ensuring we follow all MOHLTC Standards, our compliance officer from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care visited our home in October 2007 and gave us a report with no "unmet standards". A copy of the report is located on the information board across from the Foundation Office. Congratulations Everyone!

St. Joseph’s Villa is very pleased to announce that we have been granted a 3 year Accreditation, meaning we meet the national standards of quality for health services set by the Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation.

• To assess the quality of our services while increasing communication and collaboration across the Villa.
• To help us promote and live out core values of Dignity, Integrity, Service and Excellence.
• To increase our accountability with our residents, families communities, funders and partners.

Accreditation is a detailed comparison of an organization’s services and method of operation against a set of national standards. It is a process that helps health service organizations look at and improve the quality of services they provide.

Who is CCHSA?

The Canadian Council on Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA) is a national, non-profit, independent organization whose role is to help health services organizations, across Canada and internationally, examine and improve the quality of care and service they provide to their clients Accreditation Corporate Objectives.

To identify, measure, and evaluate quality of services and improvements to date and to identify and begin to address new key improvement opportunities across the organization.

To sustain and strengthen the use of performance indicators that measure quality delivery of services within St. Joseph’s Villa’s strategic plan that supports our vision of being a Centre of Excellence of Health and Aging.

To ensure that we are living out our Mission Statement and Values, as a faith based organization in pursuit of excellence, through quality initiatives.

Marymount Academy and St. Joseph’s Villa signed a Covenant of Care agreement aiming to improve the lives of the residents at the Villa.

In the spirit of good citizenry, Marymount Academy students adopted St. Joseph’s Villa as their sister organization and devote the main part of their fundraising and volunteering efforts to the Villa. In return, Villa staff integrate the students and their teachers into programming, so as to enrich both the academic experiences of the students and the lives of Villa residents.

Under this partnership:

• Marymount Academy students volunteer their time at the Villa and participate in the Grandparent Program, Horticultural Therapy, Music, Art, Reading Story Telling, Friendly Visits, Community Outings and Bingo.
• St. Joseph’s Villa staff develop Co-op Program placements and job shadowing opportunities for the students.
• Marymount Academy students write and submit articles to the Villa newsletter "The Villa News" based on their experiences and interviews with Villa residents.
• Students assist with the Villa’s fundraising events throughout the year, such as Spring Tea, Christmas Bazaar and Gala.

Watch for regular updates on the Privacy Project. We will keep you informed and look forward to your contributions to this important initiative.