October 2019 Family Council Feature: Parkview Home Family Council Committee
by Family Councils Ontario
We are often inspired by the pictures and stories we receive from Family Council members and LTC staff on their successful events and initiatives occurring across the province. We are excited to post our first Family Council Feature. Take a look at our entry from the Parkview Home Family Council Committee.
Family Council Committee’s Ambassador’s Position
We, the Family Council Committee at Parkview Home in Stouffville created a special position to honour a long-time volunteer for his many years of continued support of Family Council meetings and events.
Dennis Ricketts, has served as an Executive of our Family Council Committee for approximately 10 years. He recently suffered the loss of his wife, and under the guidelines of our Terms or Reference, it states that only a resident’s family member is allowed to hold an official position on the Family Council Committee.
In an attempt to keep Dennis on our Family Council Committee as an Executive, we approached Parkview Home and Family Councils Ontario (FCO), requesting support in allowing us to create an Ambassador’s role with voting ability, given that he has been the driving force of our Family Council since Parkview Home’s new location was built at 123 Weldon Road in 2006. Dennis currently handles our financials, fundraising efforts, music and memory program, special events, and so much more. His dedication to our Family Council, and his selfless acts of volunteering, have been well-recognized throughout our membership, Parkview Home’s Management, and the Stouffville Community. For this reason, we presented our proposal and are pleased to share the news that we were approved and able to retain our Family Council Officer.
When an organization, such as a nursing home’s Family Council Committee, has a special person that is willing to remain in a volunteer role and continue to provide leadership and essential duties, we were delighted to honour Dennis with an Ambassador’s position at our September 2019 Members’ Meeting. This will ensure that our Family Council continues to operate smoothly and with the leadership of an essential Committee Member. We did not change our Terms of Reference, given that this proposal was a one-time request, we just created a Rider for the Terms of Reference; which can be removed when this position as Ambassador of the Family Council is no longer viable.
We were delighted to have support from our Family Council Committee and its Members, Parkview Home Management, and the FCO in creating this honorary position; which was well-received at our September 2019 Members’ Meeting.
We thank the FCO for supporting our proposal for this Ambassador’s position on our Family Council Committee, to honour Dennis Ricketts for his selfless and continued support of our Family Council for 10 continuous years.
We are truly appreciative to the Parkview Home Family Council Committee for sharing this positive example of unity and collaboration. We are certain this feature will inspire other Family Councils in practice. If you would like your Family Council featured on our website's blog and social media platforms, please send pictures, event recaps, and personal stories to our Client Services Coordinator Tiffany Fearon at tfearon@fco.ngo.