Residents “Adopt a Pet”

Residents enjoyed adopting a Stuffie today. Thank you very much to Angela Parsons for this wonderful donation. There were a lot of excited residents at the Drew today.

Meals for Seniors

Drivers Wanted

The Drew Nursing Home is looking for drivers to help distribute Meals for Seniors on weekdays at lunch time. Please contact fsm@drewnursinghome.ca if you would like to help out and let us know which day(s) you can be available.

Halloween Fun at the Drew

Residents, families, and staff made Halloween a fun day at the Drew. So great to see all the costumes and happy faces.

Read our Fall Newsletter

Keep up to date with news from the Drew! The Fall Newsletter provides updates on:

  • Volunteering at the Drew
  • Vaccinations
  • Staff Recruitment in the Philippines
  • Donations to the Foundation
  • Fall Fair 2023

Download the Newsletter here.

Thank you from all of us at the Drew for your interest and support.

Erma and Sonny, “Just married 76 years ago”, in the Fall Fair Parade float themed “Fall in Love.”

Fall Fair 2023!

The Drew Nursing Home is thrilled to be a prize winner in the Fall Fair Parade. The Home’s float, entitled ”Fall in Love”, won the prize for Best Theme!

Thank you to everyone who helped decorate and participated in the parade. Residents enjoyed watching all the preparations at the parade start on this perfect autumn day.

Nursing Home Week Celebrations

Residents at the Drew Nursing Home had a great time during Nursing Home Week, June 4-10, 2023.

An old-fashioned country fair was held June 6. Residents enjoyed lots of treats such as ice cream cones, cheesies, and cotton candy! Entertainment included a Petting Zoo and Caricature Artist. The weather did not allow for an outside fair as originally planned, although everyone was pleased to see lots of rain, due to the forest fires. 

Next, residents enjoyed barbequed hamburgers on June 8 and an afternoon visit from Llamas, Pearl, and Anna from Llama-zing Adventures. Everyone loved this special visit.  

The week ended with a fancy tea party and a movie afternoon.

Give to the Drew Foundation!

From June 4-10 Rose’s Your Independent Grocer will be collecting donations at the checkout counters on behalf of the Drew Foundation.

All donations will go toward the purchase of outdoor patio furniture to be used by residents and their families. Being outdoors when the weather is nice is one of the favourite activities of residents who enjoy the gardens, sitting together, and watching the activity on the street.

The Drew Foundation is the fundraising arm of The United Church Home For Senior Citizens, which comprises both the Drew Nursing Home (known to all as “The Drew”) and the Tantramar Residences (usually referred to as “The Cottages”). This non-profit organization has been serving families in the community for more than 65 years. In 1984 the Foundation was established to provide additional financial resources to support the organization.

The Drew’s Executive Director, Linda Shannon, tells us the Foundation helps ensure The Drew keeps up to date with the best services, activities, and environments for adults and seniors who need extra care.

“Not all of our expenses are covered by government funding,” she explains. “The donations collected help us to provide the “extras” to help take good care of our residents.”

“We’re very focused on making sure The Drew feels like a real home,” she adds. “The Foundation helps us maintain an environment that is welcoming to residents and their families, and also provides a safe and efficient work space for our staff.”

The Drew is grateful for your donations, and looks forward to enhancing the spaces where residents gather outdoors to enjoy the warm weather.

Staff Shortages Addressed

Staff shortages are a major challenge faced by the healthcare sector in the last few years, and nursing homes are especially hard hit. During the COVID-19 pandemic, care homes have depended on the dedication of hard-working staff to maintain a high level of care for residents, but shortages have resulted in fewer beds available for new clients.

At the Drew Nursing Home, there is space for up to 20 more residents, but not enough staff to tend to their daily needs. Despite a focused effort to hire and train more staff, retention is an issue in an environment where qualified, available candidates are few, and competition is fierce. Given the urgent need for bed space in Sackville, the Drew recently ramped up efforts to attract Licensed Practical Nurses and Resident Attendants.

Earlier this year, the Drew’s Executive Director, Linda Shannon, traveled with a team organized by the provincial government to recruit nurses in the Philippines. After interviewing many licensed nurses to evaluate their skills, their interest in immigrating to Canada, and their English-language proficiency, 20 candidates were identified as highly suitable for the Drew’s needs.

Following the process of applying for work visas, etc., it is expected that some of these nurses could begin to arrive as early as late spring. They will be hired as Resident Attendants and commit to two years employment at the Drew while they work on their Canadian nursing certifications.

This is welcome news for the community, as it means there will be back-up for vacationing staff, and the 20 empty spaces could begin to be filled as early as this summer.

The next hurdle is to find places for the nurses to live as they arrive in Sackville. Because of the severe shortage of rental accommodations, a decision was taken by the Drew’s Board of Directors to assist in the short term by increasing the number of cottage spaces available to staff from one apartment to three. Apartments, furnished with multiple beds, will be available for up to six months, with the first month’s rent free, giving the newcomers time to settle in and look for more permanent housing.

Board members and staff are always focused on making the Drew a welcoming place for residents and their families to call home, and we will extend that hospitality to our new co-workers. We also rely on the friendliness and support of the Sackville community to help the new arrivals feel welcome in town.

We especially look forward to providing relief to our hard-working staff after the challenges of the last few years, and to making more space available to local families and their loved ones.

For more information, please contact Linda Shannon at execdir@drewnursinghome.ca.

Christmas Decorating Challenge

The Drew sponsored a “Christmas Decorating Challenge”. Staff signed up to help decorate one of five areas. Judges had a tough time choosing the winners, but after much thought, first prize went to the Fundy Neighborhood (primitive Christmas), and second prize went the Business Office (Gnome theme). Many thanks to everyone for their hard work and helping to make the Drew “Home” for our residents.

Halloween at the Drew

On Sunday afternoon, staff and families were encouraged to invite their children and grandchildren to the Drew for Trick or Treats. Residents were provided with the treats to hand out to all the happy children. Residents, staff, and the children all had so much fun; this will need to become an annual tradition at the Drew!

Residents had another fun day on Halloween day seeing staff in costume and at the Halloween party.

Drew Noted in CBC Report

Recently, CBC News reported that 30% of nursing homes in New Brunswick were using antipsychotic medications early in the pandemic without diagnoses of psychosis. The national average is 22%, placing New Brunswick third-highest among the other provinces.

However, according to the report, The Drew Nursing Home has the lowest rate in the province at 7.3%, well below the average.

Antipsychotics given to patients with dementia may be deemed inappropriate, as dementia is not considered a psychiatric illness. While not all uses of the medication are problematic, the Canadian Institute for Health Information deems their use inappropriate when there are no indications of psychiatric illness.

Read the entire article here.

McDonalds Day at the Drew!

What’s that you say? Yes, a special meal for residents of the Drew, and a fun visit from Grimace and the Hamburgler!

Summer Fun at the Drew

Residents are enjoying lots of outdoor activities this summer, thanks to the lovely weather! Click on the pictures to get a closer look.

Christmas in July!

Residents enjoyed a Drew-Style Yankee Swap this week for Christmas in July!

Thank you to Rose’s!

Rose’s Your Independent Grocer

Many thanks to the management and staff at Rose’s, Your Independent Grocer for a successful fundraising campaign during Nursing Home Week. And thank you to everyone who made a donation!

Strawberry Week at the Drew!

It’s one of our favourite times of year again. Resident LOVE to hull the berries, and what a beautiful day we had!

TRHS Prom 2022!

Many thanks to the TRHS Graduates for coming to the Drew to visit our
residents. Congratulations to the class of 2022!

Thank you Marshview students!

Grade 8 students from Marshview Middle School painted pictures for residents of the Drew. Residents chose favourite pictures to display on their door or in their room. Many thanks to the students for their hard work
on these beautiful paintings and for thinking of the residents. There are now 45 of these paintings to be displayed around the Home.

Nursing Home Week!

It’s Nursing Home Week in New Brunswick June 5-11 and, as usual, the Drew is celebrating with lots of fun activities and treats for residents and staff.

We are very grateful to our hard-working staff who have gone above and beyond so many times during the pandemic, and continue to help us make the Drew a wonderful place for our residents to call home.

Help us celebrate by making a donation to the Drew this week while you’re shopping at Roses‘s Your Independent Grocer. Your support for the Drew-Tantramar Foundation is welcome and appreciated.

Check out the fun we’re having with the new glider chair that is specially designed for wheelchair access! Thanks to our generous donors, this chair was installed in time for the good weather this Spring.

Good News! The Restrictions are lifted.

May 13, 2022

Friends and Families,

Good news on this sunny Friday! Public Health has declared the Outbreak at the Drew over effective today.

Therefore, starting Monday, May 16th we are able to increase visitation for our residents. Please note the following;

  • Visitation hours continue to be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 3:30 pm, Tuesday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
  • No Visiting when ill, please do not enter if you feel unwell.
  • Visitors must continue to wear a well-fitting medical grade face mask while travelling through facility or in common areas. Mask may be removed in resident room if resident agrees.
  • There is no longer any age restriction related to visitation.
  • There is no longer a restriction on the number of visitors a resident can have, however, we ask that only 2 or 3 people visit at a time due to the time involved with the screening process.
  • Please show proof of vaccination.
  • Please continue to do a Rapid Test 3 times a week upon entry to the home. (either at home or on site).

Residents are able to go out for a drive with family, however at this time, please try to limit public exposures.

Although the outbreak is over, COVID is not over, therefore we are trying hard to balance “living” and “living with COVID”.

Again, we thank you all for your patience and understanding over the past two years.

Thanks.

Linda Shannon
Executive Director


Photo above: Father, Daughter, grandson, and granddog enjoy a visit on the patio.