People of Perley - Louise Siew

Personal connections are part of what makes Perley Health a special place to live, work, and volunteer. For Perley Health Board member Louise Siew, one such connection started when her father lived at the seniors' and Veterans' long-term care centre.

“I saw the community of care for my father,” Louise says. When he fell quite ill, her mother had difficulty caring for her husband, despite home visits. The family decided to have Louise's father stay at the Perley overnight for a few days or a week at a time, for its respite services. The experience transformed, from traumatic to wonderful.

“The first thing I noticed was how quickly he settled in and how easy it was,” Louise recalls. Perley Health maintains a system to welcome new residents. Perley Health's Family Transition team of staff and volunteers ensure that newcomers feel safe and supported, and have the opportunity to explore the many programs and services. “It was a wonderful experience for him, from that first week,” Louise says.

Louise's father had come to Perley Health as a civilian, not as a Veteran. When staff learned of his Veteran status, her father started benefitting from enhanced services. Those are funded through Veterans Affairs Canada and the province, and with donations from such organizations as the Perley Health Foundation and the Royal Canadian Legion.

Louise's father took physiotherapy treatment, massage therapy, and enrolled in fitness classes. Person-centred services address the physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual health and well-being of residents.

An athletic former cricketer, Louise's father tried to lead the classes, she recalls. It was a remarkable turn-around. Before coming to Perley Health, “He had given up,” Louise says. “He was kind of ‘re-lifed' here. The spark was his attending physiotherapy and exercise classes, and just the caring that took place.”

Two years after both parents passed away, Louise started volunteering with Perley Health's Board of Directors. A retired naval captain in the Canadian Armed Forces, Louise started on the Audit and Risk Management Committee at Perley Health.

It was a good fit. That committee of the Board oversees Perley Health's long-term resource management plans, completes the annual cycle for budgeting and resource allocation, oversees the conduct of a regular program of financial audit, confirms that management has in place appropriate personnel policies, systems, and procedures for the effective management of all human resources, provides the Board with annual reports, makes recommendations, and identifies and monitors the principal risks and liabilities that could affect Perley Health's viability.

Louise became a full-fledged Board member a few years ago. She brings to the Board an amazing talent for leadership, logistics, and working within a collaborative organization.

She credits her remarkable 35-year career with the Canadian Forces, as a Logistics Officer, for her skills. Louise was the Formation Logistics Officer/N4 at Maritime Forces (Atlantic). She supported materiel readiness for Canada's East Coast Navy. As Commander, Canadian Materiel Support Group, she provided operational-level support that included the Canadian Forces Supply and Ammunition Depots. Her final tour was as a Director-General on the Strategic Joint Staff.

Louise recalls how she first began to volunteer at her father's former residence. After her 2010 retirement from the Canadian Forces, her time had been devoted to caring for aging family members. Then her son informed her: “You're wasting your talents, Mom.” Louise reached out to former Canadian navy officer Vice-Admiral Ronald Douglas Buck, a fellow Forces retiree who served on the Board at Perley Health.

The Vice-Admiral had joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1967. His first appointment was on the destroyer HMCS Iroquois, in 1977. He was promoted to his current rank in 2000. Vice-Admiral Buck returned to National Defence Headquarters as Commander, Maritime Command, and Chief of the Maritime Staff in 2001. In 2004, he was appointed Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. He served in this position until he retired in 2006.

“I told him, I think I have skill sets to bring here,” Louise recalls. She wanted to use those skills, to give something back to service members within the care community that had helped her father.

Louise looks forward to each Remembrance Day ceremony at Perley Health. Honouring the men and women she now serves in a different role, “has to be one of the most amazing things you can ever do,” she says. “It's a full-court press. It takes a team effort to get all the residents down to ‘centre court' for the ceremony. I was just astounded by it. A one-of-a kind experience.”

Louise says a unique set of circumstances combine to make Perley Health a cut above. The synergy includes: strong leadership; a supportive Foundation; provincial funding for training and equipment; the quality of staff that Perley attracts; and the fact that it is a non-profit organization. Louise points to the audits, accreditations, national recognition, and treatment innovation trials that document the centre's commitment to improving the lives of Seniors and Veterans.

“The levels Perley Health attains speak for themselves,” Louise says. “Excellence breeds excellence. It makes for a truly wonderful place.”

 

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"I believe excellence breeds excellence and what happens is people want to become employees of the Perley, want to be part of the Perley team.” - Louise Siew, Volunteer, Board member