The common room at Youville Residence was warm and lively on Thursday, November 22, with residents and staff coming together for a Town Hall meeting, and the opportunity to weigh in on 4 important questions about Providence’s future:
- What makes us unique and irreplaceable?
- What does PHC need to do to ensure compassion, social justice, innovation, and exceptional care come alive in the work that we do?
- How do we make PHC the best place where the best people want to work, learn, serve and stay?
- Building on PHC’s world-class reputation, how do we sustain and further grow this reputation over the next seven years?
Following an opening from interim site leader Arif Padamshi, lead facilitator and strategic planning core team member Elizabeth Stanger set the context for the afternoon’s discussion, emphasizing the pre-work that had gone into the design of the session and the questions being asked.
The conversation was then turned over to the 25+ people in attendance. Several insightful comments and ideas came up during the session when participants were asked to consider the big themes that will guide our organization’s work over the next 7 years.
- As a physio, I feel very supported by my manager and allied staff; it’s a great place for support in terms of workload and professional development.
- I feel like Providence cares about the people; I get that sense here.
- I really appreciate the autonomy; you’re not “only” an RCA here.
- In other places, you spend a lot of time filling out paperwork. One thing I really like about working here is that we actually get to spend time with the people who live here.
- Leadership needs to stay strong in the face of adversity, and also maintain the focus on resident and patient-centered care.
- Spontaneous recognition is meaningful — when management just comes up to you and acknowledges your hard work, that goes a long way.
- Incentive and rewards would help with retention like if we set team or site-wide goals that, if we accomplished it, everyone got rewarded.
- There’s feeling of team here — it’s a community.
- I just love looking after our residents. I don’t look after my own parents so it means a lot to me to look after the people here.
- We are the best people to refer other people. I want to keep my workplace in good hands, so I would never refer someone who is bad.
- Being open, creative and forward thinking is what’s needed to make sure we achieve world class.
Sarah Boon, rehab assistant, summed up the hour+ discussion up eloquently with her closing remarks, thanking the engagement team for the opportunity to contribute, and extending a big thanks to the residents and staff who not only made time to attend, but also offered up an additional 15-minutes of their time to be able to discuss one more question.
Do you have ideas you’d like to contribute to any of the above questions? Weigh in online on Bloom, or attend any of the upcoming forums and open town halls.
Thanks so much to everyone for being part of our pursuit of world class.
See photos from the Nov. 22 event below.


