Jim Huinink Editor, Comfort Life March 2022

How many times, now, have you heard residents say, “I wish I had done this sooner”? It’s a refrain we’ve heard from people in communities across the country, ever since we began Comfort Life 20 years ago. As you yourself know, too many seniors move too late to fully enjoy the vibrant lifestyle in your community. We want to inspire Canadian seniors to move sooner, and with more assurance than ever before.

Updates to our website that we’re launching this month and later this spring are focused on changing this. A new update to landing pages on Comfort Life will give users more incentive to click through to your profile, with bolder, more varied calls to action. They’ll see that there’s more to know and research about you than care levels or a list of amenities, giving users a glimpse of the experience of the community, on our website.

To my mind, though, there’s no better way for caregivers to glimpse that experience and its life-changing effects than to hear and read stories from others just like them—the longer form, the better. The Family Insight videos we’ve added tell those stories, and by transcribing and highlighting them, they’ll be more accessible. Stories will be even more powerful when presented on our third-party platform. This transcription and highlighting option will be available as part of membership renewal packages available this spring.

Fredina Elliot, whose mom is at Bolton Mills in Ontario is an example of a caregiver who puts this in strong words. “I would have pressured my parents to have made that move sooner.” Of course, she qualifies that: “I say that because my dad would have enjoyed it tremendously. As a couple, if they could have enjoyed that time, I think they would have both benefited immensely from that.”

We want to present as many of these stories as possible, certain that it will benefit all of our members. Dwight Egerter of Credit River Retirement Residence says, “My dad's [improvement] has been a big burden off the children's back. ... We've been able to sleep better at night.”

Throughout these stories, people say things like, “I thought mom would get worse after moving but she’s thrived there.” They talk about how happy their parents are. They praise the way communities have handled COVID-19 restrictions. All in their own words, presented on a site where people are reading information and advice that guides them on their caregiving journey.

• Highlight your upcoming events. We understand that everyone’s busy, but we want to remind you of the importance of listing your events on Comfort Life. Events listed on our website are viewed by thousands of people every year. Communities that get listed on this page look to our users to be vibrant, keeping residents engaged and active.


• Membership renewal. Renew your Comfort Life membership for 2022 any time, now, with early-bird pricing and bonuses available until April 30, 2022. If you haven’t spoken to your account manager, please book a time with them to review membership enhancements and new opportunities we’re rolling out for 2022-2023.


• Updated landing pages. In addition to the increased calls to actions noted above, updates to our location landing pages will more clearly delineate communities that are outside of the targeted city. This allows us to highlight featured communities in that city more clearly, while still presenting relevant member communities nearby.