“I joined this industry because I was looking to expand the service part of my focus. Previously I was in the hotel world, where relationships are short-term—a day or a week. But in senior living, residents are with us for years. We have a great opportunity to make a long-lasting impact on the quality of their lives. The resident-centred approach to our business resonated with me and my goals. We're trying to make the lives of our residents, each day in their lives, better and more fulfilling, whatever that means to them… We work with a great deal of compassion and empathy for our residents.”

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David Bird president and CEO, Verve Senior Living

“I'm on the board at ORCA and one of the things that we talk about quite often is how to attract more people to our sector because it's a wonderful place to work. It's incredibly inspiring and fills your heart every day, the stories that you hear coming out of our communities [even though] it’s challenging work."

“My daughter just graduated from Mohawk College as a recreation therapist. She's already working in one of our Villages [and] it’s exciting to see someone of the younger generation passionate about working with seniors. She loves it. She comes home with these incredible stories. She has ‘extra grandparents’ that she gets to work with every day. It just makes her feel good and you can see the light in her eyes when she comes home.”

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Brad Bushby VP of sales, technology, and marketing, Schlegel Villages

“I'm often in the homes… and when I get to see the seniors it just brings joy to me. They are quite a fun group of people to work with. I think they’re one group of people that have always been left out or maybe forgotten. [In our company], we’re there for you at every milestone in your life. Whether you're [starting out or] when you get to the age of wanting to retire… [We] can continue that journey with people throughout their lifetimes.”

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Marlene Powner Regional operations manager, Sifton Properties, Ltd.

“In recent years, I see an industry that’s working better together–versus competitively. If a family member really [needs] our resources, knowing my external friends—I'm not going to call them competitors anymore—my friends who [provide] different or less costly care, I can say [to families], ‘I understand we're not a home right now for you, but here's a community that might be.’ Then we do the referral. And we get referrals from other retirement homes.

“I'm looking forward to working as a cohesive sector versus ‘This is my business.’ That is coming to the forefront more… where everybody works as a team. We're getting there.”

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Sharon Toor CEO, Sagecare Inc.