The Butterfly Approach accredits long-term care home in Waterloo region

Sunnyside's Butterfly areas are meant to feel like home, adding various colours, textures and opportunities for people to forge meaningful connections. Photo credit: Region of Waterloo

Sunnyside Home Long-Term care has been recognized by The Butterfly Approach, earning level one “outstanding” which is the highest rating from the United Kingdom based Meaningful Care Matters.

“To be certified as a butterfly home has been a long-time goal for Sunnyside. An Outstanding, Level 1 result is a dream come true,” said Connie Lacy, director of seniors’ services at the Region of Waterloo, in a media release. “The people who live and work at Sunnyside Home have embraced this world-renowned best practice model in dementia care, which supports people to live their best lives. I could not be more proud of the Sunnyside team. This is truly a game changer in the quality of dementia care not only in our community but across Ontario and Canada.”

Two homes at Sunnyside that provide care for those living with dementia have received Butterfly accreditation where the goal is for each home to have a unique look and feel.

The entrances to the homes include brightly coloured front doors, blue sky on the ceiling and flowers and trees along the walls. The interior walls are adorned with different textures and objects that tell the stories of the people working and living at the home.

Staff support residents to make their own decisions about how they will spend the day, including whether they wake up or sleep in, what they eat and how they spend their free time.

“To achieve an outstanding Butterfly Accreditation during a pandemic is an incredible achievement and offers hope to the many other long-term care settings in Ontario and Canada, who want to spread the Butterfly magic,” said Peter Bewert, Managing Director/CEO of Meaningful Care Matters, in the press release. “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with such an inspiring team at Sunnyside.”

The facility has observed positive results since the implementation of The Butterfly Approach. Some of which include the reduction in the use of antipsychotic medications, an increase in staff morale and improved quality of interactions between staff and residents.

The Sunnyside Foundation, The Fabulous Gift Shop and the Region of Waterloo have funded the project.