Family donation brings life to the walls of the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre

It wasn’t long after centurion Anne Missouri moved into the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre that it started to feel like home for everyone in her unit.  

It’s thanks to the 103-year-old’s family, specifically Anne’s daughter Linda Thiessen, who has been donating art over the last four years.  

“What I noticed about my mom’s unit was that it was clean, the staff were very good and friendly, and Shazeen the unit manager was great,” said Linda.  “However, there were many white, bare walls, which made it feel very institutional.”

Unit manager, Shazeen Ramji, is the first to agree with Linda’s assessment; the unit was recently renovated but with bare white walls it needed some character.  

“I’m so grateful and thankful, words cannot express,” said Shazeen. “I often have to prioritize clinical needs on the two units that I manage, so, I'm pulled in both directions. Taking time to make the unit more aesthetically pleasing means I'm getting taken away from clinical needs on the unit, so, to have Linda kind of take that on has truly been a benefit.”

Linda started by bringing in art from their recently sold family home, but soon, she found herself picking up paintings, posters and other art for the centre while she was shopping.

The newest and most exciting addition within the unit is a mural, commissioned by Linda and her two siblings, sister, Roxanne Young and her brother, David Missouri. They hired local artist Jeanette Spencer who designed and painted an Alberta landscape.

“It is so meaningful to reflect upon all the elements that were important to my mom and our family over the years: faith, farming, mountains, lakes, trees, golden wheat fields, flowers, the Alberta wild rose, so many elements that make Alberta, and our country so wonderful,” said Linda.  

“It brings some character to the unit and it makes it more lively,” said Shazeen. “It helps bring conversations between family members, between other residents; it opens the door for socialization, which is so important in long-term care and mental health in general.”

“A home-like environment is essential to residents' overall well-being,” said Brenda Neuman, recreation therapist with Covenant Health at the Edmonton General. “It can positively influence mood, reduce feelings of loneliness and boredom and foster a greater sense of community.”

“The most rewarding part has been to see the joy that it brings to my mom, to the residents and their families, and to the staff,” said Linda.  “This is something I’d recommend for families who have elderly parents or family members who are living in care facilities.”