It takes a village: a conversation with Laurie French, President of Providence Village

"How do we connect care and services and support to people? How do we consolidate care in one place? How do we remove those barriers for agencies to work together? 

I think that really is the beauty of the village. So a caregiver, for example, could be taking advantage of a program while their loved one is receiving services at a different space in the building. We're already seeing the collaboration between the partnerships. They're volunteering in each other's programs. They're doing outdoor gardening activities together."

Providence Village is a new community of partners providing care and services to support the health and wellness needs of people living in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington. Guided by the values of compassion, integrity, and inclusion, Providence Village is a safe and inclusive space where individuals and families can find hope, belonging, and wellbeing. 

We had a conversation with Laurie French, the President and CEO of Providence Village to talk about the initiative and the vision of the Sisters of Providence. Laurie began her career as a registered nurse before transitioning to roles in healthcare management. Today she leads strategic development, capital projects, and partner engagement for the Village. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Community Connections, a Compassionate Communities Kingston podcast. Compassionate Communities Kingston was founded in 2017 to bring the global compassionate communities movement to Kingston. We are inspiring intergenerational compassion in our communities by providing older adults with knowledge, connection, and support, promoting vitality, purpose, and a sense of well-being. Here is your host, Nancy Corrigan.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Providence Village is a new community of partners providing care and services to support the health and wellness needs of people living in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox, and Addington. Guided by the values of compassion, integrity, and inclusion, Providence Village is a safe and inclusive space where individuals and families can find hope, belonging, and well-being. Today on the podcast, we're having a conversation with Lori French, the president and CEO of Providence Village. Lori began her career as a registered nurse before transitioning to roles in healthcare management. Today she leads strategic development, capital projects, and partner engagement for the village. Welcome to the podcast, Lori. Thanks so much for having me. I'm looking forward to speaking with you about the village. It's such an exciting project. But I'd like to begin by asking a little bit about you, and I wondered if you could tell me a bit about your journey to your role at Providence Village.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

We never know where our careers will take us, but thanks for mentioning that I began as a nurse and that never goes away. I think that really was the foundation for my desire to make a difference and yet how that can take you so many places. I was, I think, a frontline nurse for about eight years and then grew into the community care world. And that really was a lovely transition and where I started to get more community focused and the important role that our communities play in wrapping around all of us, I moved into more senior roles. But I was also very interested in the education system. When my children started school, I got involved at the parent council level and then became an elected school board trustee. And so through that work, I had exposure to community hubs at the time. Through my role in the Community Care Access Center and then the LIN, it really got me thinking about how do we connect people to all the things that they need without having to go to so many places. So I was given the opportunity to work at Providence Care Hospital as the director of rehab and then the senior director for regional care and the transitional care center. And that was really a project that opened my experience to capital development and the building side of things. And so it was all of those experiences that I feel really came together. Everything in my career led me to this role because it does build on all of those things. How do we connect care and services and support to people? How do we consolidate care in one place? How do we just remove those barriers for agencies to work together? All of that is how we will deliver the system in a different way and be able to make a difference. So we're small and getting started at the village, but the concept is there and the sisters vision really just kicked that off.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

I love that it's called a village that really just speaks to community. So tell me a little bit about Providence Village and and who's there.

SPEAKER_02 3:32

Providence Village started with the Sisters of Providence, of course. Many congregations are facing a similar situation where their time is coming to a close. And our sisters locally really felt that they wanted to make a difference in a different and long-lasting way. Many congregations will dispose of their assets and make wonderful contributions and do very important things at this stage. Our sisters wanted to do something very different, and that was to ensure that this wonderful place would continue to help people and make a difference in the community after they were gone. In 2017, the sisters began to plan for how could this work? And it's been really an interesting balance because, of course, the sisters still live there. So we still have 47 sisters who live in the house across three congregations. A lot of planning had happened in advance of that with many great minds to bring forward the vision that the sisters had into something that could be sustainable and that could someday stand on its own. And out of that came the community hub that we are building. So we began at that time, the Alzheimer's Society of Kingston took a leap of faith, and they were the first subtenants to come into the motherhouse. And you know, they came at a challenging time when we had a lot of construction happening in the house. You know, making the building accessible has been important. The building was constructed in 1932 with additions out to the 60s. So the code standards and you know the facilities themselves were a residents. So adapting that to accommodate the organizations that we wish to host is critical. And so we've paid a lot of attention to that around accessible spaces while at the same time still protecting the sisters who are in their portions of the building.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

There's a wide variety of groups in the village. You've got art and you know you've got heart school. How were these partners uh chosen, or how did you end up interacting with them to have them join the village?

SPEAKER_02 5:45

I would say there isn't an exact recipe. The board and the sisters in their planning early on designed a master plan some time ago that identified the kinds of partners that we hoped the village could support. So our focus really is on not-for-profits and charities. However, the business model has to, you know, be able to support that ongoing. And it really has become those agencies that are providing some sort of care and support to people in the community. The sisters have always supported multi-generational families, women-led families and programs, populations in need, and welcoming everyone has really been a part of that vision. That means that it could be quite broad how we do that. And I think that really is the beauty of the village in that the intentionality of how we're engaging partners. Certainly we have the responsibility to provide a rental space that works for our partners and, you know, that builds the business model. But there's such a difference in the connection between the partners and how we can create that village atmosphere and that community or campus of care is really quite important to us. We've had people just come and say we're interested. Word of mouth has been wonderful for people who are looking for a new home that's affordable and that's mission aligned. We're all committed to caring and providing support and services. The sisters still occupy a majority of the house. So it's a very incremental building. We have a subtenant partnership table that was also part of the planning to really be able to bring together those partners. So much more than just everyone existing in the space or co-locating and passing each other in the hall, we are intentionally planning for collaborative activities. There's a lot of activity on the site, as you mentioned. We need to coordinate that and ensure that no one is negatively impacted on the site. But we're already seeing the collaboration between the partnerships. They're volunteering in each other's programs. They're doing outdoor gardening activities together, they're hosting events in the building. One of our board members coined the term highest and best use. And that's also been really important in the planning because we are adapting a building that had different uses in the past, and we want it to be as welcoming and accommodating and comfortable for those different service organizations to be able to function. So there are spaces that are more suitable maybe to offices. There are other spaces that are more suitable to maybe treatment rooms or activity spaces, and then there are others that could be more residential spaces. So housing, assisted living, all of those are parts of our thinking. Primary care is a huge target for us, connecting the services that people need. You mentioned art. Art is something, and from my involvement in the education system as well, is a huge contributor to well-being. And so the hope, belonging, and well-being of the village really does go beyond just healthcare services. And I think that's really important. And that's where I believe we'll be able to create even more collaboration between programs. So a caregiver, for example, could be taking advantage of a program while their loved one is receiving services at a different space in the building. It's all connected in one place. And we're starting to see that already with just the the 13 subtenant partners we have so far.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Wow. I love that. I love the fact that they're collaborating with each other. And I imagine for the sisters, this must be so exciting. You know, that area that the land that they have has been tranquil and quiet for a very long time and now it's bustling with activity, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yes. And it's a challenge sometimes because you can appreciate this was a wonderful idea and a beautiful vision. But when it's your home and you're encountering perhaps strangers in the hallway who you don't know, who are off to their programs, you are hearing large construction vehicles and and noise in your backyard, it's tricky. I've spoken with sisters about this, and many of them feel that their time to contribute has come to a close. And I say, oh no, you are living this every day, you are giving back to make this possible. But the sisters are embracing that change, they're working through it and really helping us. And they attend activities in many of the different programs. They just love to see the program participants coming and going. And every time we do an announcement of a new subtenant that's coming, I can see the joy. And it's interesting how many of the programs that we're now hosting are programs that the sisters were involved with themselves over the years. Many of them worked with some of those groups in different ways, you know, whether it was in their own education roles, their healthcare roles, there are sisters who were social workers. They've supported all of these programs over the years. So it's to them a little bit of coming home when they see the connections happening and they can, you know, really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Oh, that's great.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

You also rent out spaces too, as part of your funding strategy, I imagine.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

Yes, we do have a cost recovery model, so we need to be sure that we're financially viable. And so one of the things that we came up with is a community use program. So it's launched on our website that you can go and see some larger venue spaces that are available, whether that's a meeting room if you need an off-site meeting or activities in a good central location, or whether you have larger events. Addictions and mental health are regularly conducting some education sessions in one of our larger spaces. We have other groups who are just coming in and using, you know, an auditorium. The Heart Center brought a wonderful event from the city of Kingston to be hosted on site. We do have reception and security on site to support events. We're very essentially located in the city. We have a bus stop right at our property. The access bus comes in every day. We have multiple accessible locations or entrances now where people are able to get in and navigate the building.

SPEAKER_01 11:58

One of the more interesting uh services there, of course, is the hospice, which just opened not too long ago. Tell me a little bit about the hospice.

SPEAKER_02 12:08

We're so pleased that Providence Care continues to support the location of the A B Homestead Hospice uh in the village. We started that partnership between the Sisters and Hospice Kingston many years ago. They've been open now for a year, and many, many patients are benefiting from that wonderful, wonderful service. So we're really proud to have them as part of the village.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

And now you are building uh a long-term care home on the site, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:41

Providence Care is constructing a long-term care home, so we're also happy to host. There, as you can see, they are our major partner in developing uh those land parcels for sure. It will still be two years. They are just really doing a wonderful, wonderful job. And the fact that it will have additional long-term care beds is another important addition uh right now to the health system. They're desperately needed. It's just a wonderful story. We're so, so pleased to host them.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Is the village model something that was designed from another model seen somewhere in the country, or is the village model something that is unique?

SPEAKER_02 13:19

I would say it's very unique. Does it have some similarities to community hubs where sites, you know, repurpose space? That's not uncommon. The difference for us really is that intentionality, the incremental building of the village and the financial model, really starting from the sisters' vision and the commitment to mission-aligned organizations that welcome everyone has really been an important focus. We have spent a lot of time on our reconciliation work and recognizing that this is an important part of the legacy and an important part of being able to welcome everyone and ensure that everyone truly feels safe in the village. We have work underway around diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility. All of these are important strategies in how we go forward if we're truly going to be able to be successful. There are congregations around the country who are looking at this model. I've had the privilege to present a couple of times to other organizations about how we're structuring the village. We have 80 staff who operate 24-7, the clinical infirmary spaces where the sisters live, as well as the retirement spaces where the sisters live, and then operate the village from a facilities maintenance and partnership perspective. So a lot of different service elements are in there that is a bit different than just renting out space. I think that's a critical feature of what we're doing differently. We have a lot of space that's going to be coming available to sublease to partners. So we need to be able to be competitive and efficient for them to be the location of choice for these organizations. But that comes from a lot of our planning around, you know, how do we support not-for-profits and charities? What are the ways that we can make it efficient for them and be affordable so that they can redirect those funds back into their program operations? And that's been also intentional. And it's just so exciting to to see it come to life and be able to have those those spaces and those partners together.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

What's exciting for you for the future?

SPEAKER_02 15:31

I think seeing the partnerships grow. When I think of the mix of organizations that are there, the potential is still so great. With the incremental nature and the types of spaces that we have, the engagement of our community partners and really being able to share what we have to offer is going to be important to ensure that that rolls out the way that we expect. So the future really is about seeing the phases of that grow. So whether that's the motherhouse becoming more and more full of partners, whether that's the land parcels being developed into different projects, all of that is where we're going. And understanding how that community will develop as well is really important. One of the things that the sisters placed great importance on is protection of the environment and and the green spaces in the village are part of their legacy and the beauty of the property. So community gardens and green spaces throughout the footprint of the village are very important to them. So I think the future is very bright, but there's a lot to be done still to ensure we have all the right people together and we really achieve on that community of care and a place where people can access so many things all in one location. That's very exciting.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

What is the favorite part of your work?

SPEAKER_02 16:55

I would say there's two. First, it has been a joy to get to know the sisters and to spend time to work with and learn from them. They are wonderful women who have dedicated their lives to giving to the community, and they have so much experience. They have served all parts of society that I really have learned a lot from them and how they approach that. The other piece is seeing the programs happening, encountering the program participants, you know, all the range of programs that we have. We have such a rich mix of people already coming to the village, and just really seeing the vision come to life is so exciting.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Lori, thank you so much for speaking with me today. It was a real pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 17:41

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Thank you for listening to Community Connections, hosted by Nancy Corrigan and produced by Soundwise in Kingston, Ontario. Voiceover by Neil Carey. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please share it and subscribe where possible. For more information, visit compassionateKingston.ca