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Message from the CEO, July 16, 2007


As I continue my orientation to Baycrest I am spending a great deal of time, walking, talking and listening so that I can introduce myself to the Baycrest community and also hear the ideas people have for priorities and directions.

Recently I attended the Jewish Culture & Heritage Steering Committee. This remains is a relatively new group looking at how we can further our efforts to embrace Jewish principles and practices to enhance the quality of life of our clients and their families. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to meet staff who have expertise in this area as well as family and client representatives, and community Rabbis who provide important perspectives on our efforts. It was also a chance for me to learn more about how we currently weave the principles of Judaism through our environment, programming, and care and how we may optimize these efforts.

One of the metaphors I use is that of comparing Baycrest and our activities to a ballet where each performer is dancing flawlessly in synchronization with the others ultimately resulting in a beautiful performance; supported in large part by many talented people working tirelessly behind the scenes. At the Jewish Culture and Heritage meeting it became very obvious that the principles of Judaism are in fact the musical score for the performance that we are all trying to achieve here at Baycrest.

While there have been many other interesting 'stops' in my Listening and Talking Tours to date , one that stands out for me is my time with the Residents' Council of the Apotex, JHA. The members shared their appreciation for how hard our caring staff work. They also took the opportunity to tell me about some of their ideas such as broadcasting the Resident Council meetings and Yiddish classes to client rooms using our in-house channel so that those who cannot easily leave their room can connect to what is going on throughout Baycrest.

I hope to hear many more of these types of ideas in the weeks ahead as I continue to meet more of the Baycrest Community.

Dr. William E. Reichman

Baycrest President and CEO