KOMFY, KOZY AND KARING — THE K’S HAVE IT
It’s cozy and it’s on a corner, and with a major expansion and name change, Kozy Korner Personal Care Home is definitely o-kay.
The marketers would call it re-branding, but owner Monika Wojcik says it’s just good sense. “I changed the name this year because I expanded my home from 10 residents to 20 and I decided to do it under a name I like. It’s Kozy Korner because the building is on the corner and it’s very cozy,” she says.
Add komfy to the kollection of amenities that residents can enjoy in the expanded and renovated facility formerly called Mount Pleasant Manor. Wojcik took over the facility in 2012, a decade after coming to Canada from her native Poland. “I felt the need for expansion,” she says and was able to acquire and annex the two-storey building next door to the existing care home. The 1,500-square-foot addition brings the total square footage to 6,500, of which almost 800 square feet is the living room/ common area for residents in the newer building. “There’s lots of room for residents to enjoy daily activities. It’s a huge space,” says Wojcik. Not to mention a warm and welcoming fireplaces on both levels. The facility is made to feel like home with the use of flowers and homelike touches that create a comfortable atmosphere for residents.
With renovations and upgrades to both the old and new buildings, Kozy Korner is fully wheelchair accessible with modern fire and security features. There are 17 single rooms, as well as three suites with their own bathrooms that can accommodate couples. Wojcik says she felt it was important to include rooms for couples, saying it is “sad” when circumstances force elderly couples to live in separate homes. “There are so many situations like that, that they have to be in separate places. That’s why I built this new addition with the rooms so they don’t need to be separated at all. There are only a small amount of care homes that can accommodate that,” she says. The Saskatoon location of Kozy Korner is comprised entirely of couples’ suites.
That sense of family is important to Wojcik, who brought her family from Poland to help. Sister Marta is the manager of both Kozy Korner locations, Mom does all the cooking for the Regina facility and Dad is around to lend a hand, or a hammer, as needed. “Mom does the cooking,” Wojcik says. “The residents enjoy home-made meals from scratch. There is no canned; everything is fresh-made every day,” she says.
Adding to that home-cooked care is a staff of five that includes certified care aides and a Registered Nurse (RN), with regular visits from a doctor who is on call 24-7. Wojcik, a trained cardiac sonographer herself, can also assist with cardiac care. The home provides the full range of care for elderly patients who can’t manage on their own and includes personal care and grooming in addition to any medical care needed. “I care for my residents. I want families to know about the atmosphere we have at the Kozy Korner and that we provide professional care,” she says.
Along with her family, Wojcik brought a strong work ethic with her to Canada, and decided to get into providing personal care to the elderly upon seeing the need for additional services. “I am a very strong and positive woman and I like helping people,” she explains. In addition to operating the two care homes, she works full-time as a cardiac sonographer, all while raising three children as a single mom.
The facility is made to feel like home with the use of flowers and homelike touches that create a comfortable atmosphere for residents.”
She overcame challenges in her homeland to become a registered nurse in Poland, before immigrating to Canada. “I came from a very poor family. We didn’t have anything,” she says. Like many newcomers, she looked to Canada for her future. “When I came to Canada, it gave me opportunity. I discovered that, when you want to work and you want to achieve something, there is always a way.” And, also like many newcomers, she faced some challenges here as well, with the language barrier keeping her from being a nurse. “When I came to Canada, I didn’t speak any English. I needed to speak English to be an independent woman,” she says. She still misses being an RN, but has
found personal and professional satisfaction with the care homes and in cardiac care. “I have lots of experience and a passion,” she says of her work.
Kozy Korner is located in the community of Douglas Park, only minutes away from Wascana Park and with Queen Elizabeth Park right next door. “We even offer residents a walking path,” says Wojcik, adding the environment is more like a community. The facility offers a schedule of activities with an activities coordinator and include singing, baking, crafts and music, as well polkas, movie nights, bingo, prizes and daily exercise routines. The facility also has full cleaning and laundry services and a chair lift. The list of services includes medication administration, bathing, care for levels 1 to 4, as well as palliative care.
Wojcik adds that Kozy Korner also offers seniors who are still living independently in their own homes day programs at the facility, as well as in-home care services and even property management to help with buying or selling their homes. “Some seniors still live in their own residence. If they have to go to the hospital and can’t go back to their homes, Kozy Korners will place them, but someone has to take care of their residence. We have the ability to take care of that for them as well, through a real estate agent who works with us,” she says.
With 13 per cent of Regina’s population 65 years of age or older according to the 2011 census, and with a baby boomer bulge about to swell the ranks of the elderly, the need for personal care homes can only be expected to increase and Kozy Korner is ready to karry on with its brand of kozy karing.