Welcome to MSVI

Executive Director’s Report 

June 19, 2025

Another busy year has gone by so quickly. Throughout this past year there have been many changes made throughout the entire agency with the guidance of Jenna Hill and Ryan Calder. These changes will be highlighted throughout this report.  

One of the large changes which took place was a change to the staffing model. The previous schedules had many small positions which were hard to fill. There was also out of scope supervisors for the Group Homes who were external to the homes and did not work any floor shifts. As of January 13, 2025 major changes to the schedules took place including the implementation of Team Leads, creation of larger positions and the reconsideration of budgets regarding all these changes for each home. This new model has provided each Group Home with a leader who works the floor but also has the responsibility of mentoring staff, identifying staff training needs, ensuring medical appointments are scheduled for participants and completed as required, helping participants reach their Person Centered Plan Goals, ensuring documentation is appropriately completed, and that households are maintained. These Team Leads are a very important part of the agency’s proper reporting channels, ensuring homes are appropriately run and ensuring participants are living their best lives. The change of the schedules was a very important change, but it was not without its stresses as nearly the entire agency had to be uprooted, and most staff had to apply for a new position within the new schedules. Overall the process went very smoothly.  

Throughout this process and other communications we have created a great working relationship with our union over the past year. Although this does not apply to the fiscal year which we are discussing tonight I wish to make mention that we completed bargaining this spring in one day. We are happy to share that the Collective Bargaining Agreement states that all increases provided by the government for staff wages will be provided directly to the staff and will not be used for the purpose of bargaining. The union and employer plan to continue forward with a positive working relationship and open communication.

Another large change made throughout the agency is the change back to paper documentation and the creation of new forms for submitting Incident reports, medical forms and medication error reports through email. This allows the Program Coordinator and I to be aware of incidents and provide feedback in a timely manner. This also provides all staff with the information required to best support the participants in their care. The previous QLA online documentation system was not as effective as it needed to be and was not very user friendly. Our Team Leads have done a great job of identifying where these documents require changes and how we can better this process. One of our Team Leads is very “Tech Savy” and has assisted in reformatting the documents to make them more effective, which is much appreciated.   

Our SILP program has been provided with the tools and information required to support the participants in the program fully and completely including their financial needs. These staff have done an amazing job of adapting to the change in the program and now have the flexibility to better support the participants in their program with the changes made. 

Communication through email has become the new norm. Staff each have a work email address which is checked for any updates or important information for their shift. This has provided a central location for staff to look for important information and an easy way for management and Team Leads to communicate with all staff. Thee use of a schedule program called Team Up has also been implemented. This program allows all staff to be able to see activities, vehicle bookings, when management or Team Leads are away from the office or in meetings, appointments or any other important events. It also provides a central location to look for information.

Person-Centered Plan templates have been updated, and a new schedule has been implemented. Person centered plan meetings are now held in the participant’s birth month which creates a more of a personalized experience for each individual. This also lessens the burden on the Program Coordinator to complete all PCPs at one time. The plans themselves are living documents which the participants can change and alter at any time throughout the year. These plans are put into action through the Day Program and the Group Homes. Any common goals can be grouped together so that multiple people can reach their goals together. 

Community involvement has also been a large part of the past year. We have had a great year partnering up with the Preeceville School; more specifically the Kindergarten and Grade 8 classes. The relationships that have been built through these partnerships have been amazing to watch throughout the year. We are excited to be partnering with Canora Composite School this coming fall as well. 

Participants have attended Long Term Care and the Preeceville Personal Care Home to play games and do activities with the residents which has created a nice activity for the elderly individuals living in these care homes. Some participants attended trade shows this year to promote products from MSVI. One participant has created her own sewing business and has created many well-liked products. MSVI participants and staff have volunteered time to work at community events for the Town of Preeceville throughout the year and have received grant money in return for the time spent. This grant money goes toward activities and supplies needed for the Day Program and directly benefits our participants. 

Another important aspect of community involvement has been through the use of social media; specifically Facebook and TikTok. Our community and surrounding communities have been very responsive to the posts made through social media. This has been a large part of creating more awareness about MSVI over the past year. Our participants also enjoy the process of creating posts and videos. They are very involved in thinking of ideas and making the Facebook posts and TikTok videos a huge hit. 

A community appreciation barbecue was held in the fall of last year. This barbecue was well attended by the community. MSVI has also been setting up some fundraisers for the purchase of an accessible bus or van. These have been well supported and social media was very helpful in spreading the word about these events.  

Our second hand store, Uncle Mack’s also continues to be well supported. There have been continuous indoor garage sales throughout the year which seems to be liked by the community. The community also supports the agency well by providing an abundance of donations for which we are grateful.  

Our participants are always on the go and enjoyed various trips throughout the previous year including trips to Regina, Saskatoon, and attending concerts such as Abbamania and the Beach Boys. MSVI hosted a Valentine’s Day Dance again this year which was well attended by other agencies despite the cold weather. Participants also attended many other agency’s activities such as dances, carnivals, and cultural events. The Day Program is always hopping with activities; card games, baking, cooking, crafts, colouring, working in the store, keeping the building clean, and much more. There is never a lack of activities around the Day Program. 

We have completed two large renovation projects at two of our homes which have allowed our licenses to move from conditional to regular licenses on all our homes with the exception of one home. The final home is set to have renovations as soon as we receive approval from the Ministry. The major bathroom renovations that we completed at Group Home 3 and Preece Place have improved quality of life of our participants immensely. 

Throughout the past year we had two of our participants choose to transition out of our agency and we have two participants who will be transitioning into Group Homes; one from the SILP program and one external to the agency. Sadly, one of our participants from Group Home 4 unexpectedly passed away this spring. He is truly missed and he and his family left such a positive mark on our agency. 

And finally a thank you to all of our staff and participants. You stuck with us through all of the changes that needed to be made in our agency over the past year, and for that we are thankful. Thank you for your patience and dedication to the agency and our participants while we worked through many different aspects of these changes; I know it was not easy for anyone. I look forward to working with all of you as we move on as a stronger and better MSVI.

Respectfully Submitted, 

Kayla Blotski

Board of Directors - Chairpersons Report

June 19, 2025

Good evening everyone.

I would like to start by thanking you for taking the time to be here for this important event in our organizational calendar. As chairperson, I have the privilege of reflecting on the past year, a year filled with growth and new experiences for our agency, and looking ahead to the future that we are building together. It is an honour to share it with you today.

In May of 2023, following the CLSD Review, Ryan Calder was appointed as interim ED and Jenna Hill as a consultant. The goal was to assist in a major restructuring of the agency. In the months that followed, the board and staff worked diligently on the 12 recommendations provided by CLSD through the organizational review.

In December, the board felt that the timing was right to develop a strategic plan. We met with Linda Osachoff on December 4, at MTC to create two major strategic directions, both that we feel are achievable and sustainable. The goals that were set through this strategic planning were to increase MSVI’s presence in the community and to build a sustainable person-centered agency. Our first goal, to increase community presence, I believe has been in the hearts of our management team and front-line staff for years and I feel that MSVI has already made huge strides in this area. Our action steps for this goal include, creating opportunities for community interactions, to build on community relationships, to foster greater understanding, integration and acceptance of our participants and agency within the community, and to develop business plans which foster person centeredness. 

Our second goal, to build a sustainable, person-centered agency, include action items such as “Recruit an Executive Director with the necessary skills to fulfill the mission, vision and values of the agency”. In March, Kayla Blotski began her journey as the Executive Director of MSVI. She moved from PC to ED and officially began in her role as the ED on March 10 th . As a board, we were confident that she would continue to put participants first, improve the relationship with families and the community and support the staff that work so hard to make life better for those they care for everyday. Other action items to support our goal of building a sustainable, person-centered agency were to ensure that people are working effectively through ongoing

training, collaboration, coaching and evaluation. The boards focus would remain on fostering a culture of dignity, respect, inclusion and acknowledgment. We also recognized that creating the sustainability that we desired would require that the board, and staff would need to have a sense of shared purpose as we work to fulfill these goals.

As we continue to focus on the strategic plan, our expectations for the future include having a more united staff, continuing to increasing our presence in the community, and the agency providing services to our participants to its optimum level. The board will focus on supporting Kayla so that she can better support and develop our leaders, and identify potential so that the agency can thrive and grow in their ability to provide person centered care for the individuals we support.

Last week, as we celebrated MSVI being in our community for 50 years, it was exciting and heartwarming to see how the agency has grown and changed. It was a wonderful celebration and it really was evident to all who attended that the agency has changed. Thank you, Dylan for your attendance and for supporting our staff through the work you do as the CUPE National Representative. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Union as we move forward.

We would like to thank Ryan and Jenna for all that you have done for MSVI; for your guidance and support as we move forward in a positive direction. 

In closing, I want to say how proud I am to be part of the journey we are on. It is exciting to be moving forward with purpose and compassion, and with a shred belief in a more inclusive community. Thank you again for your ongoing support, commitment and trust in the board.

Thank you,

Kim Sandager