The best guardian angels: caring for the elderly

UPDATE DAY

Mélina Veilleux

• Specialized educator
• Works at the Weedon Residential Center for five years 

Residents of the Weedon Accommodation Center, in the Eastern Townships, are the happy beneficiaries of the good care of a specialized educator determined to make them look young again.

Using a non-pharmacological approach, focused on sensory stimulation, Mélina Veilleux promotes humanistic support for seniors. She compares herself to a “doctor of the heart”. 

During the pandemic, this 35-year-old woman created a mobile beauty salon where she could, among other things, do residents' hair and give them manicures.

She remembers that these treatments transformed a pretty resident, who loved being flirtatious.

“She was so proud to show off! She felt beautiful. She wanted to go out and socialize,” exclaims the educator.

The impact proved so beneficial that his family made a donation to the Haut-Saint-François Foundation after his death, which made it possible to set up a permanent and well-equipped beauty salon.

Gardening, music and sweets

As most residents grew up near a farm, they still love the land.

Thus, many wheelchair-height raised beds are provided outdoors and allow residents to rediscover the tastes of the past. 

Mélina Veilleux near planters where vegetables are grown for the happiness of the residents

Mrs. Veilleux, who is often surprised with an apron at the waist, also has fun cooking their cute sins . She makes their mouths water with the smell of cooking on the barbecue.

Ms Veilleux also likes to tickle the ears of classical music lovers by playing them the violin. 

Residents of palliative care are not left out, as they can benefit from the end-of-life trolley which reserves aromatherapy and light therapy treats.

Seniors can have a massage with various essential oils, like the fir oil that will suit the one who worked in the wood while a lover of flowers will react to rose oil. 

Spread happiness&nbsp ;

These sensory experiences are a form of “re-education” inspired by the Snoezelen approach, introduced to him by a colleague. For Mrs Veilleux, the CHSLD's quality of life is the result of real teamwork. 

The establishment's fifty residents are not room numbers.

The worker gives those who want it a nickname that evokes their good memories and fosters a bond of attachment.

For example, she affectionately calls a resident from Bas-Saint- Laurent ” my beauty from Rimouski “. 

His department head, Lisa Cormier, confirms that his tenderness, his good humor and his activities to brighten up the daily lives of residents spread happiness.&nbsp ;

« We would take many more Mélina like ours, but we keep her with us in Weedon! » she asks. 

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