(Winkler, MB) July 16, 2018 – From the earliest days of her career in Long Term Care, Sherry Janzen, CEO of Salem Home since 2004, was asking the ‘why’ questions and coaxing staff and leadership to consider different approaches to providing care. Sherry’s discontent with the status quo has helped earn Salem a reputation as one of Canada’s most innovative and influential Personal Care Homes.

Sherry, and her evolving philosophy of leadership, is profiled in the latest episode of Healthcare Change Makers, a monthly podcast produced by the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC).

Much of Salem’s identity and reputation revolves around its unique model of care – Relationship-Centred Care. The model permeates everything from the freedom given to residents to sleep in; their ability to choose their food (through the SuzyQ model of meal service); browse through shops and a library; and enjoy a bright and interactive physical environment. “Without rigid timeframes attached to everything, residents have fewer falls, medication usage is down, and they’re happier,” says Sherry.

“The culture of Relationship-Centred Care goes very deep in the organization,” she adds. “We don’t just say it, we live it.”

In the podcast Sherry explains how she discovered her natural affinity for older people while working as a Health Care Attendant in a Saskatchewan nursing home. At her father’s urging, she went back to school to study gerontology at Wichita State University in Kansas. 

The push to succeed, work hard, and be independent was instilled in Sherry at an early age. “I grew up on a dairy and grain farm in Saskatchewan,” she says. “My sister and I worked on the farm and learned from our parents there were no limits on what a girl could do.”

Healthcare Change Makers is a podcast built around conversations with Canada’s healthcare leaders – what makes them tick, what are their greatest fears and strongest drivers. We learn about juggling competing demands, the people and events that influenced their careers, and what advice they give to people just entering the workforce.


About the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada – HIROC

In 1987, 53 Ontario hospitals and healthcare organizations made the historic move to a self-administered liability insurance plan. The Hospital Insurance Reciprocal of Ontario (HIRO), commenced business on July 1 of that year. Today, HIROC is a national organization and Canada’s largest non-profit healthcare liability insurer, completely owned by its subscribers. 

HIROC is guided by its vision of partnering to create the safest healthcare system. They do this by providing cost-effective and innovative insurance and risk management solutions that help its subscribers make better decisions. As a non-profit reciprocal, surplus funds are returned to its subscribers for reinvestment in the healthcare system.