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Westmount Gardens to focus on community connections, resident-driven programming in 2026
Markets, special guest visits and new initiatives planned based on resident feedback
3/27/2026
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Deron Hamel
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Westmount life enrichment manager Adnan Resh (second from left) says community connections and resident-driven programming will be a focus in 2026.
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Community connections and resident-driven programming will shape the year ahead at Westmount Gardens, with plans in 2026 including in-house markets, special guest visits and new initiatives based on resident feedback.
Plans include a visit from an Olympic medallist, a meet-and-greet with two local authors, and two public markets scheduled for May and November, explains Adnan Resh, Westmount's life enrichment manager.
The Olympic medallist and authors will visit the London, Ont. long-term care community in April and May. The first of the home's markets will be held May 30 and the second on Nov. 28. Both markets will be open to the public and feature local vendors selling their wares.
But at the heart of programming for 2026 will be creating programs that residents want, Adnan says.
“Our programming and calendar creations are completely around residents' interest and feedback,” Adnan tells S&R Today. “At every residents' council, I ask what they want to see and don't want to see on the calendars. This is on top of my full-time staff doing monthly program planning with the residents, where feedback is gathered.”
So, what are some of the programs Westmount Gardens residents want to see? According to Adnan, lunch programs are where he and the life enrichment team get lots of suggestions – and the team will implement ideas as quickly as they can.
“We are here for the residents and it's about what the residents want, not what we want,” Adnan says.
In 2025, residents were surveyed about what they wanted to see in terms of programming, and there was a clear demand for more evening and weekend programs, Adnan says. As a result, additional staff members were hired to meet this need. Weekend programming has since doubled, he adds.
Looking at new trends in resident programming, Adnan says he would like to find ways to incorporate AI. He and the life enrichment team have already been doing some trials using AI to create photos with residents.
“The residents seem to get a kick out of this, as do the staff and families, and we will see where this takes us,” he says.
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