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Trillium Villa resident puts his skills to work
BSO team encourages resident to use his strengths through hands-on activities
10/9/2026
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Deron Hamel
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Pictured above, Trillium Villa resident Keith Scrimgeour holds up two recent creations made with the home's ChompSaw.
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When Alicia Paquette met Trillium Villa resident Keith Scrimgeour for the first time, Keith told her he wasn't ready to retire and wanted to keep busy.
“I want to contribute to society,” Keith told Alicia, a registered practical nurse and BSO team lead at the Sarnia long-term care community.
After hearing this, Alicia thought the home's ChompSaw, a safe, resident-friendly tabletop tool for cutting cardboard into precise shapes, would be a perfect fit for Keith's strengths.
And she was right.
Trillium Villa residents have been using the ChompSaw to help make items like decorations for the home since it was acquired earlier this year. From the moment Keith was shown the tool, he was drawn to it, Alicia says.
When using the ChompSaw, Keith carefully positions the cardboard, maintains his focus on the cutting line and uses both hands to guide the material through the saw with increasing confidence, she adds.
“Keith is always willing to lend a helping hand, and the ChompSaw has become one of his most engaging and meaningful activities,” Alicia tells S&R Today.
“Keith takes great care and pride in his work, carefully cutting out shapes, such as animals, that other residents can later paint and decorate. His dedication, patience and willingness to help have made a positive contribution to our community.”
One of the goals of the BSO team is to identify residents' strengths and pair those strengths with activities residents will enjoy.
Not only does Keith enjoy working with the ChompSaw, the activity also allows him to use his fine-motor skills, bilateral co-ordination, visual tracking and focus, while providing a meaningful opportunity for creative expression, Alicia says.
“Keith responded extremely well to positive encouragement and was motivated to continue until he had completed his projects,” she adds.
Kirstie McQueen, one of the BSO team members, says the greatest success she sees from Keith using the ChompSaw is how much he enjoys the activity.
“The biggest reward wasn't just the finished cuts – it was seeing Keith's smile and the confidence he gained with every cut,” she says.
If you have a story you would like to share with S&R Today, please contact the newsroom at deronhamel(at)gmail.com.
If you have feedback on this story, please contact the newsroom at deronhamel(at)gmail.com.
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