Sienna Senior Living Appoints Senior Health Care Executive as New Board Advisor

MARKHAM, Ontario, June 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sienna Senior Living Inc. (“Sienna” or the “Company”) (TSX: SIA) announced the appointment of former Sinai Health System Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Mapa, as Executive Advisor to the Company’s Board of Directors.
Critical Step in Six-Point Action PlanIn this new role, Mapa will provide additional executive capacity as the Company implements a number of important initiatives to address the challenges the entire long-term care industry is facing as a result of the ongoing pandemic.“With more than four decades of experience at an internationally recognized acute care centre, including as CEO during the centre’s response to the SARS outbreak, our Board looks forward to making use of Mr. Mapa’s wealth of knowledge,” said Dino Chiesa, Chair of the Board of Directors of Sienna Senior Living. “Like all Canadians, we are seeking answers to the challenges we are facing, and we look forward to addressing those challenges and coming out stronger, with the assistance of Mr. Mapa.”In addition to the appointment of Mapa, Sienna is rolling out a series of sweeping steps – first announced last week – which Mapa will be responsible for helping to deliver. These initiatives include:Immediate investigation: We have hired Paul Boniferro, former Deputy Attorney General of Ontario, to conduct an immediate, company-wide review into the policies, practices and culture at Sienna. This review will help us identify how best to ensure that our expectations of a respectful, safe and inclusive environment are met at every residence, at all hours of the day.Frontline re-education: We are immediately introducing enhanced frontline education protocols focused on quality and safety to ensure all team members understand and provide the quality of care our residents deserve. While Sienna residences have ample access to personal protective equipment (PPE), this will include re-education sessions focused on PPE.Zero tolerance policy and sensitivity training: We are reinforcing our zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour and conducting sensitivity training with frontline staff that will include a special lens to address the extenuating circumstances our residences are facing.Increase communications: We are increasing our communications with our residents and their families, including having already started holding videoconference town hall meetings across our network of residences that will continue so that we can hear directly from residents and their loved ones. We are also prioritizing regular virtual visits between residents and their loved ones.Accelerating staffing, recruiting and retention efforts: While hiring and recruiting has been a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sienna is accelerating aggressive recruitment efforts. To further enhance quality and frequency of communication with families, we will also be allocating additional resources to this important work.About Joseph MapaMapa recently served as Founding President and CEO of Sinai Health System from 2015-2017, after serving as President and CEO of Mount Sinai Hospital from 2001 to 2014. During his tenure at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mapa played a critical leadership role in managing the organization’s response to SARS.Mapa also serves as the Executive Director of the Health Industry Management Program at the Schulich School of Business. He is also Past Chair of the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario and Past Co-Chair of Toronto Academic Health Science Network.About Sienna Senior LivingSienna Senior Living Inc. (TSX:SIA) offers a full range of seniors’ living options, including independent living, assisted living, long-term care, and specialized programs and services. Sienna’s approximately 12,000 employees are passionate about helping residents live fully every day, and were the driving force behind Sienna being named one of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. For more information, please visit www.siennaliving.ca.Forward-Looking InformationCertain of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking statements and are provided for the purpose of presenting information about management’s current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements generally use forward-looking words, such as “anticipate,” “continue,” “could,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “believe,” “goals” or other similar words and include, without limitation, statements with respect to the impact of COVID-19 and measures taken to mitigate the impact. These statements are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on information currently available and what management currently believes are reasonable assumptions. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable law.For further information, please contact:
Nitin Jain
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Investment Officer
(905) 489-0787
nitin.jain@siennaliving.ca