National Nursing Week in Canada is May 5 to May 12, 2024. The theme of this year’s week of professional acknowledgement is “Changing Lives. Shaping Tomorrow”. In honour of the tremendous impact that nurses have on individuals, communities and health care, we are proud and pleased to highlight the contributions of Natasha Lyons, RN, Director, Health & Wellness. Natasha was recently promoted and now oversees both health and wellness teams at Tapestry at Wesbrook Village and Tapestry at Arbutus Walk. 

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At Tapestry we are committed to the health and wellness of the people who live in our communities. So committed, we adopted the 7 Dimensions of Wellness to guide our community operations.

With our focus on these dimensions – which go beyond the physical to include intellectual, social and environmental among other factors – we offer residents a unique lifestyle experience designed to keep them physically and mentally fit, for a longer and healthier life.

We are also motivated to continually improve our offerings, thanks to our experienced, talented and dedicated employees.

Natasha Lyons, who was recently appointed Director of Health and Wellness for both of Tapestry’s Vancouver locations (Tapestry at Arbutus Walk in Kitsilano and Tapestry at Wesbrook Village at UBC), is an example of someone who always looks for new and better ways to deliver support and services to our residents.

Natasha is responsible for overseeing our health and wellness offerings, which includes supervising the team of Resident Assistants who provide assisted living services to residents and our Wellness team which oversees all programming.

“This expanded role provides a really great opportunity to strengthen collaboration between the two Vancouver communities,” Natasha says. “We can build more connections between the teams and share ideas to further enhance our programs.”

A Registered Nurse, Natasha’s leadership background includes overseeing operations for two BC-PTIB accredited private post-secondary career colleges specializing in Health Care Assistant training. In an educator role for a large not-for-profit community health organization, Natasha prepared Community Health Workers for roles in assisted living and home support. With a long-standing passion for senior care, Natasha’s clinical nursing career has included acute care medicine, geriatric assessment, palliative care, community health and long-term care.

Natasha is passionate about growth and continuously seeks to identify opportunities where Tapestry can strengthen its offering while supporting continued learning for employees.

“I get great satisfaction as a manager and educator from empowering our employees to thrive in their roles and learn,” Natasha says. “It inspires me to see someone grow and for them to go home feeling good that they have made a contribution,” she adds.

A key element Natasha has loved about her nursing career to date is the diversity. “No matter what environment you are working in as a nurse, every day is a new day, with new challenges.” And she says she likes to come up with creative solutions to those challenges. “I love processes and figuring out how the entire community can function better,” she adds.

In her five years working for Tapestry, Natasha says she has been impressed every day by the people who live in the community. “Watching our residents try new things and build new relationships in their lives is really inspiring. When people walk in the door with a positive and adventurous spirit and are open to the new experiences that Tapestry offers them, they have so much to gain.”

For anyone thinking about making the move to retirement living, Natasha has some excellent advice: “Be ready to embrace a new phase in life, to build connections, and to seek out the opportunity to engage in new experiences,” she says, adding, “Not to mention the added bonus of leaving the hassles of home ownership behind!”

If you are considering making the move to Tapestry, please contact us for a tour and complimentary lunch and be sure to ask about our enticing move-in incentives.