Roberta Lindbeck

The Good Samaritan Society

The Good Samaritan Society (GSS) is a leading faith-based, not-for-profit, registered charity in Western Canada that provides quality accommodations, health, and community care services and programs to aging individuals in need. With over 72 years of experience providing specialized health and community care services in innovative and caring environments, our operational effectiveness and overarching culture of service and care make us the provider of choice for individuals and their families seeking a supporting place to call home. Our mission to extend Christian Hospitality to those in need or at risk encourages the well-being of the whole person. A foundational pillar of The Society's Christian Hospitality Model is to provide access to spiritual care for all faiths. Our Pastoral-Spiritual Care model incorporates Chaplains as Spiritual Care Facilitators and Providers. They invite members from the churches to become volunteers, and to be trained as Pastoral Care Visitors. As well, we formally train all staff in spirituality and spiritual care so that they can meet the needs of residents and clients when the Chaplain is not available. Presently, we have over 3,900 employees and more than 2,300 volunteers who, in the spirit of compassion, serve approximately 6,000 clients. As one of the largest not-for-profit care providers in Alberta (21 care homes) and British Columbia (7 care homes), we provide safe, comfortable communities inspiring involvement, where people can experience a sense of caring, belonging and purpose. We strive to be leaders in the industry and make GSS the home of choice in the communities we serve. To achieve this, we have mandated that 95 cents of every dollar spent goes towards direct front line care and services. This enables us to be an efficient and effective organization that can provide quality care and quality accommodations.