Moving into long-term care can be a hard and difficult transition. At Czorny Alzheimer Centre, that journey is approached with a deep commitment to ensuring that life continues to hold meaning and connection.
Nestled in a quiet rural setting in Cloverdale, Czorny doesn’t resemble the typical care facility. It’s shaped by innovation, compassion and centred around the belief that its residents can live a thriving life. Few people embody that philosophy more fully than Kerry Netherton, Program Coordinator at Czorny Alzheimer Centre from 2012 to 2025.
A calling shaped by experience
Kerry and her husband, Stefano.
Kerry Netherton’s journey to Czorny Alzheimer Centre began long before her career in recreation. It began at home, alongside her family.
As a teenager, Kerry helped her grandmother care for her grandfather after he suffered a stroke. It was an experience that had cemented her career path.
“When I was 15, my grandfather had a stroke, and helping my grandmother care for him showed me how little support there was for quality of life. Later, as a care aide, I started creating my own activities. Reading, performing, connecting, because I knew care had to be about more than physical needs.”
That early realization shaped everything that followed. While the physical care was essential, she was always drawn to the human moments. The stories, the laughter and the small connections that made people feel seen.
With few recreational programs available, Kerry began creating her own. She read to residents, put on small performances, and looked for ways to bring warmth and engagement into their days. It was there she discovered what would become her life’s work: helping people feel joy, purpose and belonging.
That passion led her to pursue therapeutic recreation at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Over the next 17 years at Delta Hospital, Kerry built deep experience as a program coordinator, learning how thoughtfully designed programs could transform not just a day, but a life.
When a position opened at Czorny, at a time when the Centre itself was evolving, Kerry felt an immediate pull.
“I wanted to help people in a way that went beyond physical care — to create moments that brought comfort, meaning, and joy.”
Creating meaning through creativity
From the moment she arrived, Kerry felt something different about Czorny.
Rather than being handed a fixed calendar of activities, she was invited into an open conversation. About residents, about possibilities and about how recreation could help people living with dementia stay connected to the world around them.
“Czorny gave me an open playing field. The support to ask, ‘What if we did this differently?’ and then actually make it happen.”
In Kerry’s experience, isolation is one of the greatest challenges in dementia care. Disconnection from others can worsen symptoms and deeply affect overall wellbeing. Recreational therapy became a way to spark curiosity, engagement and moments of recognition, helping residents reconnect with themselves and each other.
Kerry with Rosie, Czorny’s first therapy pig
That philosophy first came to life with Rosie, a therapy pig who invited residents to engage simply by being present. Seeing a living creature sparked curiosity among the residents of Czorny, especially for those who had grown up on farms or in rural settings.
“Rosie showed us that when you meet people where they are, something opens up. Once we saw that kind of engagement, we knew we could go further and create experiences that truly felt like home.”
Building on that early success, Kerry began thinking about how to create even deeper moments of connection. That thinking led to the Czorny bakery, a space designed to engage the senses through smell, taste, routine, and memory. The aroma of freshly baked goods and coffee brewing, the feel of dough, and the rhythm of a familiar routine remind many residents of a time when these moments were part of everyday life.
Marilyn’s Bakery at Czorny
Together, these experiences reflect Czorny’s approach to care: thinking beyond the traditional, continually innovating, and finding new ways to reflect residents’ lives and experiences within the home as their needs change.
A community united behind its residents
None of this happens in isolation. Kerry is quick to credit the frontline staff, leadership, families, and donors who make these experiences possible.
“Czorny is different because everyone buys in — staff, families, donors. You can’t create something like this alone.”
From staff who go above and beyond, to families and donors who believe in innovative care, the culture at Czorny is one of collective commitment. It is a place where residents are deeply valued, and where their welfare extends beyond simply meeting needs to nurturing lives.
Looking ahead
After four decades working in resident care, Kerry reflects on her time at Czorny with immense pride. As she prepares to retire after her final year at the Centre, she does so know that her connection to Czorny — and its residents — will continue. Kerry plans to return, as a casual in the recreation department and remaining part of the community she helped shape.
For Kerry, Czorny represents more than a career milestone. It reflects what dementia care can be when people are willing to look beyond what’s common practice and imagine something better.
“I have been working with residents for 40 years, and I am beyond proud to have spent this chapter of my career at Czorny. There is nothing else like it. If it continues on this path, Czorny can help set the standard for exceptional care and shape the future of how we support people living with dementia.”
As Czorny Alzheimer Centre continues to evolve, embracing new ideas, supporting research, and pushing beyond what is familiar — it can stand as a model of what is possible when care is centred around the residents who call this place home.
When asked what retirement looks like for her, Kerry smiles and says: “It’ll include golf, pickle ball, photography and spending some quality time with my family.”
Czorny Alzheimer Centre
Czorny Alzheimer Centre opened in 2007, named in honour of Michael Czorny, whose nine-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease deeply impacted his family. In memory of Michael and his wife Nancy, his primary caregiver, Surrey benefactor Marilyn Stewart and her family provided the land and $10 million in capital funding to create a space unlike any other.
Guided by the visionary leadership of Marilyn and her husband, Chick, Czorny was designed with intention. The six cottage-style living spaces — home to 72 residents — reflect a holistic, person-centred approach to dementia care, prioritizing psychological safety, comfort, and familiarity. In 2017, Surrey Hospitals Foundation was gifted Czorny Alzheimer Centre, ensuring its legacy of compassionate care would continue for generations.
