Elizabeth Cooper is a Director of Care with 25 years of nursing experience in long-term care. Born and raised in Wikwemikong, she combines clinical experience, First Nations cultural knowledge and a coaching leadership approach to support residents, staff and community.
For Elizabeth Cooper, quality care begins with a deeply personal commitment to ensuring every elder feels at home. She understood the importance of that feeling after working at a non-First Nations home where the dining room was quiet. When she returned to a First Nations care setting, she saw residents laughing and talking and realized how much she had missed that atmosphere. That laughter became an essential part of how she views care.
“Laughter, it’s medicine,” she says.
As Director of Care at Wikwemikong Nursing Home, Cooper brings that understanding to how she leads care, supports staff and shapes the resident experience. Since Wikwemikong is a smaller home, she also serves as Administrator while balancing both responsibilities and supporting residents and staff.
“A home-like atmosphere where each elder is honored, respected and cared for in a compassionate, loving environment that promotes dignity,” adds Cooper.
A Coaching Approach to Care
Cooper’s 25 years in nursing have taught her that care is shaped by the people providing it and how they treat each elder. She oversees fifty-nine residents in a 24-hour home, where nurses, personal support workers, dietary staff, physiotherapy and medical professionals all contribute. She sees them as one team.
Cooper describes her leadership style as a coaching approach because she believes “everybody’s got good qualities and everybody contributes as a team.” Her focus is on bringing out the best in people and helping them move forward together.
A home-like atmosphere where each elder is honored, respected and cared for in a compassionate, loving environment that promotes dignity.
That philosophy shows in how she prepares new staff to work with elders. When staff members are not First Nations, Cooper teaches them her community’s ways of approaching elders, including greeting them with a smile, introducing themselves and explaining what they are going to do first. She views this as especially important because some elders attended residential school and need to be cared for with respect.
Her approach is rooted in the home’s seven grandfather teachings: wisdom, love, respect, bravery, honesty, humility and truth.
Making Culture Part of Care
Cooper sees culture as part of everyday care. She says maintaining these practices is important to residents’ well-being and helps them feel healthy. Familiar foods and activities connect residents with what they have known throughout their lives.
For example, in summer, community members bring yellow beans from their gardens, and residents help prepare yellow bean soup. The home also makes bannock, while residents who wish to smudge or drum can do so.
These practices help elders remain connected to their culture while receiving care. That sense of connection also extends to elders from other communities, who choose the home because they recognize that “the care is here” and that the elders are honored.
Building a Caring Team
Cooper understands that the care residents receive starts with the people providing it. She uses hockey to explain her approach to teamwork: know your role, cheer on your team and check your attitude.
Doing your own role allows everyone to work together. She puts “cheer your team on” into practice through the Shining Star Recognition program. Staff submit ballots recognizing coworkers for teamwork, helping others or providing excellent resident care. Every three months, the top three receive a prize, and Cooper says staff love the positive reinforcement.
She also encourages staff to be mindful of how they present themselves and treat others. Cooper believes that when people are happy with one another, it creates a happier working environment, good teamwork and happy residents.
Her advice to emerging leaders is to stay resilient, remain compassionate and continue supporting the people around you. Those qualities reflect the approach Cooper brings to care, where elders are respected, culture remains part of everyday life and staff support one another. This commitment has earned her recognition among the Top 10 Directors of Care in Canada 2026.
