Stars Among Us Team Member #3

This week, Aging Services of Minnesota will be showcasing people who work in the senior living industry at their annual Institute.  The goal of their program, called “Stars Among Us”, is ”to shine a light on the people who are the backbone of our support system for seniors in Minnesota.”

The campaign is their effort to share as many stories of individual caregivers and aging services professionals.  Officially launching on February 8th, they will create an online gallery to showcase the stars.  They will also be sharing them on their social media channels and lawmakers.

Here is a link directly to the Stars Among Us campaign page if you’d like to submit someone: http://www.agingservicesinstitute.org/starsamongus.asp

For the past three years, Welcome Home has honored an individual that shows leadership  abilities in their community or in the organization with the North Star Leadership Award.  With Aging Services of Minnesota’s program, we thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase not only our North Star Leadership award winner, but to all of those team members who were nominated throughout our company.

Our next Star Among Us is Linda from Potter Ridge Assisted Living in Red Wing, Minnesota.

Linda is the RN at Potter Ridge and was nominated by two family members, and she states:

“My parents have been residents of Potter Ridge since April 010.  I could fill a few pages of anecdotes regarding Linda and her interactions with my parents in meeting their needs.  Her positive attitude certainly trickles down to the Care Providers, who interact with the residents throughout the day and night.  Linda works at making things work out for the residents, if at all possible.  She has exhibited patience, upbeat good humor, compassion and such a caring attitude in working with my folks and other that I have observed on my visits to see my parents.”

As part of Aging Services Stars Among Us campaign, they asked the following three questions.  What inspires them, why do they serve, and what do they advocate for?

Inspire:

I desired to be with older adults from childhood on.  Older adults are beautiful inside and out.  I’m inspired by their strength, endurance, trust and their life stories. I have been encouraged and motivated by many over the years.  Previous directors, and co-workers, those that believed in my skills when I didn’t.  I have had challenges as many have, I’m able to keep going on tough days by using humor along with my faith.  My husband and grandchildren are an inspiration.

 

Serve:

My career serving older adults has truly been a blessing.  My life is richer because of those I have cared for over the past 30 years.  Taking care of older adults is my passion.  The most meaningful/rewarding part of my job is being part of a very large family.  Older adults desire to learn.  Hosting “Coffee with the Nurse” monthly has provided education and empowerment to our residents, which has been a joy to be a part of.

 

Advocate:

I advocate for attentive medical care for aging adults.  In the past few months I have experienced negative outcomes when sending residents that are ill to Urgent Care of Emergency Room.  Public policy makers need to realize older adults can make decisions for themselves.  The work we do is not work, it is all about serving one another as we age.  This is one of the most rewarding occupations.

 

Calendar Girls and Guys

Every day, right before lunch, there are about 10 to 15 people that wait in the hallway right outside the dining room doors for seating to begin. This is an excellent time for socializing with each other because sometimes, this is the only time some of the residents get to see each other.

Shirley, who has lived at Potter Ridge for 3 years, always makes sure the conversations flow and offers suggestions for ways that residents can interact more with each other. About two weeks ago, Shirley commented on how nice it would be to have a calendar printed with everyone’s photo on it, but she quickly added that “I know it’s too late and impossible to do this, so just forget it.”

When someone says that, Mickie usually tries to prove them wrong, and this time was one of those times. She started asking who would like to be a “calendar girl or boy” and immediately a show of hands from the other residents excitedly told her they wanted to pose in the calendar on the month they were born.

The Sheldon Theater in Red Wing has a huge costume shop that rented out costumes for special occasions and knew right away that it would be perfect for what they were looking for.  Before long, all the calendar spots were taken and most of the models knew what they wanted to dress up as.

Within a week we had costumes for everyone. Mickie’s daughter, Elyce Jaeger, an amateur photographer, agreed to take the photos, and Design Ink, a local print shop, agreed to get the calendars printed before Christmas. On picture day, everyone gathered around to put on their costumes and makeup. It was just like playing dress-up. Everyone was “oohing and aahing”, and giggling and laughing with each other – it was a sight to see. The photos turned out great and the proofs were already completed by the printer.

On December 21, from 3:00 to 4:00, the models will be having a “meet and greet” event at the Best of Times Book store in Red Wing where you can purchase your own copy of the calendar.

The entire process in planning and developing the calendars has been amazing. The residents are still commenting about the fun they had and how excited they are to be able to see the final calendars. The socialization and camaraderie has kept the residents buzzing with excitement, what a great way to end the year!

Calendars are available for $18, plus shipping and handling (estimated at $5.00).  Proceeds go to the resident’s activity fund.  The fund helps defray costs for events and special community life programs at Potter Ridge.

If you would like to purchase a calendar or would like more information, please contact Mickie Schutz, Community Life Coordinator at (651) 388-1546.

Potter Ridge Assisted Living Community is located in Red Wing, Minnesota and is managed by Welcome Home Management, Inc. of Hutchinson, Minnesota.

Update:  The Red Wing Republican Eagle recently published a story on our Calendar Guys and Gals.

A Senior Love Story – Glen & Marian

On October 18, 1947 Glen and Marian were married – 64 years later they celebrated by renewing their wedding vows in the Potter Ridge Chapel.

Glen, 94, and Marian, 90, were married 64 years ago on October 18. Even though they knew each other as teenagers, jobs and the army took them to different parts of the country, however, they found their way back to their hometown, fell deeply in love, and married.

In 1942, during World War II, Glen, just 22 years old, joined the army. His basic training was in Texas, however, eventually, he got called to fight in Europe. During this time, Marian moved to California with her friend and worked there for several years. After four years of serving his country, Glen was honorably discharged and moved back home to Minnesota. At this time he attended school at Dunwoody and then later, worked at a machine company, and then became an instructor at a correctional facility. Soon after Glen moved back home, Marian also moved back home and started working at the local pottery shop as a painter. Finding out that each other was back home, they starting dating, fell madly in love, and were married at their local church. After honeymooning at a cabin in Northern Minnesota, they bought a trailer, moved to out of town for a short period of time, but ended up buying the family farm in their home town.

Glen and Marian have four children, three girls and one boy, ten grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. Their love has grown every day. Even when Glen was in the Army for four years, Marian patiently waited for his return. Somehow they must have known that their love would be able to withstand anything. Glen and Marian’s advice for a successful marriage would be to have faith in God, be thankful every day for each other, and to do kinds things for each other. They feel that having the same beliefs and money sense, and to not be prideful, has made them happy all their life!

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, Glen and Marian renewed their wedding vows in the chapel at Potter Ridge. Pastor Bob, their current pastor from Welch performed the brief ceremony. After the service, they were greeted with bubbles and rose pedals from the residents that were lined up down the hallway outside of the chapel. The reception was held in the activity room. Decorated for a wedding, we were entertained by Richie Zuccarelli, from St. Paul, who sang everyone’s favorite Frank Sinatra tunes and after that we all were treated to cake and ice cream. It was a perfect day for such a wonderful couple, Potter Ridge is blessed to have them living here!

From all of us at Welcome Home and Potter Ridge, we congratulate you on your special day!

 

For the love of food

In an older adults life, food plays a vital role.  How it looks, how it tastes, the texture, to how it is perceived.  Every year, we bring our Food Service Director’s together for workshops where we cover topics that are useful to them and their staff in their communities.  These workshops are designed to provide great quality, and a fantastic experience on a daily basis.

Today was our first workshop of the year and we had a great day here in our office.  Along with our food distributor, we welcomed all of the Food Service Director’s along with their Director’s of Resident Services here at Welcome Home for ongoing education.

The room was buzzing as Chef Scott was already preparing food in our training kitchen as our first session began.  Customer service plays such a large role in the overall experience someone gets when they eat food.  From the atmosphere, to the way plates are served and cleared are important.  When we talk about that experience there are four basic needs of our residents: to be understood; to feel welcome; to feel important; and an overall comfortable environment in which to eat.

We spent the next part of the day sampling different varieties of meat, poultry, and fish.  It turned out to be a diet buster for many, but the food was amazing – especially when they brought out the desserts!

The day wrapped up with an excellent presentation on plate garnishing.

We’ve included some pictures below of today’s event.  We want to thank Christine, Terry, and Chef Scott for coming today and for the presentation they gave to our team members.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Potter Ridge Singers to sing National Anthem at baseball game

On Monday, August 8th, the Potter Ridge Singers from Potter Ridge Assisted Living Community in Red Wing, have been invited to sing the national anthem at the St. Paul Saints game.  We are working out more details and will post them as soon as we can.

Learn more about the St. Paul Saints by following the link.

You can also purchase tickets to the game by clicking here.

Learn more about Potter Ridge Assisted Living by clicking here.

Hopefully we will get some great pics and maybe even video of the singers!

Hundreds of Seniors and Caregivers Rock the State Capitol to Urge Lawmakers to Prioritize Funding for Senior Care

Residents and staff from Orchard Hill, Potter Ridge, and Twin Town Villa attend the rally at the state capitol. Photo: Roman Bloemke

Residents and staff from Welcome Home communities gathered with hundreds of seniors, care providers, and long-term care supporters from throughout Minnesota Rallied at the Minnesota state capitol today to urge state legislators to take in to account the shifting state demographics and prioritize the budgets to meet the needs of seniors – the fastest growing segment of the state’s population.

Residents and staff made the trip for the rally and then meet with their legislators from, Orchard Hill in New Ulm, Potter Ridge in Red Wing,  Twin Town Villa in Breckenridge and staff from Welcome Home Health Care attended today’s rally.

The rally included speakers representing seniors, caregivers and legislative leaders, and featured Alive and Kickin’ – a senior rock and roll choir.

“As our elected officials, state legislators are charged with the mission of balancing the state budget,” said Robert Dahl, board chair of Aging Services of Minnesota.  “Yet even in tough economic times, there are values and expectations that need to remain as priorities, and one of these is making sure older adult services are available for vulnerable and elderly Minnesotans.

There is growing concern over jobs that are especially felt in rural communities across the state, where older adult service providers are often among the largest employers in the area.

Sounding younger, feeling better

The Potter Ridge Singers

Debbie Phyland has a simple theory: if you sound in good shape, you probably are.

“Your quality of life and your voice are intricately related: if people’s voices sound good they feel good and vice versa,” she says. “If you’re upset or angry, your voice reflects that. We know there is a strong emotional connection with the voice and that’s been shown in numerous research studies.”

In a paper on the research project they are preparing for publication in an academic journal, Ms Phyland, Dr Oates and Ms Tay say voice exercises may be effective in reversing or lessening negative perceptions and impacts associated with the ageing voice.

That’s from a recent article published at The Age, an online newspaper out of Australia, regarding the positive effects singing has on one’s overall health. 

 

We recently had a new resident based choir begin performing at Potter Ridge Assisted Living