Mandatory Consultation – 4 months later, how’s it going?

Roman Bloemke, Director of Operations at Welcome Home was quoted in a story recently published on the Assisted Living Federation of America’s news releases.

The story takes a look at Minnesota’s new requirement regarding mandatory consultation since it was implemented October 2011.

While we are for education and information, we believe that this requirement is at the wrong stage in life.

Consumers should have this knowledge when they are in the early 40′s and 50′s. If done at that time, something similar to the “55 Alive” program where drivers get a discounted insurance rates after taking a class, would seem to be more of an appropriate time.

As we age, we all want to know what our options are. If we learn information early enough in our lives, we can begin planning for our future.

What are your thoughts?

Home for the Holidays

By Todd Corrow, Marketing Associate at Legends at Heritage Place and Lisa Lehmann, Director of Resident Services at Twin Town Villa.

As families gather together during this upcoming Holiday Season, some may face seeing changes in their parents.  Our goal is to assist all families with these difficult decisions.  We have started a support group for all families in which the topics cover how to make the best decisions for everyone involved.  When a family comes to us looking to take that next step, we sit down with all of them and take the time for them to communicate exactly what they are looking for and what concerns they have.  We assist the families with finding the solution that works best for them.

Another area that we emphasize is that even if Mom and Dad come to live with us, it doesn’t have to mean that Mom and Dad can’t host the family get together.  This Thanksgiving we are working with several of our residents to bring their family to the community for their traditional family gathering.  We know this will mean the world to not only the residents, but to all of us here.  We will have an opportunity to visit with the family and all our residents will have the opportunity to share in the joy of family.

We as a staff strive to allow the families to become just that – a family again, with the caregiver role becoming ours.  This way the spouse can again become the husband or wife without the stress of taking care of the other, we want them to regain the smiles and relaxing times that we all cherish.  We want the sons and daughters to be able to bring the grandchildren in and have the smiles brighten up the entire building.  Smiles and laughter truly possess a healing power and create a warm and positive environment.

Coming home for the holiday’s can sometimes be an eye opener when you come home to an elderly parent(s).  Sometimes it is amazing what declines we see this month that we didn’t notice six months ago when we were home last.

Things you might notice or signs that you should keep an eye out for –

•  Your parent seems depressed. Depression is common in seniors who are isolated and alone.
• Dad is reaching for the backs of the furniture while getting around the house, leads us to believe that he is losses his balance more often, making it more difficult to get around.
• You notice frequent bruises, although your parent may try to cover them up. This may be a sign of falling or mobility and balance problems.
• Your parent wears the same clothes over and over again or neglects personal hygiene. This can indicate that doing laundry and bathing is physically challenging.
• Did you notice that mom isn’t wearing any of her favorite blouses?  She is having a hard time buttoning them up.
• Mom seems more confused lately, she maybe having trouble keeping her medications straight.  Mixing up the times and doses can lead to more confusion.
• The house and yard isn’t as clean and tidy as it used to be.
• Your parent forgets things, including doctor’s appointments and when to take medication. This may be due to memory loss.
• You notice strange or inappropriate behavior. For example, your parent may dress inappropriately for the weather. This can be a sign that your parent is experiencing confusion.

So as we gather for the Holidays lets be thankful for the opportunity to come together and create lasting memories.  If you see things that concern you do not fear what the future holds embrace the opportunity to work with a Community which will provide a safe and caring environment where there will be opportunity to create more memories.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Just a day away….(MN state shutdown) UPDATED

photo courtesy: Roman Bloemke

With a possible state shutdown just a couple of days away, there is an ongoing fear about what will happen with Medicaid payments to providers.  Over the past two weeks, there has been a lot of jostling for position by both sides.

Through the work of Aging Services of Minnesota and the Long Term Care Imperative, they were able to get Governor Dayton to make adjustments in his brief to Ramsey County that would include these services as an essential service.

This morning (Wednesday), Pat Kessler from WCCO-TV reports that a Ramsey County judge orders govt programs to continue in shutdown: Medicaid, food stamps, nursing/vets homes, health services. Ramsey County Judge Gearin’s government shutdown order funds only limited services; reflects Dayton plan.

This is really good news for older adults and providers in the state who were preparing for the unknown.

UPDATE:

“On behalf of the nearly 60,000 Minnesotans and their families who rely on dedicated caregivers for daily care and support, we are relieved by the court’s ruling,” said Gayle Kvenvold, president and CEO of Aging Services of Minnesota. “However, a shutdown will not be pain-free. We need a responsible state budget that will protect Minnesota’s most vulnerable adults.”

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!

Attorney General Files Court Documents on Essential State Services

News from Aging Services of Minnesota:

Today, Attorney General Lori Swanson initiated a court action to protect essential services and filed documents in Ramsey County Court on behalf of the state. In her petition to the court, the Attorney General requested that the court mandate that essential state government services continue in the event that the budget impasse is not resolved. The Attorney General also requested that each of the state agencies determine what are core functions performed by it. The list of core services would be verified by the Department of Management and Budget. The Attorney General also proposed that a special master be appointed by the Court to make recommendations that may arise from this action.

Without a court order providing for the continued provision of essential state services, the executive and judicial branches of state government would completely shut down¹.

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.

Tons of stuff going on!

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who came out to see me speak with a good friend of mine at the Assisted Living Federation of America conference and expo last week in Orlando.  I was incredibly nervous, but I calmed once I saw a few familiar faces out there.  A quick thanks to my friend Traci for inviting me along to speak at such an awesome event!

Also, thank you to everyone who tuned in for our most recent Welcome Home LIVE web-broadcast!  It was great to see so many people engaged in great discussion.

I just wanted to take a quick minute and update all

Fighting Ageism in America

ALFA Short Film Competition winner - "Mind the Gap"

We recently returned from the Assisted Living Federation of America conference and there was a common theme we would like to share.

In today’s society, there seems to be a lot of “ageism” out there.  Ageism is defined as discrimination against people on the grounds of age; specifically, discrimination against the elderly.  This year, ALFA held a film competition that could help fight ageism in America.  If you click here, you can watch the short film that won the competition.

Then just yesterday, I came across this awesome story on MSNBC.com of a gentleman, who dreamed at a younger age, of crossing the Atlantic ocean in a raft.  At 85 years old, he set out with three of his friends to build the raft and set sail on the 2,800 mile journey.

Aging Parents: 5 warning signs of health problems

Recently, I had a chance meeting with one of our families outside of the work environment and we got to talking about a variety of things.  One of the points of conversation that was most interesting is the process that families go through when looking for a senior living community for their parent(s).  More times than people realize, decisions to make a move in to an assisted living community are based out of necessity.  We all talk a lot about services and amentities or features of our properties that seperate us from everyone else, but that isn’t what’s really important, and something they probably won’t remember when they get home to make their decision.

As providers, we have to remember that when someone reaches out to our communities, that we take in to consideration all of the emotions that this family member is going through.  Many times, as family members, we go out to visit our parents over the weekend and realize that something isn’t quite right and begin our search/fact finding mission.  This is very difficult time for families.  Imagine for a moment that you are out for a normal visit to your parents and realize that my parents are getting older.  Sometimes it can feel as though it happened overnight.  In those instances, families that are coming to visit us are in an emotional state.  It’s incredibly important to realize the stress they are going through.  They have called your community, or walked in the door to have us help them solutions and answers.

Welcome Home visits with Minnesota legislators

Trincy Faas, Linda Beyers (Potter Ridge Assisted Living-Red Wing) and Roman Bloemke (Welcome Home Health Care-Hutchinson)

This past week, we were privileged to join with 300 other senior living providers at the Minnesota state Capitol as we visited with our state representatives.  Visiting from Welcome Home were Linda Beyers, RN and Trincy Faas, Director of Resident Services at Potter Ridge Assisted Living from Red Wing, Minnesota; Loree Besser, Director of Resident Services at Excelsior Place Assisted Living from Baxter, Minnesota; and Roman Bloemke, Director of Operations from Welcome Home Health Care from Hutchinson, Minnesota.

At the heart of our meeting were the proposed changes to the Elderly Waiver program and its impact on our residents, our team members, and to the overall local economy.