Ecumen Lakeshore Residents Sing the Praises of Opera
The residents at Ecumen Lakeshore in Duluth are discovering the enchantment of opera, thanks to the passion and knowledge of residents Jay Amato and Patricia Richard-Amato.
Jay and Pat suggested the idea of viewing operas on film to their fellow members of The Lakeshore Readers — the Ecumen Lakeshore book club. After reading 70 books together in seven years, book club members were open to new ideas, but even Jay and Pat were surprised by how popular the opera series has become.
"I have been very gratified by the number of residents who have appreciated something new and different at Lakeshore," said Jay. "I have had many appreciative comments from people who are getting exposure to the opera."
Residents of Ecumen Lakeshore now have the opportunity to view a new opera each quarter. On June 18 the group saw Gaetano Donizetti’s Opera, L’ Elisir d’ Amore (The Elixir of Love) and applauded enthusiastically. Residents stayed for discussion, h'ordeuvres and wine following the showing.
The events are open to any resident at Ecumen Lakeshore, even those who are unfamiliar with the opera. Each viewing begins with Jay briefing viewers on highlights to watch for, music and background information about each opera.
“Residents at Lakeshore come from all walks of life,” said Lakeshore Chaplain Alice Olson, who is also a member of the book club. “Events such as our book group and the opera provides us with both sharing life experiences, continuing to learn and have new experiences. The arts and literature feed us both mentally and spiritually.”
Bodybuilder Creates a Boot Camp for the Elderly and Changes Their Lives
A bodybuilding champion from West Africa, who believes improving the lives of elders is a high virtue, teaches the frail elderly how to get rid of their canes and walkers. Martin Addo, the two-time winner of the Mr. Ghana bodybuilding championship, has a storefront gym in New York City that focuses on helping elderly clients restore balance, mobility and strength. See The New York Times story and watch the video below for a testimonial from Addo’s favorite 90-year-old client.
The Ecumen IT Nurses: Comforting Those Suffering From Technology
They are affectionately known around Ecumen as the “IT Nurses” because they work in the Information Technology (IT) Department, taking care of other nurses throughout Ecumen who must stay up-to-date on ever-changing healthcare software systems.
By nature and training, Pat Wilcox and Diane Erickson are nurses first, which makes them unusual members of the IT Department. For them, the techy part of their job is just a means to advancing the quality of Ecumen’s nursing care. “We like this techy stuff,” Diane says. “We think it’s fun. But we’ll always miss bedside care.”
They are trainers, troubleshooters and counselors with thick skin and good senses of humor — traits that come in handy most every day. Almost always when their phones ring, there is a problem on the line. Usually, the technology is not working like it should or the user is not coping well.
Both Diane and Pat have been directors of nursing and held other nursing jobs. They know the clinical processes well. And, like most nurses, they have caregiver personalities and approach technology problems much like they would medical problems — with patience, understanding and reassurance. But now, instead of working at the patient’s bedside, they hold the hands of other nurses, who are trying to come to grips with new systems that eliminate paper and organize information — but not without sometimes creating frustration.
They fully understand that compassionate caregiving and dispassionate technology are strange bedfellows, but Pat and Diane try to bridge the gap with calming good humor and can-do encouragement, along with rational arguments for why the new technology makes life better for both nurses and residents.
Most nurses adjust quickly — once they find enough time away from their patients to learn the new systems. Then they begin to actively contribute to making improvements with suggestions for enhancements.
Diane and Pat remember the days when most documentation was done on paper, endlessly duplicated and filed away in a drawer or three-ring binder. These days, with mounting regulation and stricter charting requirements, records are held to more exacting standards and must be accurate, available on a moment’s notice and easily analyzable. Paper just doesn’t cut it anymore, but still manages to hang around.
Training nurses to stay current on the electronic systems is a continuous process. Most of the training is now done by webinar since Ecumen’s more than 500 nurses work at sites throughout the Midwest. In addition to being efficient, webinars also take some of the emotion out of training. “You can’t see the eye-rolling during webinars,” Diane quips.
And when they are not holding training sessions, they are taking calls to troubleshoot problems. A tense nurse might call up with a problem like: “The doctor will be here to round in five minutes, and I can’t find the report she needs.” Or, “I can’t get the data in… Or, “I can’t get the data out.” Or, “This is broken.”
Pat says because nurses are so constantly busy, when they are confronted with new systems, their first question usually is: “Now just how is this going to save me time?”
Pat and Diane agree that time-savings, while a highly desirable goal, is not necessarily the key benefit. What is more important is being thoroughly organized and controlling the information environment — a necessity in delivering high quality care.
Technology can reduce medication errors, issue alerts, track and trend patient data and allow for easy analysis. The systems, like the “Point Click Care” software currently being introduced, can track tiny changes in vital signs, and they can ensure a higher quality of medication management than a chart on a clipboard.
“Good technology makes you more knowledgeable,” Diane says. “There is power in having data at your fingertips.”
Plus, she points out, technology makes it possible for nurses to get credit for all that they do. Every action a nurse takes with a resident is easily documented, which is also important for accurate billing.
Yet technology is only as good as the user. “You still have to be a nurse,” Pat says. You still have to have clinical judgment. The clinical process drives what we do. Knowing the process is key.”
And that is why Diane and Pat’s work is so critical, according to Maria Reyes, an Ecumen quality improvement nurse, who praises their approach. “They have taken us through the transitions of so many systems,” Maria says. “They know what nurses need, and they do the transitions through the eyes of nurses. I don’t know how we could do this without them.”
The new systems allow more mobility with handheld devices that enable nurses to do their charting and assessments at the patient’s bedside. And many systems now talk to one another other, allowing easy electronic transfer of patient information to and from clinics, hospitals and pharmacies — eliminating the scramble to find paperwork.
Diane and Pat both have more than 30 years of experience, working in hospitals and long-term care centers — both working their way up to director of nursing jobs. Before migrating into their IT Nurse roles, Pat worked at Ecumen Bethany Community, and Diane at Ecumen-managed Pelican Valley Health Center. Pat left Ecumen to become a trainer for a software company. Then 13 years ago, when Ecumen started its own training program, she became the first IT Nurse. Diane admired Pat’s work and jumped at the chance to become an IT Nurse two years ago.
They meshed as a team and now think of themselves as “bookends” who have different personalities and see things from different perspectives but can finish each other’s sentences.
In addition to training nurses on new systems, they also have a mandate to make the systems better by listening to the users, monitoring their experience and making improvements. “It’s not common to have nurses working in our roles,” Pat says. “Because we understand the clinical process, we can make the technology support it better.”
Both Pat and Diane agree that the core value driving all their work is that “the resident comes first.” Fundamentally, their job is to help nurses help residents.
Pat sums it up this way: “Better workflow leads to happy staff, which means happy residents.”
Ecumen Proud to Help Minnesota Rank #1 in the Nation for Long-Term Care in AARP Study
Congratulations to senior living professionals across Minnesota! Minnesota ranks as the top state for long-term services and supports (LTSS), according to a report from AARP, the SCAN Foundation and The Commonwealth Fund.
The comprehensive State Scorecard report evaluates states based on their performance across five dimensions: affordability and access, choice of setting and provider, quality of life and quality of care, support for family caregivers, and effective transitions. Minnesota was the only state to rank in the top quartile of performance on all of these five dimensions.
Miss Minnesota 1944 Is Much Younger Than Her 90 Years
Patricia Cummings Harding, the oldest living Miss Minnesota (1944), is now 90 in chronological age. But she insists people have at least three other ages — mental, physical and spiritual — and she is less than 90 on all counts. A Star Tribune profile by Curt Brown tells her story of winning the pageant 70 years ago, then moving on to a career in Hollywood and on the radio.
Last Week's Top 5 Blog Posts- June 23
In case you missed one, here are the blog posts our online visitors found most interesting last week:
You've Got To Have Heart To Do This Job: Honoring Ecumen's Nursing Assistants
Seven Ways To Pay for Long-Term Care
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Philip Dufresne
Ecumen Bethany Community To Receive Top Business Award
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Ethelyde "Toni" Rasmusson
To read more Changing Aging blog posts or to learn more about Ecumen, please visit ecumen.org!
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Philip Dufresne
Ecumen honors Philip Dufresne, a resident of Ecumen Scenic Shores in Two Harbors, Minn., who is 100 today.
You’ve Got To Have Heart To Do This Job: Honoring Ecumen’s Nursing Assistants
It’s an intensely challenging job. It’s a deeply rewarding job. It’s an absolutely critical job that not just anyone can do. But it does not get a lot of recognition.
The Nursing Assistants who take care of the frail elderly are a special breed who give compassionate care all day long to people who are at their most vulnerable.
This week is National Nursing Assistants Week, and Ecumen honors its 1,800 Nursing Assistants for their dedicated care and commitment. (Nursing Assistant is a general job category with many more specific job titles such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Resident Assistants, Home Health Assistants, Personal Care Attendants, Adult Day Services Assistants and Trained Medical Assistants.)
“This is an extremely important job,” says Anne Diekmann, Director of Nursing at Ecumen of Litchfield. “It is a noble calling and a career to be proud of.” Nursing Assistants do tasks like making sure residents get their meals, medication, therapy and personal care when they are supposed to, and they are always on call for any immediate needs residents have.
Diekmann says the 72 Nursing Assistants she supervises “are the eyes and ears of the Nursing Department. They are the people closest to the residents every day. They are the first line of everything. They notice when things aren’t right. They are keyed into every little detail. Without them, the nurses can’t do their jobs.”
Three Nursing Assistants at Ecumen of Litchfield gathered this week to talk about their jobs.
Jody Dilley, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for eight years, says, “It’s rewarding to help someone who cannot help themselves without expecting something in return.” She chose this career after taking care of her own mother, who was dying of cancer. “I knew I had found my calling,” she said.
And many Nursing Assistants refer to their jobs as a “calling.” Kelly Peipus has been a CNA for 30 years at Ecumen of Litchfield. She describes herself as an easy-going and patient person who finds that caregiving “just comes naturally.”
Missy Kielty, a CNA for 13 years, says she feels like she is “making a difference” as a caregiver. “I love interacting with the residents, hearing their stories and experiences,” she says. “The residents thank us all the time for what we do. They apologize for needing help, but we just tell them that’s exactly what we are here for.”
To be a Nursing Assistant, the group agreed, you need to be patient, sympathetic, compassionate and caring. And Anne Diekmann added a fifth qualification: integrity. “Nursing Assistants must be unconditionally trustworthy,” she says.
To honor the Nursing Assistants she supervises, Diekmann handed out “Survival Kits” with the following items and explanations:
Lifesavers: Because you are a REAL lifesaver!
Tissues: For those times you have to dry tears, even your own.
Snickers: To remind you that laughter really is the best medicine.
Sucker: To help you lick every problem.
Starburst Candy: For those times when you need a burst of energy.
Laffy Taffy: To remind you to laugh at times when you fell like crying.
Stick of gum: To help you stick with it and accomplish anything.
Mint: Because your compassion is worth a mint!
Rubber Band: For when you need to stretch beyond your limits.
And in big type at the end: NURSING ASSISTANTS ARE ALL HEART.
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Ecumen thanks and honors its Nursing Assistants — and all Nursing Assistants — for your compassionate care and selfless service to others.
Ecumen Bethany Community To Receive Top Business Award
For its impact on the Alexandria, Minn., area, the Ecumen Bethany Community will receive the 2014 Business and Industrial Appreciation Day (BIAD) Award from the Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission and Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. See the Echo Press’s story: Ecumen Bethany Receives 2014 BIAD Award
Seven Ways To Pay for Long-Term Care
How to plan and pay for long-term care — including assisted living, memory care, nursing home and at-home care — is one of the most daunting challenges the United States now faces. Ecumen CEO Kathryn Roberts is leading a national task force looking for a solution. Roberts maps out seven possible pathways to frame the complex debate along a continuum of public and private approaches.