Unique Partnership with Local Food Shelf Benefits Residents of Uptown Maple Commons in North Branch
Family Pathways in North Branch has gone mobile to help meet the needs of residents who have difficulty getting to the food shelf.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 103rd Birthday Ruth Knapp
Ecumen honors Ruth Knapp, who is 103.
Born: March 29, 1913, in Thief River Falls, Minn.
Residence: Ecumen Detroit Lakes in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Hobbies/Interests: Bowling, playing bingo, reading, visiting, music events and playing Rummikub.
Family: Married for 30 years. Now widowed. No children.
Secrets of Longevity: “I am always in good spirits and enjoy keeping active throughout the day with activities.
Occupation: Waitress.
Interesting Facts: Ruth is the oldest resident at Ecumen Detroit Lakes’ nursing home.
Congratulations on your 103rd birthday, Ruth! Ecumen honors you.
Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities Receives Customer Experience Award From National Customer Satisfaction Survey Firm
Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities has received the 2015 Customer Experience AwardTM from Pinnacle Quality Insight, a national healthcare customer satisfaction measurement company.
Based on surveys of customers, Pinnacle gave its Customer Experience Award™ to Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities for its “caring staff.” The Customer Experience Award™ is awarded to care providers who have achieved best-in-class customer satisfaction standards within their peer group.
“We are extremely proud of this award,” said Frances Fernandez, Executive Director of Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities. “It shows how much trust and confidence our customers place in the services and care we offer, and it is a reflection of the commitment and expertise of our excellent and dedicated staff.”
By qualifying for the Pinnacle Customer Experience Award, Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities has satisfied the rigorous demand of scoring in the top 15% of Pinnacle’s national benchmarks across a 12-month average. Over the course of 2015, Pinnacle surveyed a sample of Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities customers in monthly telephone interviews that include open-ended questions, as well the opportunity to rate specific categories.
Pinnacle Quality Insights has over 18 years of experience measuring customer satisfaction in long-term healthcare. The firm conducts over 100,000 surveys a year and works with over 1,800 clients in 47 states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Ecumen Home Care-Twin Cities is headquartered at 199 Coon Rapids Blvd, Suite 111, Coon Rapids, Minn., 55433. For more information call 763-755-9009 or visit www.ecumenhomecare.org.
Top Blog Post — March 28, 2016
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 106th Birthday Verna Bloom
Everybody wants to know Verna Bloom’s secret. She’ll tell you being 106 years old “surprises” her because she has no big secrets to longevity — except maybe a positive attitude.
Ecumen Pilot Study Shows Light Therapy Helps Reduce Dementia Symptoms
Results of a pilot study by Ecumen show that light therapy can improve nighttime sleep and reduce agitation among residents with dementia, who often spend their nights awake and their days asleep.
A Salute to Ecumen’s Social Workers — The Resourceful Problem-Solvers in Senior Care
Social workers are the pathfinders of senior care. They get answers, connect dots, navigate through uncertainty and, most of all, solve problems. They are the expert professionals who make sure residents get the quality care they need.
Ecumen Scholars Internship Program for MnSCU Student Nurses Accepting Applications Through April
The Ecumen Scholars Internship Program is accepting applications through April, 2016, from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) student nurses interested in working in senior health care.
North Branch Reporter and Mayor Get a Dementia Simulation at Ecumen North Branch
Mike Bleninger, a reporter for The Post Review in North Branch, Minn., and North Branch Mayor Kristen Hagen-Kennedy got a firsthand sense of what it’s like to have dementia.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
North Branch Reporter and Mayor Get a Dementia Simulation at Ecumen North Branch
Mike Bleninger, a reporter for The Post Review in North Branch, Minn., and North Branch Mayor Kristen Hagen-Kennedy got a firsthand sense of what it’s like to have dementia.
Ecumen Pilot Study Shows Light Therapy Helps Reduce Dementia Symptoms
Results of a pilot study by Ecumen show that light therapy can improve nighttime sleep and reduce agitation among residents with dementia.
A Salute to Ecumen’s Social Workers — The Resourceful Problem-Solvers in Senior Care
Social workers are the pathfinders of senior care. They get answers, connect dots, navigate through uncertainty and, most of all, solve problems.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 106th Birthday Verna Bloom
Everybody wants to know Verna Bloom’s secret. She’ll tell you being 106 years old “surprises” her because she has no big secrets to longevity — except maybe a positive attitude.
“Every day is a gift from God,” Verna is fond of saying. 
The staff at Ecumen-managed Sunnyside Care Center in Lake Park, Minn., where Verna lives, has some insight into her longevity. They say she is always smiling and always thinking about and caring for others.
Randi Handegaard, the activity director at Sunnyside, says Verna participates in all the community events at Sunnyside and is interested in everything around her. “She has held the bowling ‘ traveling trophy’ several weeks in a row,” Randi says, “and she continues to crochet and participates in the house writer’s guild.”
Verna was born on a farm near Audubon, Minn., in Becker County, March 22, 1910, and was one of eight children. Growing up, she milked cows and worked around the family farm.
Verna met her husband Willard, nicknamed “Chubby,” when she was 22. He would come to Lake Park on his motorcycle and take her on rides. When she was 24 they got married and had two children.
She and Willard owned a hardware store in Lake Park, where she was the manager. She also cut and styled hair for many years and enjoyed playing the piano.
When she was in her 70s, after Willard died, she would go to Chicago for extended periods to babysit for her grandchildren, who gave her the nickname “Big V.” She is very proud of her family.
Verna stays active crocheting baby blankets for her great-great grandkids, and she never misses a Friday Bingo game. And she is always smiling.
Ecumen honors Verna Bloom. Happy 106th Birthday.
Top 5 Blog Posts — March 21, 2016
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 100th Birthday Grace Larson
Ecumen honors Grace Larson, a resident of Clarkfield Care Center, who is 100.
In Memoriam: Chuck Zimmerman, Who Devoted His Life To Caring for Others
Chuck Zimmerman, who died March 7, 2016, retired from Ecumen a year ago after 35 years of distinguished service as an administrator of three of our campuses, a regional director and purchasing director. He always had a warm smile and a kind word — and made a huge difference in the lives of seniors.
Ecumen CIO Larry Jorgensen Named to National Commission on Aging Services Technology
Larry Jorgensen, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Ecumen, has been named a Commissioner for The LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST). CAST is the technology arm of LeadingAge, a national association of 6,000+ not-for-profit organizations dedicated to expanding the world of possibilities for aging.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Honors Ecumen’s Dena Meyer with “40 Under 40” Recognition
Dena Meyer, Ecumen Senior Director of Business Development, received the Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” honor and was recognized at a March 10 event at A’BULAE in St. Paul.
Ecumen Offering Scholarships to Direct Care Employees Under New State Funding Program
Ecumen has received a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health for scholarships to fund training for Ecumen direct care employees in Home Care, Assisted Living and Adult Day Services.
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
An Action Plan for Living to 100
So you want to live to be a 100. What’s your plan?
The Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL) can help with research-based action items to get you to the 100 mark — a milestone that more than three quarters of American say they would like to achieve.
SCL’s Sightlines Project identified three areas that are critical to well-being as people age: financial security, healthy living and social engagement. In each area, SCL identifies nine specific action steps people can take to improve their chances.
The SCL recommendations are based on reviews of eight national, multi-year studies of more than 1.2 American over two decades.
Steven Vernon, an SCL research scholar, offers a concise summary of the Sightlines Project at this link.
Good luck!