CONGATULATIONS CLOVER RIDGE PLACE, MAQUOKETA, IOWA
Senior Housing would like to congratulate Lynne Popp, Manager and Sarah Sheehan, Health Care Coordinator at Clover Ridge Place in Maquoketa, Iowa for receiving a Regulatory Insufficiency Free recertification from the Department of Inspections and Appeals in May! This is a fantastic accomplishment! Lynne and her team consistently achieve high monthly scores on the monthly Senior Housing Health Services QA, which helped make their recertification process very smooth. Thanks to Lynne and her team for providing outstanding quality of care to the residents you serve each and every day!

Safety Notes
By Kim E. Coonrod – Loss Control Manager, FirstComp Insurance

Prevention of Slips, Trips and Falls
Did you know that falls on the same level are the second leading cause of all workplace injuries? On average injured employees who slip and fall miss eight days of work with thirty percent missing more than twenty-one days. Flooring and footwear are the two main causes of these accidents. Therefore preventing these common types of injuries can be as easy as developing footwear policy and regularly assessing walking surfaces both inside and outside of the workplace.

Both slips and trips result from some a kind of unintended or unexpected change in the contact between the feet and the ground or walking surface. This shows that good housekeeping, quality of walking surfaces (flooring), selection of proper footwear, and appropriate pace of walking are critical for preventing fall accidents.

Housekeeping
Good housekeeping is the first and the most important (fundamental) step in the prevention of falls due to slips and trips. It includes:

• cleaning up all spills immediately,
• identifying spills and wet areas with “Wet Floor” signs,
• mopping or sweeping debris from floors,
• removing obstacles from walkways and always keeping them free of clutter,
• securing (tacking, taping, etc.) mats, rugs and carpets that do not lie flat,
• always closing file cabinet or storage drawers,
• covering cables and wires that cross walkways,
• keeping working areas and walkways well lit,
• replacing used light bulbs and faulty switches.

Without good housekeeping practices, any other preventive measures such as installation of sophisticated flooring, specialty footwear or training on techniques of walking and safe falling will never be fully effective.

Flooring
Changing or modifying walking surfaces is the next level of preventing slip and trips. Recoating or replacing floors, installing mats, pressure-sensitive abrasive strips or abrasive-filled paint-on coating and metal or synthetic decking can further improve safety and reduce the risk of falling. However, it is critical to remember that high-tech flooring requires good housekeeping as much as any other flooring. In addition, resilient, non-slippery flooring prevents or reduces foot fatigue and contributes to slip prevention measures.

Footwear
In workplaces where floors may be oily or wet or where workers spend considerable time outdoors, prevention of fall accidents should focus on selecting proper footwear. Since there is no footwear with anti-slip properties for every condition, consultation with manufacturers' is highly recommended.

Properly fitting footwear increases comfort and prevents fatigue which, in turn, improves safety for the employee.

You can reduce the risk of slipping on wet flooring by:

• taking your time and paying attention to where you are going,
• adjusting your stride to a pace that is suitable for the walking surface and the tasks you are doing,
• walking with the feet pointed slightly outward, and
• making wide turns at corners

You can reduce the risk of tripping by:

• always using installed light sources that provide sufficient light for your tasks,
• using a flashlight if you enter a dark room where there is no light, and
• ensuring that things you carry or push do not prevent you from seeing any obstructions, spills, etc.

I was very proud to hear from an employee standpoint that the items they wanted to see changed in their communities were solely for the resident’s benefit; there were not “I’s” in their conversations or suggestions, rather, “I feel it would be best for the resident if….” This shows that we have the right team members working in our communities and they too continue to put the residents first and foremost. Thank you again to the managers and employees for allowing me to “have the time of my life,” during these meetings!

I was so happy to see a couple of “Dare to Dreams” come true for two residents this past month! Ollie, a resident at Garnett Place in Cedar Rapids dream came true when he was able to go horseback riding for the first time in 50 years thanks to the help of the employees at Garnett Place and the Equestrian Class at Kirkwood Community College! Gene Mees, a resident at Windsor Manor Indianola is achieving his dream by fixing up his 1951 Farmall H tractor right in his backyard! His dream is to have it running by the Antique Car Show that Windsor Manor will be hosting! You can read and see pictures of both of these stories in this month’s newsletter. Thank you to both Garnett Place and Windsor Manor Indianola for helping these resident’s dreams come true!

I would like to extend congratulations to Lynne Popp, Sarah Sheehan and team at Clover Ridge Place in Maquoketa, Iowa for receiving a Regulatory Insufficiency free re-certification in June!! What a fantastic accomplishment and we are very proud of Lynne and the team at Clover Ridge!!!

I would also like to thank Joy Cox, Senior Housing Operations Manager and the Senior Housing Team for updating and enhancing the Maintenance, Food Service and Activities manuals for the communities. These manuals will be distributed to the communities during the month. Thanks again Joy and the Senior Housing Team for your hard work and dedication!

From Mark Takes, Senior Housing Consultants:
A trend in senior housing development that has become rather popular over the last 4 years is the acquisition and remodeling of hotels into ether independent living or assisted living senior housing. This trend has helped numerous buildings that formerly provided temporary housing and hospitality to travelers became both affordable and elegant homes for seniors. The type of resident and length of stay may have changed for these renovated buildings but the hospitality remained. As an investment the hotel conversion needs to be treated just like a new ground up development with special attention being given to the up front research of the Market Assessment and Financial Feasibility Analysis.

Senior Housing Consultants has been involved in several of these conversions across the Midwest in one form of consulting contract or another. Our most memorable hotel conversion to date is the 11 story former Starlight Hotel that sat on the edge of downtown Waterloo, Iowa. The Starlight was originally developed as a Holiday Inn and was the premier place for Waterloo and Cedar Falls residents to hold everything from political conventions and business conferences to weddings and holiday parties. Almost every Waterloo/Cedar Falls resident over the age of 65 had been in the building at one time or another and remembers the grand ballroom on the top floor, or the pub/restaurant on the first floor.

Mark Takes,
Senior Housing Consultants.
mtakes@shcshm.com

Anti Boredom Month
By: Kathy Lansing, SH Nurse Clinician:

July is Anti Boredom Month! Webster’s Dictionary defines the act of being bored as “to weary by being dull, uninteresting, or monotonous”. Senior Housing communities certainly do not run the risk of fitting this definition! Each and every community boasts its very own Life Enrichment Coordinator.

Life Enrichment Coordinators are responsible to ensure there are meaningful opportunities for all residents. They are supported in this task by members of the entire community team. Everyone from healthcare, maintenance, culinary, and housekeeping are committed to working together in providing active and engaging activities which enhance the quality of life for both residents and team members.

How do we do this? Each and every resident is assessed and interviewed to determine their individual interests, both past and present. Cognitive and physical abilities, as well as sensory deficits are assessed. Ethnic and cultural beliefs, as well as areas of interests which have been previously unexplored are probed. All of this information is taken into consideration and a monthly calendar is formulated which addresses these interests. Since there are a wide variety of personalities in each community, you can imagine how diversified these calendars are! There are calendars which are developed specifically for the dementia and closer care areas which take into consideration any cognitive deficits which may be present. As a result of this, each community has a unique blend of activities to offer which provide maximum stimulation. This assists to maintain and enhance memory skills as well as potentially slow cognitive decline. This in turn improves quality of life and assists in maintaining and enhancing personal bonds with loved ones. Social skills are sharpened, self esteem is given a boost and physical abilities are maintained.

How can you help? Get involved! Everyone has something to offer. Consider your own skills, interests and abilities and make plans to share them with the Community closest to you. Everyone benefits!!

Our Senior Housing Communities are NOT dull, uninteresting or monotonous!!! Come on over to our house, have a cup of coffee and let’s talk!! We want you to join in the FUN!!

Kathy Lansing,
Senior Housing Nurse Clinician
klansing@shcshm.com

A DREAM COMES TRUE FOR GARNETT PLACE RESIDENT:
May was an exciting month at Garnett Place for one very special resident. Ollie Osborn’s dream to ride a horse again was fully realized. Ollie has been essentially confined to a power wheelchair for a number of years. He grew up riding horses on his family’s farm and enjoyed the activity well into his adulthood. Unfortunately, with his diagnosis, he had to give up his hobby and had not been on a horse for 50 years.

Ollie enjoying his ride on the horse after 50 years!

When the residents at Garnett Place were recently asked about new suggestions for the “Dare to Dream” program, Ollie timidly raised his hand. He offered that he would like to ride a horse again, and quickly lowered his hand. We said that we would certainly look into it and also took suggestions from other residents ranging from hot air balloon rides to a trip to New Orleans.

Privately, the Garnett Place staff met with Ollie’s wife, Jean, and gathered more information.

Garnett Place Life Enrichment Coordinator, Diane Fulknier, worked arduously to fulfill Ollie’s wish. As it turns out Kirkwood Community College has an Equestrian Center and Professor Megan Green and her crew was eager to help. Megan and her staff set aside some private riding time with on one of their Saddlebred horses. They also arranged for a safe way to transfer Ollie to the horse.

The day of the horse ride was truly memorable. Along with some of the residents and staff who attended, Jean had invited family and close friends. As it turns out Ollie was like an old pro as he rode around the grounds. The beaming smile he presented that day made it all the more special. Perhaps Professor Green from Kirkwood Community College summed it up best when she wrote, “I was so thrilled to help Ollie with his dream, I was in tears when he came so I can’t imagine how Ollie and the entire staff at Garnett Place felt! Thanks for including me….”

We are so happy that Ollie’s dream has been fulfilled!

Keith Frink, Garnett Place Manager
www.garnettplace.net