Counting on abaqis: A Walk to Remember

Spring 2015, Vol. 12, No. 1
A publication of Life Care Centers of America
Counting on abaqis:
A Resident-centered Systematic Evaluation
PAGE 5
The New Face in Cyberspace:
Life Care’s New Website
PAGE 7
A Walk to Remember
PAGE 9
A message from the president
A Spoonful ofGratitude
In his book, You’ll Get Through This:
Hope and Help for Your Troubled Times,
minister and New York Times best-selling
author Max Lucado, tells the story of his
friend Rob, who had an 8-year-old son
named Daniel.
Rob cried freely as he talked about his
young son’s challenging life. Daniel was
born with a double-cleft palate,
dramatically disfiguring his face. He had
surgery, but the evidence remains, so
people constantly notice the difference
and occasionally make remarks.
Daniel, however, is unfazed. He just
tells people that God made him this way,
so what’s the big deal? He was named
Student of the Week at school and was
asked to bring something to display to his
classmates for show-and-tell.
Daniel told his mom he wanted to take
the pictures that showed his face prior to
the surgery. His mom was concerned.
“Won’t that make you feel a little funny?”
she asked.
But Daniel insisted. “Oh no, I want
everybody to see what God did for me!”
Lucado concluded: “Try Daniel’s
defiant joy and see what happens. God has
handed you a cup of blessings. Sweeten it
with a heaping spoonful of gratitude.”
Indeed, the grateful heart is like a
magnet sweeping over the day, collecting
reasons for gratitude. And it is gratitude
that gets us through the hard stuff. Thank
you, Lord …
• For homes that provide shelter from
the storms.
• For blackberry cobbler, banana
pudding, coffee and all the food on
the table while much of the world’s
population goes to bed hungry each
night.
• For soft blankets that warm us.
• For countless diamonds sparkling
against the velvet of the night sky.
• For kind words that encourage and
bless us.
• For friends who make our lives so
much richer.
• For the opportunity to serve others
with health care needs.
OUR COVER MODEL:
Gracie Lou, corporate Top Dog
Team Spirit Award winner (owned
by Elizabeth Deal, technical writer
in clinical services at Life Care’s
corporate office)
• For the smiles and hugs they give in
return.
The grateful heart sees each day as a
gift. And that kind of attitude becomes a
present to others we encounter.
Sincerely,
Beecher Hunter
is published quarterly by
Life Care Centers of America
P.O. Box 3480
Cleveland, Tennessee 37320
Forrest L. Preston
Founder and Chairman
Beecher Hunter
President
Bob Grayson
Vice President of The Media Center
and Art Director
Leigh Atherton
Director of Public Relations
and Editor
Tanya Bumgardner
Newsletter Coordinator
and Associate Editor
Jonathan Golden
Graphic Designer
All correspondence should be
addressed to the Associate Editor.
Features
Counting on abaqis:
5 A Resident-centered Systematic Evaluation
7
The New Face in Cyberspace:
Life Care’s New Website
9
A Walk to Remember
InEveryIssue
3 Life Care Connections
13 Whatever It Takes And Then Some Highlights
14 Resident Voices: What is your favorite book?
“
InsideLifeCare
”
11
Life Care’s 2014 Annual Christmas
Card Contest Winners
12
Wound Care Council Sets Goals for 2015
Website p.7
abaqis p. 5
Walk p. 9
Preston, Life Care Center of Cleveland Celebrate 45 Years
On Jan. 4, 1970, Life Care Center of Cleveland,
Tennessee – Life Care’s first facility – opened its doors
and Forrest Preston, Life Care founder and chairman,
began his career in the long-term care industry. To
commemorate Preston’s service to the company and
influence on the industry, he was presented with a
crystal vase on Jan. 7, 2015, at a small ceremony at the
corporate offices.
Life Care Center of Cleveland recognized its 45th
anniversary on Feb. 10, 2015, with a celebration at the
facility. Life Care leadership, as well as members from
the community, were present.
Left to right: Forrest Preston; Esmerelda Lee, campus manager of
Garden Plaza at Cleveland; and Beecher Hunter, Life Care president
Mazzolini, Hawkins Win Life Care’s Danette Henry Servant Leader Award
On Dec. 11, 2014, Life Care Centers of America
presented its Danette Henry Servant Leader Award
to two associates: Tanya Mazzolini, vice president of
accounting, and J.D. Hawkins, maintenance assistant.
The awards were announced during the company’s
annual Corporate Christmas Party. The Danette Henry
Servant Leader Award recognizes an associate at the
corporate offices in Cleveland for outstanding customer
service to Life Care’s more than 220 facilities nationwide.
It is named in honor of Danette Henry, Life Care’s
former director of payroll, who passed away in early
2008. Henry was a two-time winner of the Corporate
Support Award.
Mazzolini, who has worked for Life Care for 29 years,
was praised for her willingness to take on the leadership
of the state and local tax department this year. She was
also nominated for her professionalism, encouraging
leadership style and caring heart for the community.
Hawkins was praised for his reliability, flexibility and
selflessness, often coming in at a moment’s notice to assist
associates. He frequently goes out of his way to serve
associates in person rather than over the phone.
Left to right: Preston; Johnnie Ruth Crump, Hawkins’ grandmother;
Willa Hawkins, Hawkins’ mother; J.D. Hawkins; and Hunter.
Left to right: Preston; Dr. Michael Mazzolini, Mazzolini’s husband;
Tanya Mazzolini; Hunter; Jenni Giannourakis, senior corporate
accountant and daughter of Danette Henry; and Terry Henry, senior
vice president of accounting and Danette’s former husband.
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The Bridge at Cherry Hill Helps Couple Celebrate 72nd Wedding Anniversary
On Jan. 9, 2015, Pasquale and
Mary Marrese, residents at The Bridge
at Cherry Hill in Johnston, Rhode
Island, celebrated 72 years of marriage.
They were treated to a celebration
by Ann Marie Cardilli, dining room
manager, and Marvin Carter, chef,
with the help of other associates.
The staff decorated the private
dining room, and Carter recreated
the meal from the Marrese’s wedding
reception – Italian wedding soup,
pasta, chicken, baked potato, green
beans and salad. A few family
members joined the couple to
celebrate.
“You made the day so special for us
and our parents,” said members of the
Marrese family in a thank-you note
to the community. “A special thank
you to your chef who created their
reception meal. It was delicious!”
Pasquale and Mary Marrese on their 72nd wedding anniversary
The Marreses on their wedding day
4
COUNTING ON ABAQIS
A Resident-centered Systematic Evaluation
By Ivey Lawrence, Life Care Public Relations
Quality care is a central focus in
nursing homes. However, measuring
quality using consistent data collection
is relatively new. Quality should be
measured and prioritized by what is
important to patients. The Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services
measures standard quality based on
five-star data via their Nursing Home
Compare website. What is not overtly
captured within the five-star data is
patient choice and satisfaction.
With a commitment to promoting
quality by using the CMS five-star
data, as well as from patient choice
and satisfaction surveys, Life Care
Centers of America has adopted
the abaqis® Quality Management
System. Selecting this tool was a part
of supporting Life Care’s Quality
Vision initiative that rolled out in
2014. The initiative began as a way
to continually improve quality by
identifying the measurements and
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implementation tools that will assist
in gathering and analyzing quality for
potential improvement. This quality
management system was created by
Dr. Andrew Kramer, the same man
who developed the Quality Indicator
Survey process for CMS. QIS is a
more comprehensive version of the
traditional state survey.
While the online software is
designed to specifically improve
QIS outcomes, it has been shown to
improve the outcomes of traditional
surveys as well. It is not uncommon
for nursing homes that use abaqis to
see their number of citations decrease
by an average of 29 percent, according
to current statistics. While not all
states have adopted the QIS survey
yet, CMS intends for all states to
utilize this process in the future.
“We want to constantly be looking
at ourselves and putting the right
systems and processes in place,” said
Ginger Moore, vice president of
standards and programs in the clinical
services department. “Once you get
those in place, the end result will be
better quality of care and customer
service outcomes. And ultimately
that’s the goal, to have better quality
outcomes that result in great care and
customer service. It’s a systematic way
to evaluate our quality for long-term
consistency and sustainability.”
Moore was tasked with overseeing
the implementation of the new
abaqis software within the facilities.
Along with creating the toolkit to
supplement the software, Moore
has spent several days every month
since August training each division’s
leadership team on stages one and
two of the new system. The week
after Moore’s training, regional teams
spend several days training each of
their facilities on how to implement
the system by incorporating the tool
and its data into the existing facility
processes.
Stage One
Every day in the morning meeting,
a facility’s executive director will
use the software to assign a selected
associate to conduct an interview with
a randomly chosen resident or patient.
During the day, the associate uses the
software to administer an interview in
which the resident answers questions
concerning all aspects of care at the
facility. In addition to the resident
interview, the associate conducts
several other short surveys connected
to the selected resident, including a
family member interview. This process
is repeated until 40 interviews have
been completed within six weeks. This
stage allows a large sample of data for
the second stage.
Stage Two
Based on the data collected in stage
one, the software is able to show the
facility what it needs to improve on
when entering stage two. Associates
then begin researching what the
software has helped them identify.
The program compiles the data in a
way that allows facility management
to identify areas in which the
facility may improve. Within the
six weeks following, the team works
to take steps toward improving or
maintaining the results found with the
help of abaqis. At the end of stage two,
the software cycles back to the start of
stage one – constantly engaging the
facility in either stage one or two of
the software.
“It’s ongoing quality improvement,”
said Moore.
“Ginger constantly tells the facilities
to ‘Stay on schedule. Stick with the
schedule,’” said John Fischer, rehab
director for the Eastern Division. “The
facilities have done just that and have
gotten used to the flow of the software
and know how to successfully do the
interviews.”
While all facilities will not complete
the training and implementation
for both stages until late spring, the
feedback has been positive as many
divisions begin wrapping up their first
round of implementation.
“So much of abaqis is really about
helping us with our customer service,”
said Fischer. “In the health care
industry, we think we’re doing a great
job with customer service, but how do
we know we’re doing a good job since
we’re not the customer? abaqis gives
us a chance to see our service from
the customer’s point of view, which
is going to help us meet their needs
better.”
The goal of implementing abaqis
is to wholeheartedly reinforce Life
Care’s value to take the residentcentered approach to care in which
the total needs of the residents are
addressed.
6
THE NEW FACE IN CYBERSPACE:
LIFE CARE’S NEW WEBSITE
By Jared Powers, Life Care Public Relations
In October 2014, Life Care Centers
of America launched a brand-new
company website. The previous
Life Care website was designed in
2010, and since then, web design
changed drastically with the increased
prevalence of smartphones and tablets.
It was decided that a completely
new website was the best solution to
meet the needs of our customers and
include a mobile version.
“Communication is key to the
success of any relationship, and it
comes in various forms,” shared Life
Care President Beecher Hunter.
“In today’s world, the presence of
a website on the Internet and the
opportunities it affords to convey and
receive information is vital for any
business, and that is certainly true
in health care. Beyond the content
a website may contain, its look (is it
appealing, intriguing?) and its ease
of access all facilitate the ability to
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speak to, and hear from, our various
publics. We are extremely proud of the
new Life Care website and its mobilefriendly function for an on-the-go
generation.”
The Story
Creating the new LCCA.com began
with evaluating the existing website,
taking inventory of what information
was being used and what wasn’t.
As another part of evaluation, several
executive directors and members of
leadership were interviewed for input
and dreams regarding a new website. If
a new website was being created, it was
important to gather input to meet the
needs of the field and, ultimately, the
customer.
Soon a team was formed, including
Bob Grayson, vice president of the
media center; Ryan Walburn, former
director of advertising and Web
services; Leigh Atherton, director
of public relations; David Blevins,
director of Web services; Emily Smith,
Web developer; Ryan Faricelli, public
relations coordinator; and Jared
Powers, public relations coordinator, to
build a completely new website.
One of the most significant changes
the team quickly decided upon was
to create a separate website for each
facility. In research for the new site, it
was discovered that many facilities are
found from search results containing
the facility name. Because of that,
it is more beneficial for each facility
to have its own page, leading us to
purchase domain names including
the full facility name. For example,
on the old site Life Care Center of
Cleveland’s webpage was found at
LCCA.com/cleveland. When the
new website launched, its site became
LifeCareCenterofCleveland.com,
increasing its prominence when
searched on websites like Google
or Bing.
Life Care is unique in launching
an individual website for each facility
across the country – all at once. Prior
to launch, 227 websites were created,
all containing at least eight sub-pages
with new content and design.
For the design of the site, it was
important for it to be user friendly.
One aspect was having a mobilefriendly website so that a future
resident or family member could use
the site from a smartphone or tablet.
“The mobile traffic on our website
was increasing at a high rate for our
industry,” explained Blevins. “In 2014,
35 percent of our Web traffic was from
mobile devices. We wanted to give
our user every opportunity to find
us regardless of the device they were
using.”
The website was previewed in
September 2014, when the new
design was introduced to facility and
corporate leadership during Life Care’s
Annual Management Meeting in
Cleveland, Tennessee.
The new website went live on
Oct. 27, 2014, with a company-wide
announcement by Hunter.
The Strategy
The strategy for Life Care’s new
website focused on ease of updating
the information. Today’s websites need
to be consistently updated, and with
that in mind, portions of the website
were designed to change as needed.
The first portion that can change
is the “Spotlight on Care,” which
currently features the Whatever It
Takes And Then Some Award winners
from each division. This section will
be updated on a schedule to highlight
new programs, facility awards or other
important items.
The second portion is the set of
four boxes beneath the “Spotlight on
Care” section. This section includes
four generic boxes with information
about the company, as well as six more
customized boxes, based on facility
offerings.
The most important box in this
section is the “Facility News” box
and is available for every site. The
page is only activated if a facility
has submitted a Web story in the
past six months. The news page
highlights events, resident stories,
associate awards or other such news
and accolades in each building. This
section is most important to update
consistently as it shows potential
residents and family members what
life is like in each Life Care building.
Today, the website is still changing
and evolving. The current version is
different from the launch version in
a few ways – many facility pages have
been updated and the location results
page includes icons for different
services, among other smaller edits.
And the website in six months will be
different from the version which is live
today.
“Our current setup positions us
better for the future,” said Blevins.
“This medium is no longer ‘set it
and forget it.’ Our website is an
ever-changing resource that can
be cultivated and molded to each
facility’s needs.”
In the three months after the
website was launched, overall traffic
increased by 38 percent.
A Different Perspective
By Ryan Faricelli, Life Care Public Relations
Every week on LCCA.com, Life
Care Centers of America’s president,
Beecher Hunter, shares a heartfelt
video message, just a minute or two in
length, with everyone who is part of or
visiting the Life Care family.
This weekly video message has
its roots in Hunter’s Perspectives,
short devotional messages he has
been publishing daily on Life Care’s
intranet, Village Square, since 1992.
“Some family members of residents,
who saw copies of them, expressed
an interest in getting access to them,”
Hunter shared. “Rather than a printed
version of the Perspectives to go on
LCCA.com, it seemed that a video
message was better for a couple of
reasons: (1) people are more visual by
nature and are attracted to a display
of moving visual and audio media,
and (2) such a route affords a more
personal connection with Life Care.”
Since its premiere on Life Care’s
website in 2009, the President’s
Weekly Message serves as a way to
share Hunter’s Perspectives, but also,
by changing the video every week, it
shows visitors the website is constantly
changing and encourages them to
return.
The new website design allows Life
Care to feature the weekly message in a
more prominent way that more clearly
indicates the weekly change, and a link
to the video message now appears on
most facility websites. Everyone who
views these videos is encouraged to
share the link with others.
“Health care, the mission we have
chosen, brings great personal rewards,
but it is a demanding profession,”
Hunter noted. “Visitors from the
general public also face highs and
lows, challenges and adversity, in this
journey called life. It is my prayer that
the messages shared in these videos
bring hope, encouragement and a
consideration of our blessings to the
Life Care family and for others.”
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A
to
Remember
By Ryan Faricelli, Life Care Public Relations
With great pride, Life Care
Centers of America has wrapped
up the 2014 Walk to End
Alzheimer’s fundraising season.
This year, Life Care combined the
fundraising efforts of our corporate
offices and facilities to join the
Alzheimer’s Association as a
National Team for the first time.
As a National Team, Life
Care set a company-wide goal
of $50,000. With 112 facility
teams registering under the
National Team umbrella, Life
Care surpassed that goal, raising
$107,121.53!
“The Alzheimer’s Association is
thrilled to have Life Care Centers
of America as a National Team
for our Walk to End Alzheimer’s,”
said Cindy Lowery, senior vice
president of the Alzheimer’s
Association Mid South Chapter.
“Life Care facilities across the
country have always been a vital
part of our fundraising efforts, and
this expanded relationship furthers
Life Care’s commitment to end
Alzheimer’s disease.”
In previous years, facilities
choosing to participate organized
independent teams – setting goals,
marketing their local walks and
fundraising on their own. This
year, facilities instead registered as
teams underneath the overarching
Life Care National Team. This
enabled Life Care to partner more
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strategically and effectively with
the Alzheimer’s Association and to
provide more support for facility
teams through T-shirt designs and
other marketing aids.
Another benefit of the National
Team is that it allows Life Care
to track the fundraising totals
of all of our facilities, which was
extremely difficult in previous years
when each facility had their own
separate team. Tracking as a
National Team doesn’t
affect individual
facilities’
fundraising
efforts or
individual
totals, and
enables
us to
recognize
the top facility
fundraisers
and present a
championship trophy to
the top facility.
Congratulations to our top
three fundraisers for 2014:
First place: Garden Terrace
Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence
in Aurora, Colorado: $4,805
Second place: Garden Terrace at
Overland Park, Kansas: $4,507.85
Third place: Life Care Center of
Littleton, Colorado: $4,055
Top Dog
“I am very proud of our efforts in the
fight against this dreaded disease,”
said Life Care President Beecher
Hunter. “Life Care is in its 45th year as
a long-term care provider, and from
the beginning, battling Alzheimer’s
disease has been a priority – not just
in the care we give to its victims and
the support provided for families, but
beyond the walls of our buildings to
educating the public through walks
and other means and raising money
for research.”
There is still work to be done,
however. Even with almost half of Life
Care facilities participating, we still
have plenty of opportunity to increase
participation and give more to this
great cause.
All of our facilities are encouraged
to join Life Care’s National Team this
year. Facilities may register for 2015
by going to alz.org/lcca. Remember,
all teams must register anew each year
and should use the facility name as
their sign-up name (facilities may still
use other catchier names locally at
their walk).
“Everyone at the Alzheimer’s
Association has been so impressed
with the enthusiasm and
professionalism displayed throughout
the 2014 walk season,” Lowery added.
“We can’t wait to see what Life Care
Centers of America will do in
2015!”
Fundraising can be difficult, but a little
creativity and a willingness to try something
different can give your fundraising campaign
a new leash on life and re-energize it with fun.
A group of dog owners at Life Care’s corporate
offices did just that!
The Top Dog competition was fierce as six
corporate associates pitted their furry family
dogs against one another in a competition to
see which could ruff up the most donations.
With wagging tails and perky ears, each dog
created its own fundraising team and started
barking around town to end Alzheimer’s. The
dogs held their own fundraising activities,
such as biscuit sales, a fajita bar luncheon,
a potato bar luncheon, change collection
canisters at local businesses and even pet
photo sessions.
Pawticipants in the Top Dog competition
included Winnie (owned by Bob Grayson, vice
president of The Media Center), Gracie Lou
(Elizabeth Deal, technical writer in clinical
services), Maggie (Kelly Wilcoxon, executive
secretary in the president’s office), Callie (Bart
Walker, senior vice president of operations),
Ily (Clemente Aquino, vice president of rehab
practice standards) and Trixie the Memory
Hound (Ryan Faricelli, public relations).
Gracie Lou ran away with the Team Spirit
Award, having worked to make sure that all of
the dogs competing had a chance to share in
the fundraising opportunities that Gracie Lou
planned and hosted.
In the end, however, only one dog could
be Top Dog, and that honor was fetched by
Maggie, an adorable Yorkie who used her
charming personality to raise more than
$3,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association on
behalf of the Life Care corporate team.
All of the dogs received treats at the Walk
to End Alzheimer’s in Cleveland, Tennessee, on
Sept. 27, 2014, and the Top Dog competition
proved to be a great, unique way to add to the
fun and excitement in raising funds for the
Alzheimer’s Association. Best of all, these six
dogs have a great tail to tell!
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Life Care’s 2014 Annual Christmas
Card Contest Winners
Congratulations to the winners of Life Care’s annual Christmas Card Contest! The seven pieces
of artwork pictured here were chosen from each of our divisions to adorn the
covers of our company holiday cards for 2014.
Central Division
Eastern Division
Roberta Worthington
Life Care Center of The Willows
in Valparaiso, Indiana
Mountain States Division
Barbara Waldvogle
Life Care Center of Evergreen, Colorado
Northeast Division
Tina Uustal
Evergreen House Health Center
in East Providence, Rhode Island
Southeast Division
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Pat Jackson
Life Care Center of Morgan County
in Wartburg, Tennessee
Virginia Sonier
Life Care Center of Ocala, Florida
Northwest Division
Eilene Laymance
Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington
Southwest Division
Elvira Magianto
Lake Forest Nursing Center in Lake Forest, California
WOUND CARE COUNCIL
Sets Goals for 2015
One of Life Care Centers of
America’s latest goals is to become
the premier provider for wound care.
According to the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, approximately
2.5 million patients will acquire
pressure ulcers during their hospital
stays each year. Patients who suffer
from fractures frequently and who are
transferred to the long-term care setting
for rehabilitation are the ones who are
at highest risk for pressure ulcers. It is
Life Care’s goal to provide the most
advanced care to patients and specialize
in the field of wound care to better meet
the needs of patients for both long-term
and short stays.
The plan to remodel our wound care
program began in May 2014 when I
came to the clinical department as the
director of wound management and
with the organization of the Wound
Care Council. The council is composed
of nurses and therapists and represents
every division. The council met in
September 2014 to outline what we felt
the best wound care program would look
like and eagerly began constructing.
Goals for 2015
In order to become the premiere
provider in wound care, we recognize
wound care requires advanced skill and
resources. Therefore, we have initiated
several steps to meet this goal:
Tools – The council recognizes the
need to revise policy and procedures,
treatment tools and algorithms, and
By Angel Sutton, Director of Clinical Wound Management
skills and competencies. Therefore,
work is underway to revise the resource
materials that will contain not only
revised policies and procedures but also
a standardized product formulary.
The manual will contain training
tools for all clinical staff members
to provide guidance on developing
treatment plans. It will also contain a
library of training competencies as we
seek to increase our skill level from the
standard dressing change procedure
to silver nitrate application, bedside
debridement, and, in the very near
future, skin graft application and many
more exciting opportunities.
Wound care training – There is a
need for Life Care facilities to have
credentialed wound specialists. As a
result, a partnership with the Wound,
Ostomy and Continence Nurse
Society™ (WOCN®) was made in
order to provide a distance learning
opportunity to become wound
credentialed. The Wound Treatment
Associate program piloted in the third
quarter 2014 in the Lakes’ Region,
credentialing 17 nurses and therapists.
Most facilities should have access by
May 2015.
Wound care training modules will
also be added to Life Care University.
In addition, we have also partnered
with The Wound Institute that offers
additional continuing education credits
and webinar wound training at no cost.
Login information is already available
on Village Square.
In 2015, facilities will also be
receiving wound care textbooks and
pocket wound care guides.
By providing additional training to
our centers, nurses and therapists will
become more specialized in wound care.
Wound care products – While
state-of-the-art wound care products
and modalities are needed, they can be
costly. Therefore, the council initiated
the part B rollout in November 2014,
which will hopefully help offset the
cost of wound care. The goal is to have
everyone up and running by end of
year with the Medimart wound care
supplies.
By having advanced treatment
modalities available, our nurses and
therapists will hopefully be able to
reduce healing time, which can greatly
impact a patient’s quality of life.
Wound care in the long-term care
setting has been undervalued and not
recognized for far too long. Often,
wound clinics don’t have the specialists
needed and frequent visits can be
challenging for many of our patients.
The remodel of the wound care
program will allow Life Care Centers
of America to have wound specialists
in the facilities and have the most
advanced wound care modalities.
Wound healing – That is our goal
for 2015.
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Whatever It Takes And Then Some
Highlights
Darla Dybdall, social worker,
Northwood Hills Care Center in
Humansville, Missouri
When a resident’s daughter
suffered a stroke and had to stay in
the hospital for four months, both
her and her daughter were unable
to move out of the home they had
been renting. Dybdall cleaned,
packed and moved everything out
of the apartment into a storage
unit. She also took the resident to
visit her daughter in the hospital
on a couple of occasions.
Judy Reed, wellness director, Life
Care Center of Rhea County in
Dayton, Tennessee
Reed came in on her own time to
spend the entire night sitting with
the husband of a resident who was
dying. She wanted to make sure he
wasn’t alone and that someone was
there to comfort him.
Shilo Mosberger, receptionist,
Heritage Park Care Center in
Carbondale, Colorado
When Mosberger heard a resident
was going to be discharged on her
day off, she came back in to give the
resident flowers and a hug and to
congratulate her on the successful
completion of her rehab program.
“The resident was in tears,” shared
Robert Baker, executive director.
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Agnese Bianchi, dietary aide,
Cherry Hill Manor Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center in Johnston,
Rhode Island
When a blizzard struck New
England in January 2015, Bianchi’s
ride to work did not arrive.
Knowing that she was needed,
Bianchi, with her husband, walked
2 miles in the snow to make sure
she was there by her 4:30 a.m. shift
so the residents would get their
breakfast on time.
Nicole Smirke, licensed practical
nurse, Cascade Park Care Center in
Vancouver, Washington
While Smirke’s care for her
residents often goes above the
call of duty, she made this past
Halloween particularly special for
a resident. With the help of one
of her nursing assistants, she made
a costume for a disabled resident.
The bee costume even had a stinger.
Smirke then escorted the resident
to the facility’s Halloween party.
Ellis Summa, occupational
therapist assistant, Life Care Center
of Orange Park, Florida
After seeing wheelchair-bound
patients struggle with pulling
oven racks out and pushing them
in safely during a therapy session,
Summa came up with an idea. He
cut several levels of grooves into
the end of a paint stirrer, making it
easier for patients to push and pull
their oven racks. The little device
has become so helpful and popular
that most patients request them.
Summa now coats each device with
a heat resistant spray, stamps it with
a facility logo and attaches a leather
strap on the end, allowing it to be
easily hung.
Chris Roberts, social worker, Life
Care Center of Paradise Valley in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Prior to a patient’s discharge,
Roberts donated and delivered
her own bed to the patient’s home.
She wanted the patient to have a
bed on the first floor of her house,
preventing her from needing to
take the stairs and possibly falling.
Resident Voices
My favorite book is the Bible. It is my
teacher and guide on how to live my life.
Pauline Solomon, Life Care Center
of Greeneville, Tennessee
My favorite book is A Street Cat Named
Bob by James Bowen. It’s the story of one
man and his cat and how they found hope
on the streets. James Bowen is a street
musician in London. He found Bob in
2007. I read this book while I was in the
hospital for a few days, and it cheered me
immensely. Very heartwarming – I had a
waiting list of those wanting to read this
book!
Mary C. Taylor, Life Care Center
of Stoneham, Massachusetts
My favorite book is I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.
The author’s use of symbolism
is top quality. For example, her
grandparents’ store was not just
a place to buy things. It was also
a storehouse of knowledge,
learning, love and support for the
community. I also think the author
is very open in telling her life story.
The book made me laugh, cry and
think. Maya Angelou’s book is a
great story about life.
Cynthia D. Morrison, Life Care
Center of Altamonte Springs,
Florida
My favorite book is Christy by Catherine
Marshall. The reason I liked this book is
because it reminded me so much of my
childhood days and growing up in the
mountains when times were hard.
Henrietta Feasler, Life Care Center
of Hixson, Tennessee
favorite book?
What is your
Dear and Glorious Physician by Taylor
Caldwell. It took years for Caldwell to
write. It is about the life of St. Luke. It
follows his life as he writes about the
paths of the gospels of our Bible.
Elizabeth Casfiglia, Life Care Center
of Pueblo, Colorado
Philo Vance novels by S.S. Van Dine.
These were my favorite books because
of the way they were written. You had to
really pay attention to the story. The book
really worked your brain.
Stephen Ormrod, Evergreen House
Health Center in East Providence,
Rhode Island
My favorite books are anything by Nora
Roberts, especially her four books about
brides. The books are so full of warmth
and laughs. Each of the brides is very
different. Each has a different idea about
how her wedding should be, and each
has a different specialty and tend to the
making of their shop called Vows. I’ve
read each of them three or four times.
Judy Evans, Life Care Center of Valley
View in Boise, Idaho
Gone With the Wind by Margaret
Mitchell. I like this book because of the
love stories and struggles throughout the
book. I compared them to the struggle of
the Irish, for I am Irish.
Teresa Esval, Life Care Center
of Hendersonville, North Carolina
Encyclopedias. These books give us facts
about things all over the world.
Anderson Spivey, Garden Terrace
Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence
at Fort Worth, Texas
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I liked the
book because it’s complicated. It has a
mixture of plots and subplots. It discusses
a different culture.
Georgia Row, Las Fuentes Care
Center in Prescott, Arizona
My favorite book is Home Front
by Kristen Hannah. I like the book
because it’s realistic. Michael and
Jolene Zarkades marry. She is in
the service, and she has children.
It is a realistic portrayal of family
life, balancing jobs, careers and
children, as well as her duty to her
country. It is a story of loss, hope,
heroism and love, and the toll it
takes on a family.
Margaret Corbett, Life Care
Center of West Bridgewater,
Massachusetts
Mystery novels because I like the
suspense, and there is always a goodlooking man involved. It’s like living on
the edge of life.
Jane Armstrong, Life Care Center
of Jefferson City, Tennessee
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