MAY – JUNE 2015 - The Neighbors of Dunn County

NEWS FROM THE
NEIGHBORS
MAY - JUNE, 2015
Calling all Volunteers…
Have you ever considered volunteering some time at the
Neighbors of Dunn County? Do you know of any community groups who are
looking for projects? The Neighbors will be hosting a Volunteer Information
Event on Thursday, May 14th at 2:00 p.m. in the Brickenridge Community
Room. Come and learn about our facility and what volunteer opportunities we
currently have available. If you are unable to attend this meeting, you can
contact Sally Rocque, Volunteer Coordinator at 715-231-4589.
A note from the Life Enhancement Department…
We are so happy to have the cold winter days behind us! The staff
and residents have already been enjoying the nice weather outdoors,
and many of the houses are working in their garden beds. You will also
see many more outings planned throughout the coming months and
especially this summer. As a reminder, our monthly calendars can be
found in any of the houses or downloaded from our website. We also
post weekly calendars in all the houses to reflect any additions or
changes that may occur.
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N E WS F R O M T H E N E I G H B O R S
MAY, 2015
Mother’s Day 2015
Mother’s Day Social
Sunday, May 3, 20145
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
all houses serving
coffee and cheesecake
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has selected the theme of “Bring
on the Fiesta!” to celebrate this year’s National Nursing Home Week which will be
celebrated May 10 – 16, 2015. Here at the Neighbors, we plan to make it a special
time of entertainment and education while bringing to life the themes of “Familia,
Vida and Amor” (family, life, and love). We have planned activities which include
our residents, team members, volunteers and the community. The complete
Nursing Home Week schedule can be found on the next page of this newsletter.
MAY, 2015
N E WS F R O M T H E N E I G H B O R S
Celebrating National Nursing Home Week
May 10—15, 2015
Sunday, May 10th:
MOTHER’S DAY
2:00 p.m. Music by Grant Bilse in the Brickenridge Bistro
3:00 p.m. Coffee and Cheesecake served in all the houses
Monday, May 11th:
HATS OFF TO OUR NEIGHBORS
Crazy hat day for residents and staff
Nachos for all staff in the breakrooms throughout the day
Tuesday, May 12th:
SPECIAL RESIDENT ACTIVITIES
10:30 a.m. – music by Rich Schroeder in EAST
1:30 p.m. – outing to Perkins for CENTRAL
2:00 p.m. – music by Honey N’ Me in WEST
Wednesday, May 13th: COMMUNITY DAY
10:30 a.m. – Outing to the Senior Center for lunch
3:00 p.m. – Visit from the Menomonie Middle School
Student Council Members
4:00 p.m. – Ecumenical Worship Service (all chapels)
Thursday, May 14th:
VOLUNTEER DAY
2:00 p.m. – Informational meeting for interested volunteers
3:00 p.m. – Appreciation Party for current volunteers
Friday, May 15th:
PICNIC DAY
A special picnic lunch served in all the houses and in the Bistro
Casual dress day for all staff
1:30 p.m.– Mystery Trip for EAST residents
2:00 p.m.– Larry Heagle performs in WEST
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N E WS F R O M T H E N E I G H B O R S
MAY, 2015
From the Administrator’s desk...
I would like to address the issue of “staffing.” Throughout Wisconsin at the present time, many
nursing homes are having difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified CNAs (Nursing Assistants) and Licensed Nurses. The reason for this is because we haven’t received any increases in
reimbursement under the Wisconsin Medical Assistance program for many years. Approximately 65% of nursing home beds in Wisconsin are filled with residents on MA. This means
nursing homes often do not have the means to raise wages & benefits that can make recruitment and retention of staff easier. The average nursing home loses about $52.11/day for every
resident we have on MA. Nowadays, a convenience store clerk can often make as much or more
than a skilled, certified nursing assistant whose responsibilities are much greater and for which
their services have significantly more implications to a customer than the sale of beer.
Oftentimes, nursing homes need to utilize services of third-party agencies to help staff the open
shifts in the facility. These “pool” agencies (as we call them) typically pay these same individuals more money than the nursing homes can because they charge the nursing homes 2-3 times
more than what nursing homes are able to reasonably pay their regular staff. Yet, administrators are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t. Perhaps this is reason enough to convince
our legislators to increase nursing home reimbursement while the proposed State of Wisconsin
biennial budget is suggesting a cut to nursing homes. You don’t read about this in the press do
you? Or the bed taxes we pay?
The Neighbors of Dunn County embarked on changes to resolve this problem here via the wage
and compensation plans for our team members as we developed the 2015 operational budget.
Without going into all the details of what we did (which was significant) and how we did it, I
will discuss the results thus far.
Results:
Services with two (2) pool agencies ended April 1, 2015. Cost of pool staff usage was reduced significantly during the 1st quarter of 2015. We have been able to hire individuals to fill our open
positions to the point where the use of our newly developed “in-house pool” is shrinking because
there are far less “open shifts” to fill. The Neighbors will begin being a clinical training site for
CNA students from CVTC in June and will start our own CNA training class on-site beginning
this summer too, so that we can make offers of employment to the best and brightest CNAs in
these classes. What this means to you: quality, consistent staffing. At The Neighbors when
problems arise, solutions are identified and when practicable, are implemented, refined, or
changed to ensure success.
The 2015 Family Satisfaction Survey results in early April showed a very high level of satisfaction this year, is higher than last year’s results and even higher than our previous best result in
2012. We are committed to bringing the best services to our community and we sincerely thank
you for your patronage of The Neighbors of Dunn County.
Anthony Manzella, Administrator/Community Mentor
MAY, 2015
N E WS F R O M T H E N E I G H B O R S
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Goodbye from our Administrative Intern
As a number of you may already know, I have been completing my Nursing Home Administrator-in-Training experience here at The Neighbors. This is a year-long effort that leads
right up to graduation from the UW-EC Healthcare Administration program. I have accepted
a position working in long-term care in Minnesota and will be moving to the Minneapolis
area very soon.
My days left here are quickly dwindling but I wanted to send a heartfelt goodbye and wellwishes to all. I am truly leaving here with mixed feelings; happy to start my career and upcoming opportunities, but sad to be leaving such a great organization where I have made
many connections with the residents and their loved ones. I have learned so much from all
of them and you as well. I can only wish that my new position will give me as rewarding of
an experience as this one has.
Thank you so much for your support, guidance, and encouragement this year and for making my time here at The Neighbors a truly enjoyable one. I look forward to coming back for
visits!
Very best wishes to all, Brittney Hunt
Father’s Day 2015
Father’s Day Social
Sunday, June 21st
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
all houses featuring
“Build your own Sundaes”
2901 Forbes Avenue
Menomonie, WI 54751