Date: September 21, 2006
Contact: Barbara Schoof Conant
barbara.conant@aging.ks.gov
Director of Communications
(785) 296-6154
Note: Media coverage of the award presentation is welcome. Time will be allotted afterward for media to visit with the Secretary and facility staff.
Kathy Greenlee, Acting Secretary of the Kansas Department on Aging, will recognize the Minneola District Hospital Long-Term Care Unit’s efforts to provide resident-centered care at ceremonies at the unit at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26. Secretary Greenlee will present the facility with KDOA’s annual PEAK award for Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas nursing homes.
Carol Tedford, administrator, and the Minneola staff will be recognized for their achievements in the area of culture change and person-centered care.
“The culture of care can’t be changed without leadership from administrators and staff,” Greenlee said when initially announcing the seven adult care homes chosen to receive 2006 PEAK awards, which focus on resident control, staff empowerment, home environment and community involvement. “We applaud the staff at these facilities for creating a different kind of life for nursing home residents.”
Although attached to a hospital and clinic, the Minneola Long-Term Care Unit offers a distinct, homey appearance. Residents have been very involved in alterations to the home, expressing desired changes that were often quite different from what staff expected. They have been involved in the selection of themes and color schemes for bathing areas and have been pleased with the additional choices at mealtimes.
Employees from all departments are involved in sharing life with the residents in a meaningful way. The dietary staff plans and sponsors an annual Ladies Tea, inviting friends and residents from neighboring facilities as well as their own residents and families. They also sponsor men’s breakfasts, where the men and invited guests order off the menu.
CNAs have sponsored craft classes and parties for residents being discharged to home. The Housekeeping/Laundry Supervisor creatively and lavishly decorates the home according to the Activity Department’s monthly theme. Every fall, staff prepares and sells frozen cookie dough and uses the proceeds to buy Christmas presents for each resident. The Maintenance Supervisor raised money to purchase wheelchairs.
The community, though small, is actively involved and provides a strong volunteer base. Residents regularly attend community church services, club meetings, men’s prayer breakfasts, ball games, and school programs. The school’s music teacher brings her students to the home to practice their performances, and school programs are often repeated at the home for residents unable to attend. Local home-schooled children visit regularly and provide musical programs, plays, or slide shows, adding to the host of intergenerational programs and keeping residents actively involved in community life.
Also receiving 2006 PEAK awards are Bethany Home Association, Lindsborg; Medicalodge of Eureka; Dooley Center, Atchison; Newton Presbyterian Manor; Hillsboro Community Medical Center; and Pleasant View Home Inc., Inman. Both Hillsboro and Pleasant View have received prior PEAK Awards.
KDOA began recognizing adult care homes through the PEAK Awards in 2002. Facilities must submit an application for consideration for the honor.