Mississippi nursing home residents in spotlight during week of “ageless love”
MISSISSIPPI HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
Contact Vanessa Henderson, 601-956-3472
www.mshca.com
Mississippi nursing home residents in spotlight during week of “ageless love”
For a full week every May, activities directors and other staff in nursing homes throughout Mississippi go a bit whacky, maybe overboard – they pull out all the stops to celebrate and shower special attention on the people who live in 200 public or proprietary skilled nursing homes.
This year, beginning on Mother’s Day for the 41st consecutive year, nursing home residents will experience the nationwide theme of “Love Is Ageless.” Mississippi Health Care Association (MHCA) and the American Health Care Association through sponsorship aim to build better relationships among the generations, strengthen relationships with family members, celebrate quality of life and care issues, and recognize all staff members who demonstrate excellent care giving.
But the individual residents get special spotlight attention through parties, extraordinary food functions, entertainment and social events, and opportunities to take part in unusual activities.
Vanessa Henderson, executive director of MHCA – representing 220 long term care facilities including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and retirement communities plus 80 associates – said this annual event dedicates time to “celebrate the people who planted the seeds that have made our communities grow stronger. They have been the teachers, the business people, the church leaders, the parents and other central figures who produced all of the good things that we now enjoy. This week gives us a chance to honor these special residents, as well as the families, staff, volunteers, and communities who are advocates for quality of life and care for nursing home residents.”
The Honorable Governor Haley Barbour proclaimed May 11-17 Nursing Home Week, urging citizens to visit nursing home residents and recognize “the high quality of care that our long term care facilities are providing.”
Henderson encourages everyone to visit nursing home residents that week: “Giving from a place of love to enrich another person’s life is an act neither of you will forget. Communicate with the individuals you visit; listen to what they say — everyone has a memory of a love in his or her life, whether it is a spouse, a grandchild or a childhood friend.
“Encourage story sharing of love from their past with each other,” she suggested. “We can even convey our love without speaking – a smile for a friend, a hug, a thankful nod. But why not get back in touch with the poets of yesteryear and express our love for others through language?”
The set-aside week offers every Mississippian the special occasion to pay tribute to or memorialize individuals they know who’ve lived in nursing homes. Monetary donations to the Mississippi Health Care Foundation directly benefit residents through paying for otherwise unattainable personal/medical needs such as eyeglasses and dentures, awarding Make-A-Memory gifts to residents, and giving scholarships to long term care staff who desire higher education achievement. Tax-deductible monetary gifts can be mailed to MHC Foundation, 1076 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, MS 39157; the Foundation staff will acknowledge the gift to both donor and honorees or families of those memorialized.
During National Nursing Home Week, most nursing homes give each resident a chance to shine. Some feature both residents and staff, nodding to a bygone era and revealing through walk-a-thons, devotional services, arts and crafts events, and other social activities the extraordinary talents of residents and caring concern from long term care workers.
“Residents of nursing homes now are very different now compared to 30, 20, even 10 years ago,” said Henderson. “Today’s long term care resident requires skilled nursing care, and each desires dignity, choice, and comfort. At the same time, facility owners and staff want their residents to be safe, optimally healthy, and happy; so they have elected to improve the way they conduct business.
“Long term care facilities and assisted living centers offer more now than ever before; they offer choice, customized care for each individual, and an evolving, ever better culture,” she said. “Staffs are different, too – representing a wider array of health specialists, including social workers, activity therapists, and chaplains – and better trained than ever before. Nurses and certified nursing assistants, particularly, are much better educated and bring more skills to the work place.”
Mississippi long term care professionals continue to concentrate focus on efforts begun in 2007 on that concept of change – especially relating to the individuals who reside in nursing homes and assisted living centers and their right to more choices in their home environment, care options, and social activities.
Four directors of nursing at homes from Brandon to Gautier, Magee, and Picayune described at a long term care seminar for nurses earlier this spring how their facilities’ development of the “culture change” concept is helping them and, more importantly, their residents.
Directors of Nurses who spoke shared specific examples:
- JaCinda Shaw, Covenant Health & Rehab of Picayune, told them that putting a pool table in the facility has been especially welcomed by men – “Those who live with us and the visitors. You know, men are not very good at just visiting or sitting idly while their families visit; so we gave them something they would like to do.”
- Renee Kennedy of River Chase Village, Gautier, worked years as a hospital nurse before trying long term care. “Now I sleep with a pen and pad in my hand,” she said. “If I wake up at 3 am with an idea, I jot it down to make a difference in others’ lives the next day. Ever night I go to bed thinking, ‘What can I do tomorrow to make the day better for somebody?’”
- Kay Brannon, Hillcrest Nursing Center, Magee, talked about family style dining, which allows bonding, gives residents’ choices, and puts the person in control; resident outings thanks to a grant-funded facility bus; kitchenettes for those who like late night snacks; and providing Wii games for therapy and exercise – “They love to play each other and with the staff, too.”
- Janet Butts, Brandon Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, said, “Culture change begins when a job candidate applies for the position. When a new employee comes in, every one gets a three-day orientation. Our residents range from 36 to 100-plus years in age – that’s a huge span, and we do everything we can think of to make each comfortable, part of the home’s life, and important as individuals.”
Gwen Causey, MHCA director of long term care quality and regulatory services, said their stories resonate because they’re real.
“Listen, I’ve worked in long term care, starting on the floor as a licensed practical nurse and then – after going back to school to earn my BS degree – as a registered nurse supervisor,” Causey said. “With the aging of Baby Boomers – The Age Wave – the number of people who will require long term care will grow bigger every year. This huge aging population promises problems, opportunities, challenges, and a whole new way of thinking about daily living to assure a safety net for our country’s most vulnerable population of seniors and disabled citizens.”