SEM Haven - Monthly Update

Monthly Update, March 2008

EDEN ALTERNATIVE - This month I would like to again describe the values of the Person First philosophy. This type of care is a collaborative effort to create meaningful life. We value the person no matter what their abilities or disabilities are. We consider a person's habits, routines and practices when providing care and place a high value on the relationship between the resident and caregiver. To learn more check out the following websites: www.culturechangenow.com or www.edenalt.com. Person First values include:

Acknowledges that behavior is a way of communicating
Emphasis is on spirit as well as body and mind
Puts the person before the task
Begins decision making with the person
Invites challenge regardless of success or failure
Believes part of living is to continue to learn and grow as a person

EASTER EGG HUNT - Our annual Easter Egg hunt for children/grandchildren/friends of our residents and staff will be on Saturday, March 15 from 2:00-4:00 PM. There will be food, games, prizes and lots of fun! We even have pictures with the Easter Bunny. Please mark your calendar. If you would like to donate candy or prizes please leave them at the reception desk.

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENINGS
Kugler Woods - February was a stay-in month for Kugler Woods. Every time we planned lunch at Red Lobster, it snowed! We are trying again this month. We are starting a Hillbilly Band, with a number of interesting instruments to play. We plan on performing for the other households in May, during National Nursing Home week. Look out, here we come again!
Ripple Ridge - Our Resident spotlight for February was Nancy Stansell. In February we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was a little nippy, so the blazing fire felt extra warm to us. Valentine's Day was a lot of fun for our residents and staff. We played "HEART" Bingo with live roses for the winners. We did Valentine trivia and learned a lot about the history of some of the Valentine symbols such as "cupid" and "candy". The meaning of the colors for the roses was also discussed. The residents made Valentine bags and received cards & candy from staff.
Shumard Rehab - The therapy department continues to work hard with our short-term rehab residents, making great progress. While most of our Rehab residents prefer to focus on therapy we have a few who attend activities on other households. One resident has been playing bridge and another enjoys going on outings. Everyone is invited to attend daily activities.
McCormick Landing - February passed by so fast! We made Valentine crafts and sold them on our household. Our Valentines party was wonderful. Congratulations to Louise Schmidt who guessed 1000 candy hearts in a jar (there was actually 1041) and she won a very soft stuffed animal monkey. As usual, we had great food provided by the staff and residents got bags of valentine's cards & candy. Also in February we went to TGI Friday's for lunch and have added it to our list of favorites. This month we are planning a White Castle lunch along with our regular lunch outing with the money we made from our craft sales.
Milcroft Manor - We had a wonderful Valentines party. We feasted on hot fudge sundaes, danced, and took lots of fun pictures. We are already planning our spring garden and lunch outings at the park.
Gatch Grove – We had our first women's lunch & social. It was so much fun we want to make it a monthly event. We also enjoyed our outing to Cracker Barrel and our Valentine party.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE – We will begin working on our air conditioning system this month and it will take about three months. This is necessary due to some faulty design problems in our new construction and renovated areas. Dalo Construction is handling the job. They have always been very courteous and strive for the least disruption possible.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS – March 31 is our annual Board of Director's dinner. These twelve individuals have volunteered countless hours of service to SEM Haven, our residents and staff. Their sound advice and financial management has made SEM Haven a premier facility and has enabled us to make the wonderful improvements we are enjoying.

2007 DONATIONS – We received gifts totaling $30,933 from over 116 donors to the SEM Haven employee, activities and capital improvement funds. We are very appreciative of those who designate SEM Haven as a memorial for a loved one and to those who remember us in their will. This shows that you believe in our mission and the good work that we do. SEM Haven is a non-profit charitable corporation, so you can be assured that your gifts benefit our residents or staff directly.

STAFF NEWS – Congratulations to Nikki Quick, LPN (Gatch Grove) on the birth of her 7 lb, 15 oz baby boy, Andrew Robert, on February 18. We are proud of Tiffany Stahl who completed her LPN training and passed the state exam. I would like to commend our staff on the extra effort they made to care for our residents during the bad February weather.

CHAPLAIN BILL'S RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT - Let me introduce you to Fannie Wolf, McCormick Landing household. She was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi in 1913. She grew up on a farm with her three brothers and three sisters. Two of her sisters, Ruby and Velma are still alive and living in Chicago. Fannie married early to Oscar Wolf, also a farmer. They had one daughter, Dorothy (now deceased), three grandchildren and five great-grands.

Fannie moved to Anderson Township to be with her daughter. She lived at SEM Manor for many years where she was described as a regular social bug. Her health later brought her to us at SEM Haven. Her hobbies were vegetable and flower gardening - she had flowers everywhere! She also loved the cats on the farms. She enjoys TV game shows and soap operas.

Fannie's church life is important to her. She was a member of the Free Peoples Baptist Church in Mississippi and the Missionary Southern Baptist Church in Avondale, where she was a Deaconess, and a member of the “Usher Board” and “Mother's That Pray” group. Fannie is now a familiar figure in our chapel, and often makes it to Bible Study. Fanny loves being in church and singing with us and we love having her.

SOCIAL EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS - March 5^th - Strawberry Shortcake Social; 13^th - St. Patty's Dance, St. Patrick's Day Party on the households; 21^st - Good Friday Service; 23^rd - Resurrection Sunday Service; 27^th Spring Fling.

Additional Highlights for Kugler Woods: March 6^th - Red Lobster Lunch outing; 10^th - 7 pm start of the A.L. Hillbilly Band; 17^th - 7 pm St. Patrick's Day social; 20^th - Spring Fling with Jim Hermann's one man band; 27^th - Out to the Movies.
All Friday nights are movie nights. We would appreciate any suitable movies for our residents' entertainment that family members may want to donate. VHS or DVD's are both needed. Large print books are appreciated also. Thank you!

Barb Wolf
Administrator