SEM Haven - Monthly Update

Monthly Update, November 2009

PERFECT SURVEY!! On October 26-30 the Ohio Department of Health completed our annual health survey and found no deficiencies in either nursing or assisted living. With over 400 federal standards and over 50 pages of state standards, it is rare to achieve this honor (we also did in 2007). This shows our staff's commitment to great care of our residents!

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENINGS:
HALLOWEEN - What a wonderful day this was! We had awesome costumes and pumpkin decorating! Gatch Grove won first place for costumes with the Nursery Rhyme characters, including Mother Goose, Jack & Jill, Miss Muffet, 3 Blind Mice, The Farmer in the Dell & her sheep, The Old Woman in a Shoe, Mother Hubbard & her Cupboard, Red Riding Hood with wolf & grandma, and the Butcher, Baker & Candlestick Maker. Kugler Woods won second place for their cowboy theme - they rode in on their horses with guns on their hips. Ripple Ridge won third place for their Box of Crayons costumes. First place for pumpkin decorating was Shumard Rehab. Their pumpkin was a rehab patient complete with knee immobilizer, walker, wheelchair and hospital bed (very clever). second place was McCormick Landing's Luau party pumpkin; third was Kugler Woods' covered wagon.
KUGLER WOODS - We have been having a great deal of fun practicing for a Christmas Musical. We plan on having a dress rehearsal for the nursing side and a final performance for Family Members and residents of the other SEM facilities. Yes, we think we are that good. Other coming events: Nov. 17^th - 2:00 pm Entertainment by Mark Rasmussen; Nov. 10^th & 24^th - 2:00 pm Piano with Ruth Schaeffer; Nov, 26^th - 10:30am Thanksgiving Day entertainment by Bob Pollack (Nursing); Nov. 26^th - 2:00pm Thanksgiving Day Movie.
McCORMICK LANDING - We went out to lunch at Cracker Barrel which is a favorite of many and brought lunch in one day from White Castle. We are starting our Christmas crafts as our bazaar is fast approaching. We would like to wish everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving".
GATCH GROVE - October was a fun month. We had a Frisch's pumpkin pie social, home made scarecrow contest and Arby's for almost out to lunch. In November we are going to Montgomery Inn & Subway for lunch and are planning on preparing Thanksgiving dinner (at lunchtime) on the house this year. We are having a couple of fundraisers this month: our cookbooks make nice gifts for $10; we also will be selling Butter Braid pastries until November 20^th.
RIPPLE RIDGE -We had two fund raisers that the residents participated in, a bake sale and a lunch sale. We enjoyed lunch at White Castle's. The residents like our happy hours and the many other household activities, including making our Halloween costumes. This month we are planning to have Skyline for "almost out to lunch" and a lunch outing on the bus.
MILCROFT MANOR - We had a fun Halloween Party on our household. We carved the great pumpkin, dressed in costumes and had delicious food provided by the staff. We had lunch at McDonalds. In November we are looking forward to neighborhood Bingo with Gatch Grove. We will be baking pumpkin pies during baking class.
SHUMARD REHAB - We had "Almost Out to Lunch" at McDonalds. The staff planned a Bengal's tailgate Party on Oct. 11. All the residents & staff dressed in Bengal colors and the staff brought in lots of good food. And best of all we beat Baltimore 17-14. We also had a fund raiser - we sold houseplants, crafts & baked goods.

STAFF NEWS - Congratulations to Lindsey Fite, our newest state tested nurse aide. Best wishes to Deanna Ball and Kim Vaal as they recover from recent hospitalizations.

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR - It is with great pleasure that we announce that our own Kris Baumann, is the recipient of the "Volunteer of the Year" award from the Milford/Miami Township Chamber of Commerce. She received it at a special ceremony with a lot of prominent Milford citizens in attendance. Kris is on cloud nine, with enough plaques and certificates to cover a wall. She does so much for us and really deserves the honor. Another winner was Evans Funeral Home for the "Best Small Business Award". Charlotte Evans is a member of our Board of Director's, so congratulations to them as well.

ANNUAL HOLIDAY EVENT - Our CHRISTMAS SAMPLER OPEN HOUSE will be held December 17, 6:00 - 8:00. Mark Rasmussen will entertain in the gathering room 6:30-7:30 followed by a Christmas program with Chaplain Bill. Refreshments will be served on the households. Please join your loved ones for this special evening.

SEASONAL FLU - Over 90% of our residents have received the seasonal flu vaccine. We are on the list to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine but, according to the CDC, this population is not as susceptible and will be one of the last groups to receive it. We have seen large numbers of people in the community who have flu-type illnesses. We encourage all visitors to refrain from visiting if they have any respiratory illness. Pneumonia is especially dangerous for our residents.

HOLIDAY BAZAAR - Mark your calendar for Friday, December 4, from 10 AM TO 4 PM. Residents and staff are selling hand-made craft, baked goods and rummage items. Local vendors from Pampered Chef, Tupperware and others will be here. This event benefits SEM Haven residents. Come join us and tell your friends! Also on this day, students from St. Mark's Lutheran School in Milford will be visiting the residents on Ripple Ridge. They are bringing gifts and singing; our residents are excited to welcome them!

MENUS - Our dietitian has approved a new "Choice" menu for our residents which we began on October 25th. Michele McFarland, Amy Judd and Estrella Jordan wrote the menus with assistance from our resident council. Residents get a choice of entrees and side dishes for lunch and dinner. Breakfast continues to be whatever the resident requests. It is very important to get feedback from residents, staff and families on what you like and what you don't like. Please put your suggestions in writing to the Dietary department.

RENOVATION PROJECT - Work begins this month on the renovation of the Kugler Woods/Shumard Rehab lobby and Chapel. There will be some noise and dust as well as re-routing traffic through the nursing home to get to these areas. We are very sorry for the inconvenience - it will be worth it!

RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT - Let me introduce you to Ed and Mary Stith. They met in their hometown of Covington, Kentucky and married in 1949. In 1962, they moved to Ohio and bought a home in Mt. Carmel. Mary has been a homemaker and proudly raised four children: Ed Jr., Karen, Mike and Kathy. Her favorite hobbies included crocheting, fishing, bowling and shopping. She was also a very good cook. Today, Mary loves her books on tape and she still loves shopping. Ed and Mary have 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.

Ed proudly served in the US Army during WWII and earned a "WWII Victory Medal". He was a carbine expert by trade and also played trombone in the Army Band. Once home, he began his trade of professional electrician and worked for over 45 years, retiring from the City of Hamilton, Ohio in 1993. Ed is a proud veteran who wears a US Army ring and WWII Veteran hat. He loves the great outdoors, especially fishing and camping. Ed worked as a volunteer for the Mt. Carmel Athletic Boosters. He helped design and build their facilities and ball parks, coached several baseball teams (including his son's), and worked festivals every summer. He and Mary owned a camper at Cave Lake in Hillsboro where they made many friends. They also loved their pets: dogs Missy, Butterball, Dynamite, and Little Bit.

Mary & Ed were members of the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and continue to watch services on television. A passage for the Stith's and their family would be Ps. 9:1-2 "I will praise thee, Oh Lord, with my whole heart: I will show forth all thy marvelous works. 2. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O Thou Most High." I am glad and rejoice in the fact that we have Ed and Mary with us, and thank God for this inspiring couple. Chaplain Bill

HOLIDAY DECORATIONS - We encourage families to decorate resident rooms to help make the holidays festive. Our Fire Department has the following guidelines:

Please do not bring in extension cords unless they are approved by maintenance. Also, cords must be positioned so they are not a tripping hazard.
Doors/walls - we need to keep paper or flammable materials to a minimum.
We are not permitted to have candles, matches or any source of flame in resident rooms.
We need to keep down clutter for safety reasons.

We also do not permit tape on any surface (it ruins finishes). If you want something hung up or have any questions about particular decorations please ask for Roger Judd, Director of Maintenance. Thanks for your help!

Sincerely,
Barb Wolf, Administrator