Elm Crest Newsletter Spring2016

SPRING 2016

AT ELM CREST

The 6 Dimensions of Wellness In Action at Elm Crest Elm Crest Receives 4-Star Designation Highlighting Alzheimer’s and Memory Care

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Elm Crest Health Center Awarded 4 Stars by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Elm Crest Senior Living Community is celebrating its recent 4star designation awarded by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). This rating, which is the highest rating achieved by any nursing facility in Shelby County, is awarded only after a community demonstrates above average services based on staffing levels, quality measures, and health inspections.

“This rating of excellence goes to show the level of commitment, caring, and quality that the staff of Elm Crest is dedicated to

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providing our residents every day,” says Tim Nauslar, Administrator of Elm Crest Senior Living Community. “Our residents and their families can count on getting the very best care at Elm Crest, whether they live in Independent Living, Assisted Living, or in our Health Care Center.”

Other nursing homes in the Shelby County area have either 2 or 3 stars on the CMS rating system, and none matches the level of quality that the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services has recognized at Elm Crest Senior Living Community.

“Whether someone chooses to make Elm Crest their permanent home or chooses to receive short-term rehab after injury or surgery, they can be confident that they are getting the best quality care around,” said Nauslar. “We are very proud of our staff and the care they provide our residents, and we are very proud of our 4-star designation

by CMS.” To view Elm Crest’s rating online and those of other nursing homes in the area, visit www.CMS.gov.

Fundraising for Alzheimer’s a Passion at Elm Crest

The Elm Crest Walk to End Alzheimer’s team

At Elm Crest Senior Living Community, providing high quality care for our residents with Alzheimer’s is all part of a day’s work. But for our staff members, the commitment to conquering this disease goes much further.

Throughout the year, staff members from all departments hold fundraisers to raise money for Team Elm Crest and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, an annual event sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and held in Harlan each fall.

These fundraisers are different than a traditional bake sale or pledge campaign. At Elm Crest, the staff gets creative and has a

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lot of fun with their ideas. For example, every Friday Elm Crest employees can donate a dollar for the privilege of wearing jeans to work. In keeping with the color associated with Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness, the staff held a Purple Cow and dessert bar fundraising event.

This winter, residents and staff enjoyed a chili cook-off event during which they were able to purchase all the chili they could eat. In the spring, another fundraiser invited the public to come have their car washed at Elm Crest for $5.

The most popular fundraiser takes place multiple times

throughout the year. Nurse Mary Wilwerding, baker extraordinaire, makes hundreds of gourmet cupcakes to sell, donating all proceeds to the Alzheimer’s Association. With flavors like red velvet, lemon blueberry, and chocolate mint, it’s no wonder that Mary’s cupcakes really bring in the dough!

These events pay off for the Alzheimer’s Association. At last year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Elm Crest Senior Living raised the most money out of all groups participating in the walk.

It was a proud moment for the staff—demonstrating that our commitment to defeating Alzheimer’s runs deep.

ElmCrest.net

Elm Crest & ABHM expand memory care in response to

A GROWING DEMAND As people live longer, healthier lives, their needs for healthcare and wellness services change.

Studies have shown that the older a person gets, the greater their risk for developing memory issues such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. The reality is that one in eight people age 65+ has Alzheimer’s disease and almost half of seniors 85 and older have been diagnosed with some degree of memory impairment. As the population of seniors increases dramatically every year, so does the demand for memory care services. Senior living communities all over the country are creating new memory care facilities to keep up with demand.

At Elm Crest, part of the Ameri-

can Baptist Homes of the Midwest, (ABHM) we have been serving residents and families facing memory care issues for more than 20 years in our Sondergard Memory Care Wing. We offer resident and families an option of private or semi - private rooms in this area of the community that is specially designed to help those with memory loss feel comfortable and live to their greatest potential. In fact, five of our fellow ABHM communities have opened new memory care centers within the last 18 months.

In Wheat Ridge, CO, Mountain Vista recently unveiled a brand new building dedicated exclusively for assisted living memory care, with 22 private memory

care suites and an expanded program of support services.

Nearby in downtown Denver, The Community at Franklin Park converted the top floor into a comprehensive memory care center. Trail Ridge in Sioux Falls, South Dakota expanded its existing assisted living services to include 22 private apartments in a new dedicated memory care wing. Wisconsin’s Tudor Oaks and Minnesota’s Thorne Crest have both undergone similar expansions, offering new memory care centers and services.

Here in Shelby County the Elm Crest memory care center continues to lead the way, offering residents a safe and comfortable environment for residents living with concerns related to memory loss. Our specially trained staff develop personalized care plans and activity programs to meet the unique needs of each resident.

Elm Crest and ABHM memory care programs are based on our commitment to care for the whole person and address each of the six dimensions of wellness. Families can be assured their loved one is safe and living to their greatest potential as a resident of Elm Crest’s memory care center.

“It was hard to admit my mom needed memory care,” one family member shared. “It was more difficult for me to move my mom than it was for her to actually make the move. We are so relieved because she is so happy and having fun again.”

SPRING :: 2016

The Six Dimensions of Wellness in Action Whole person wellness is one of the core principles of Elm Crest and ABHM’s mission, “to create healthy Christian communities that empower older adults. We provide choices for housing, services, and technology that enrich body, mind, and spirit.”

One way our mission is carried out is through the Six Dimensional Model of wellness developed by the National Institute of Wellness. The categories of social, vocational, spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional wellness help guide many of the decisions we make regarding the services, opportunities, and atmosphere that enable our residents to reach their optimal state of wellness.

At Elm Crest, we actively renew our commitment to wellness with programs and activities designed to promote the six dimensions throughout daily life.

Social

Elm Crest encourages residents to stay socially connected both in and out of the community.

Family-friendly campuses make it easy to maintain family bonds, while community events such as holiday parties and day trips foster strong social ties amongst residents in the community.

Vocational

Personal fulfillment can be found by continuing to engage in learning, work, and volunteering throughout one’s lifetime. Elm

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Crest residents have plenty of opportunities to showcase talents and learn new skills. Amy Hursey, Elm Crest Activities Director states, “residents attend education seminars and presentations hosted at here at the Community. Topics range from financial and historical to gardening, canning and crafting demonstrations, where residents are often involved in the presentation.”

dependent living resident’s a free membership to the Petersen Family Wellness Center located just down the street. The membership gives residents full access all the equipment, pool, along with the classes and other activities. By remaining active seniors can maintain and even improve balance, strength, flexibility and coordination, all to enContinued on page 7:

Spiritual

In 2011, ABHM set out to cultivate a more robust Spiritual Services program for residents.

All ABHM communities adopted the Association of Professional Chaplains’ Standards of Practice for Professional Chaplains in Long-Term Care, which gave us a template for establishing consistent programs in each community. Today, ABHM has chaplains at every community, and we continue to expand and improve our spiritual programs.

Physical

ABHM V.P. of Quality and Program Development Tim O’Brien states, “Being physically active gives us independence, confidence, and allows us to do the things we enjoy.” To help residents feel their best, ABHM encourages residents to remain as active and physically fit as possible and offers wellness activities in every community.

To help meet the fitness needs of residents Elm Crest offers in-

ElmCrest.net

Don’t Know How to Quilt? SEW WHAT!

Quilting Club a Hit at Elm Crest

When residents move into the Assisted Living Community at Elm Crest, some worry whether they will be able to continue the hobbies they’ve loved for years.

At Elm Crest, the answer is always a definite YES! Many residents of Assisted Living at Elm Crest are accomplished quilters and seamstresses who have enjoyed the hobby for most of their lives. Though some residents bring their sewing machines with them to Assisted Living, others miss quilting and sewing on a regular basis.

Interest was high when

SPRING :: 2016

Kathy Goede, Director of Assisted Living/Independent Living at Elm Crest, pitched the idea of starting a quilting club to the residents. Soon, plans for the club fell into place. A volunteer leader was recruited and club members came up with a name, “Sew What?”

The first sewing machine was purchased with funds raised at the annual Assisted Living Garage Sale and the Elm Crest Auxiliary purchased a second one for the new club. Two residents donated a quilting frame and other supplies. By January of this year, the club was ready to get to work.

The club has since grown to 10 members and meets weekly.

Members of all skill levels are encouraged to join in the fun and

many members have already completed their first projects.

The group has also started their first quilt, and when it is completed it will be raffled off to raise money to purchase more supplies for the club.

The quilting club has been very popular in our Assisted Living community and is just one example of the ways residents continue to live fulfilling and active lives at Elm Crest. With several activities and social events offered at Elm Crest every day, residents in all areas of the community keep as busy as they want be.

To see a complete monthly lineup of activities at Elm Crest, visit our website at ElmCrest.net.

You’ll be amazed by all we have to offer.

Elm Crest

Continued from page 5: sure they are living to their greatest potential.

Senior Living Community

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2104 1 2 th St., Harlan, IA 51537

www.ElmCrest.net

Mental

Continuing to engage and challenge our mind with creative and intellectual pursuits as we age is vital to our wellbeing, helping to cultivate self-fulfillment and satisfaction. Elm Crest residents enjoy visits to community art galleries, participating in book clubs and crafting activities and gathering for musical and educational events.

Emotional

For some people, aging can come with a variety of intense emotional and lifestyle changes that cause stress.

It’s important to have a compassionate support system in order to maintain emotional health and stability during challenging periods.

Elm Crest staff, social workers, chaplain, and fellow residents all come together to create a supportive community that offers the freedom, comfort, and security that sustain us through life’s emotional moments.

In promoting the six dimensions of wellness at Elm Crest, we hope that our residents recognize the interconnectedness of wellness within the community. By living out the full potential of each dimension in their own lives, residents contribute to an environment and social network that supports wellness for the entire community.

Elm Crest is owned and operated by American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a not-for-profit provider of senior health care since 1930.

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ElmCrest.net

AT ELM CREST

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SPRING 2016

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Elm Crest is a faith-based, not-for-profit senior living community. Our mission is to create healthy Christian communities that empower older adults. We provide choices for housing, services, and technology that enrich body, mind and spirit.

Elm Crest’s Health Center was recently awarded a 4-star rating by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid!

Elm Crest is Shelby County’s highest-rated nursing facility and the ONLY one with a 4-star rating. This rating is awarded only after a community is considered above average in staffing levels, quality measures, and health inspection.

This award clearly illustrates Elm Crest’s dedication and commitment to delivering superior service to residents in the Harlan area!

Elm Crest Senior Living Community is owned and operated by American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a not-for-profit provider of senior health care since 1930.

Current resident or 2104 12th Street Harlan, IA 51537 www.ElmCrest.net

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