April 2024 Spotlight on Success

Spotlight on Success 2024 RIDGECARE.COM/SPOTLIGHT

Gen Czajka

Arbor Landing at Surfside

Meaningful Moments:

Arbor Landing at Ocean Isle

Arbor Ridge at Huntersville

“Gen Czajka has worked for Arbor Landing at Surfside since April 2021. She serves as our Social Director Extraordinaire.

Gen is talented in many ways, she’s crafty, tech savvy, drives our bus for all outings. Honestly there is nothing she can’t do. She is loved by residents and staff, going above and beyond for each one. She recently made a video for me to present at our company meeting that represented our community so well.

Her mind is constantly spinning, thinking about how she can improve the quality of life for each person that lives in our community. Whether it’s dressing up in costume for a special event, helping a resident with a particular craft so she has a gift for her daughter at Christmas or scheduling Miss Myrtle Beach to come in and speak to the residents. She truly wants the residents to enjoy each day. If you ever have a chance to see the video, there’s no doubt they do!

-Anita Wi iams Executive Director

Gen Czajka

Social Director

Arbor Landing at Surfside

I want to ask everyone to close their eyes for a moment and imagine what is going on in the life of a sweet 90 year old lady and her 2 sons that love their mom so much.

Ms. Mary is a 90 year old lady who lives alone in the house that she built with her husband 65 years ago. They raised their 2 boys and had many parties with friends in the gorgeous back yard. Mary has had some medical issues lately that have required multiple doctor visits. She hasn’t been able to drive now for several months, so she’s having to depend on others to get her to all the appointments. Her 2 sons live out of town and are unable to visit frequently. They both are married and have children, so they have their own family commitments.

Her friend decided to call one of her sons to express concern and asked if they could visit to see how their mom had declined. Both sons booked flights together to visit their mom and surprise her with a visit for a few days. When they arrived, mom had difficulty getting out of her recliner. Her house was not as clean as she always liked it to be. She had medicine all over her cabinet and even a few pills on the floor. They saw how much weight she lost since their last visit about 5 months ago. Mom had expressed that she was quite lonely because she was unable to play bingo at the senior center because of transportation issues. She stopped going to church and her friends would not stop by as much because she was feeling like company.

Mom agreed to go tour your Ridge Care community. They called the community and made an appointment for the afternoon. As they entered the community, residents were enjoying happy hour with a lovely 2 person band playing. The community was clean and they were so impressed with the landscaping out front. The Executive Director met them and they toured the community. Every person they met stopped and engaged in conversation. Mom smiled and she started enjoy this time.

Mom moved in the next week and life was so exciting. She has now gained weight and plays bingo 3 days a week and goes to every party the community has. Son visit more now and enjoys the visits.

Now take a moment, watch this video, and be reminded why we do what we do in our communities.

-Anita Wi iams Executive Director

meaningful MOMENTS

Simone Kerner was born in France and lived there while she was growing up. Her parents owned a bakery and she helped out behind the counter when she was a teenager. She loved working in the bakery and also had a love of entertaining and fine food. It made sense to have her meaningful moment centered around delicious food and a beautiful atmosphere in which to enjoy it. Simone and I decided together that she would really enjoy a visit to the Calabash Tea Room. She chose her friends Wendy and Mae to accompany us.

Once we were seated at the Tea Room, our server gave us menus. We each were able to choose what tea we would like to drink (there were 60 different teas on the menu!) Simone picked a lemon herbal tea, which she really enjoyed. Next our server brought a wonderful salad, and after that, we had a three-tiered assortment of desserts, scones, and small sandwiches. Everything was delicious and a fine time was had by all!

-Kathy D’Ambrosia, Arbor Landing at Ocean Isle

meaningful MOMENTS

We had a group of baby bunnies visit us this month! This turned into a meaningful moment for Danny Pilley. He had two bunnies when he was a child that he loved dearly. He told us about all their bunny antics and sweet ways. He stated that there was a bunny farm next to his house and he got to engage with those bunnies too.

-Sarah Rose Arbor Ridge at Huntersvi e

Spotlight on Success

We take immense pride in having a team that genuinely values their work and the impact they have on others. And we encourage celebrating a teammate, or even bragging on yourself a bit.

Reflect on a positive change you've brought about or a difference another team member has made. Tell us about a resident that you impacted. Take a moment to share your story.

Nominate someone for Spotlight on Success at RidgeCare.com/Spotlight