Nurses Week 2022 - Letters of Appreciation from the Heart

Nurses Week

2022

Letters of Appreciation from the HEART

OUR CORE VALUES To all our nurses, thank you from the bottom of my HEART for all that you have done, and continue to do, to ensure our residents experience the amazing care and compassion your team delivers. Nurses Week is an important time at Senior Lifestyle, because it gives all of us the chance to thank all of YOU, our nurses, for the efforts you have made over the past year to better the lives of the seniors we serve.

At Senior Lifestyle, our Core Values are represented by the acronym of HEART. Our HEART Core Values guide us in the important work we do and the lives we lead, and there is no more obvious example of our Core Values than the care you deliver each day. I am pleased to announce, that while not yet official, Senior Lifestyle will be adding another “H” value to HEART to represent “Health Care.” It is important for us to make the addition, as we at Senior Lifestyle believe the delivery of excellent health care service is not only mission critical, but a true differentiator for the residents we serve. Our care is head and shoulders above the rest and is in large part due to your efforts and leadership.

The addition of “Health Care” to our Core Values is a reflection of the important role each of you play in fulfilling Senior Lifestyle’s Mission.

Thank you again for your unwavering dedication, effort, and support as we continue to navigate this ever-changing and challenging environment.

Senior Lifestyle couldn’t do it without each one of you.

– Justin Robins Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

COMPASSION Thank you to all of our nurses for their compassion, kindness, and dedication to taking care of our residents. Your passion for our residents’ health is appreciated every day. We celebrate you!

– Brittany Pape Vice President of Compliance

DEEPEST GRATITUDE There is so much to say about all of our nurses on the Ranger and Rainer Teams. Our nurses especially through the last two years have been through a marathon of maintaining their staff while working on the floor delivering care and medications to our beloved residents. Our nurses manage countless responsibilities. We so much appreciate our valued nurses!

Sherri Gleich, RN: Sherri has been with SLC since March 29, 2021.

SinceSherri began, she has endlessly traveled nonstop without hesitation supporting the communities wherever and whenever needed through the pandemic.

Words cannot express our deepest gratitude and appreciation for Sherri’s professionalism, hard work and dedication to our seniors and SLC.

WE LOVE OUR NURSES! – Bobbi Reid Vice President of Operations

SUPPORT OF ANGELS I can recall being a new mom with a sick infant. I was so worried and confused because information was everywhere, and most of it was unclear or contradictory. I called the pediatrician and spoke with Sherry, the nurse. As I rambled about symptoms, his schedule of sleeping and eating, and what I had done to soothe symptoms, she just listened to me. When I finally hit the end of it, likely from pure exhaustion, she simply said, “Okay, it will be alright. Why don’t you bring your son in and let’s see how we’re doing.” The calm of her voice, and the fact that she said, “let’s see how WE are doing,” I felt like I had a partner, a support, a guide, an angel on my side. I will never forget Sherry.

As the years progressed, I was trying to find care for my grandmother as her dying wish was to remain at home. I was not in the industry and did not know how to navigate it. Sadly, we had a horrible experience, and the repercussions were detrimental. I remember crying and thinking, “where are the angels?” How did this happen? And then fast forward to my start in seniors housing, and that’s where I found the angels.

Over the years I have watched you stress, cry, put your heads in your hands, fight for your staff, fight for your residents, chase down physician orders, express concerns over what pharmacy is sending, and teach non-clinicians why something can or cannot be done. I have watched the amazing nurses of Senior Lifestyle make countless sacrifices all in the name of care. You are an inspiring group whom I admire and respect.

I appreciate what you do, why you do it, and the excellence you bring every day to give our residents and staff the best day they can have.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you and enjoy your week of celebration!

– Janine Witte Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

TOUGH LOVE Nurses have always been a big part of my life. My two favorite aunts were both nurses. One dedicated her life to bringing healthy babies into the world, and the other spent her entire career as an emergency room nurse. They are both strong, capable, fierce and loving women.

My mom used to tell me that if my Aunt Eleanor was nice to you, it meant she didn’t love you.  To this day, she is tough on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside.

Thank you to all of our nurses who are tough and kind every day. What you do makes a huge difference to the people you care for and to their loved ones.

– Alison Kippen Vice President of Human Resources

EXCEPTIONAL CARE I want to thank our nursing team for their consistent efforts to provide exceptional care to our residents. Your dedication is much appreciated and allows us to strive to meet our mission to brighten and enrich the lives of those we serve with dedication to our core HEART values: hospitality and healthcare, excellence, appreciation, respect, and teamwork.

– Steve Levy Executive Vice President and General Counsel

OUR BACKBONE Caring for others is an exercise of self-sacrifice. You have chosen this path for yourselves, and I am deeply appreciative that you fulfill your commitment to caring for others at Senior Lifestyle.

As our seniors come to us more compromised, and more complex in their care needs, you continue to strive to provide the best care possible. The care you and your teams provide is the backbone of what we offer to seniors across the country.

Thank you for your service and dedication, and I proudly celebrate nurses week on behalf of all of you.

– Jon DeLuca President and Chief Executive Officer

INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTION The past 2+ years have presented challenges that many of us never believed we would face. During this time, the skill and dedication of our nursing teams has been essential to navigating the complicated COVID world and caring for our residents. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of Senior Lifestyle’s nurses for everything you have done (and continue to do) to keep our residents safe and happy. Your contribution has been invaluable.

– Jerry Frumm Vice Chairman and Chief Investment Officer

THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE Being a mom for the first time is equal parts terrifying, exciting, overwhelming, and emotional. When you are a NICU mom, it takes a team of incredibly dedicated, loving, and calm nurses to help you navigate the uncertainties of what may lie ahead. I was beyond blessed to have such a team. A team that answered every silly question, wiped every tear, and tirelessly rocked and watched over my daughter when I couldn’t be there.

You have been with families on their worst and best days! You have held many hands, dried many tears, and lent many shoulders. It is no question that you have a challenging, tireless job, but despite all that, you continue to push through and do the best you can for our residents and their families! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kindness, grace, and strength.

The world is a better place thanks to your hard work and dedication.

I’m in awe of our SLC nurses. Happy Nurses Week to you all!

– Cathleen O’Brien Vice President of Resident Experience

APPRECIATING ADDIS My note of appreciation is to all nurses and in particular to Addis, HWD at Thomas Circle. Addis has been the glue and foundation to the strong culture and supportive team at the community. She has always been available to work side by side with caregivers and nurses. Addis leads by example and is always able to figure out how to keep the coverage without using agency. The team members from all departments look up to Addis! I am very proud of her leadership and grateful for her dedication.

– Regina Umanskiy Vice President of Operations & Integrated Solutions

NURSES ARE THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES STARS Sadly, three years ago, my son’s childhood friend, Nora Leonard, passed away at the young age of 17. Nora was fierce, loving, and full of life, truly an inspiration to everyone around her. In 2018, Nora was diagnosed with liver and lung cancer after complaining of pain in her back and stomach. A year later, Nora passed away, but her inspiration continues to live in us all!

Both Nora’s parents had worked at Second City Comedy Club in Chicago since the 1980s. The funeral was held at Second City Comedy Club in Chicago with standing room only. Numerous family members and friends stepped on stage to share their incredible stories and love for Nora.

As I reflect on that day, a special moment occurred when the two nurses who cared for Nora took the stage to share their stories. Although they had only known Nora for one year, it was as if they had known her for a lifetime. The nurses knew what made her happy, what made her sad, and did all they could possibly do to be there for a young woman dying of cancer. They would do a special dance to greet Nora each day, and when they left, per Nora’s request, they would say “I’ll be back” in their best Terminator voice! These nurses cared for Nora in life and continued to care for her after she passed. The nurses were the true behind-the-scenes stars as they did all they could to nurture Nora’s spirit by making her smile and brightening her day while caring for her physical declining health.

Because of you, our residents and families have similar stories to share about our Senior Lifestyle Star Nurses, and for that, WE THANK YOU! You are the glue that keeps us together. You have dedicated your lives to making a difference and helping others. We appreciate your choice to serve from the bottom of our HEARTS!

– Cherie Dupor Senior Vice President of Communications

A LIFE OF DEDICATION My amazing mama was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s when she was 63. Her whole career had been one of a nurse, taking care of others while she burned the candle at both ends. My mama became a single mother when I was 11 years old. She succeeded in working a full-time job, several part-time jobs, and going to school to complete her LPN while my two older siblings and I attempted to keep the peace at home. My mama was an LPN for many years before she decided to go back to school for her RN when I was in college. I still remember sitting at the dining room table with her as we studied for our specific exams or wrote the most recent assigned paper.

Mama worked hard. Really hard. But sadly, she didn’t play and enjoy life as much as she deserved to. Instead, she picked up extra shifts when she could so that she could be part of the continued care for her patients, whether that was helping with a discharge or stepping in to assist with a delivery. I suppose she would argue that working hard was also her playing hard.

When we realized things were changing for mama, it was heartbreaking. All she had ever known, all we had known her to be, was a nurse. Her identity of being a nurse and caring for others was stripped away faster than we could blink. All those years of her caring for others, she is now having to rely on others to care for her.

In a way, it’s the beautiful circle of life. My mama is still an amazing and incredible woman. It just so happens that now her memories of being a nurse are only those of what we are able to tell her from the stories she has told us in the past.

Thank you to all the nurses; for who you were, who you are, and who you are still yet to be.

– Denise Buchholz National Director Human Resources

HEROES Thank you to all nurses and healthcare workers for all that you do to care for our residents. You practice HEART 24/7, and your compassion and empathy is commendable and admirable. We very much appreciate your hard work each and every day. You are all our Heroes!

– Risk Management Team

DEAREST RUTH From the first time I met you in 2019 when we hired you at Prestonwood Court, compassion, humility and passion for our residents exuded from you. You are everything a nurse ought to be. I believe that nursing is a calling instead of just a profession because there are certain qualities a nurse should have and you have those in droves, Ruth!

One of my joyous days this year was when you became my DDHW. Since then, you have been the backbone of my Operations team.

There’s no place that needs you that you are not there in a flash.

Without your partnership, these 11 communities’ transition would have been more challenging than it was.

Thank you for being kind, amazing, hardworking, compassionate and filled with so much light!

I appreciate you greatly, Lady Ruth Austin!

– Amaka Aniefuna Vice President of Operations

A CALLING Cheers to you! Although we admire you all year long, today kicks off a week of dedicated appreciation. We want to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for all that you do to support our residents and communities all across the country. Nursing is a more than a profession; it is a calling. Every nurse I have ever known had an idea of what their career would look like as they worked tirelessly to complete the required nursing program, study and pass the nursing board exam and ultimately leave their mark on the world. We all quickly learn, as with any “calling,” the field picks YOU. This field picked YOU! It is your compassion, your clinical expertise, and your leadership that guides us year over year. It is the daily impact you make on the lives you serve. It is how you always manage to step up to the plate when help is needed.

It is a servant’s heart of gold. Please know not just today or this week but every day that you are appreciated, you are the difference in the world, and we are honored you are part of the SLC family. Happy Nurses Week!

– Angel Morrison Vice President of Clinical Services