VOL. 1 | DECEMBER 2021
A Community of Compassionate Care
FROM YOUR EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR,
TRACY TROTTER
Hello everyone! As I reflect on the last year, I am humbled with the amount of support we have received from all our families, friends, and the community. While our country is seeing a divide, we here at the Marian Home could not ask for a more supportive and understanding group of people to work with. Covid19 has taken us to places I, in my 31 years at the Marian Home, never thought we would go. We have been mandated to do things that we have never had to do before, such as explain and implement interventions that cause sorrow to our residents, families and staff; limit visitation, restrict movement within our residents’ home, the list goes on and on. What I/we have taken away from this year is more empathy for our residents. A common discussion I will tend to engage in when some of our staff are stressed over the current situation is to put ourselves in the place of our residents, who for periods of time have had to have life interrupted for yet another rule, a round of testing, restriction on visits and time usually spent in activities now lessened, due to Covid.
Many residents, if given the choice would forego the interventions regulated to keep them safe in order to have all the time with family and friends that was previously afforded to them pre Covid 19. Another take away from this last year is to cherish every moment with our loved ones as we never know when it will be the last. Purge all negativity and grudges and simplify life, enjoy life with those that you love and find peace in. We need to eliminate our need to be right at the expense of relationships and instead show grace and acceptance to those that we may not see eye to eye with. Life is so fragile, see the positivity in every day and be thankful for all we have been given and for all the residents, we here at the Marian Home have been honored to care for. God Bless you all and we wish you a safe and Happy New Year.
Tracy Trotter
Tracy L. Trotter RN, BSN LNHA Administrator, Marian Home
INSIDE THIS EDITION: FROM DIRECTOR OF NURSING 2 PAYMENT OPTIONS FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 2 FROM YOUR SOCIAL WORKER 3 DIETARY 3 MAINTENANCE/ TRANSPORTATION 3 HOUSEKEEPING 3 ACTIVITIES 4
DIRECTOR OF NURSING Jody Lennon Director of Nursing
Payment Options For Your Convenience If you are a family member that drops off your payment in the facility and don’t always see Danni, you are more than welcome to leave your payment in the locked box in between the two front doors. Oftentimes, Danni is away from her desk running errands or helping a resident, staff, or family member out. All employees that work here do know how to get payments to the Business Office, but if you would feel more comfortable putting it in the locked box or want to drop payment off after hours, that is perfectly fine. The locked box gets checked daily (except weekends) during normal business hours by Bailey only. If Bailey is not available, then Danni or Tracy checks it. There is also an option to have payment made by automatic withdrawal, if you are interested in this give Bailey a call at the number below. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Thanks!
Bailey Beebe Bailey Beebe Business Office Manager 515-574-5901
2 | In the Loop
A note for Family members, First & foremost, it is so nice to families faces in our building again. Keep the prayers going that we stay healthy. I know some of you feel like the Nurses call you for every little thing but so you know it is a Federal Guideline that we notify family members of any changes with a resident condition, new or changed orders, labs that are abnormal. If there is an alternate family member that should be notified please let me know of this so I can update the chart. We do ask if the Nurse leaves a message to return the call, please do so. There are a few of you that do not return calls for 3-4 days. Regarding Dr. appointments: The Marian Home continues to provide transportation to/from Dr. appointments to continue the best care we can provide. We are asking for a family member to please attend the appointments with your loved one as much as possible. Nicole has mentioned the Dr’s do get frustrated when a family member is not present to help talk to the resident, assist in making a plan of care, med changes or how aggressive of treatment you wish for your loved one. Nicole will fill in when a family member cannot attend but we are asking that families make a better attempt in attending appointments. If you are unable to attend on the day it is schedule, let Nicole know when you would be available so she can change the appointment date & time. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Jody Lennon
Thank You for all your support, Jody Lennon, DON
MAINTENANCE/ TRANSPORTATION Happy Holidays to you and yours from the Maintenance/Transportation Department!
SOCIAL WORKER: MARY LUNDBERG I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone is able to spend time with family and friends this season, and enjoy the good time with one another. As I reflect on this past year I know that I have many things to be grateful for. Working with so many great people is one of them. Thank-you all for this. Againg I want to wish every one a Very Merry Christmas.
This holiday season remains a time of happiness, of giving, of spending quality time with those we love, and a time of personal reflection on the past year. As I reflect, I am reminded that the daily challenges we faced here at the Marian Home & Village with adverse weather conditions, constantly evolving rules for COVID 19, mechanical equipment failures, and struggles to find or retain quality staff were inevitable. While all those tangible things were important to overcome it is the attitude and disposition we exhibited while facing those challenges that truly defined us. During this holiday season and throughout the year, our goal within the maintenance/transportation department continues to be to provide respectful, heartfelt assistance to everyone here in our Marian Home “family”!
Travis Filloon Travis Filloon Director of Building & Grounds Marian Home & Village 2400 6th Avenue North Fort Dodge, IA 50501 W: 515-574-5915 C: 515-571-1435 tfilloon@marianhome.com
Seasons Greetings from the Foodservice Department, I want to let you know about a new thing we are trying this year for the Christmas season. It’s called The 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. It’s not going to be the traditional 12 Days of Christmas, as that starts on Christmas. We will start it on December 12th and it will go through December 24th as a fun way to get the resident’s excited about Christmas. I will be going around and asking resident’s what some of their favorite Christmas cookies are and we will try to make what we can. Also, the menu for Christmas dinner is: Ham Steak, Au Gratin Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Dinner Roll, French Silk Pie and a fluff salad. I am also hoping to have our traditional oyster stew for Christmas Eve. Happy Holidays!
Mindy Kuker
Mindy Kuker, CDM, CFPP
Dietary Manager
HOUSEKEEPING Residents will continue to go on outings with family and friends and also to appointments. Please make sure that your loved one has their winter gear brought in, this includes, winter coats, proper footwear, hats, gloves and scarves. Thank you,
Tracey Brownfield Tracey Brownfield
Laundry/Housekeeping Supervisor Be sure to turn in your answer with your name to the front desk for a monthly prize drawing. Last month's winner was ?. Her answer was "?”.
3 | In the Loop
Please feel free to contact us in the Activity Department at any time. Our direct line is 515-574-5906 or email either of us with questions or suggestions. Email: photz@marianhome.com or lstein@marianhomefd.com
MARIAN HOME ACTIVITIES
Pam Hotz Co-Actvity Director
As you all know the Holidays are among us! Pam and I are busy in the Activity Department making sure this Christmas is a good and fun one for our Residents. We have a Angel tree up with tags for each Resident so staff can pick the tags and buy presents for our Residents from the Heart. This seems to be going very well. We have a Christmas party on December 22nd for the Residents with refreshments and cookies that the residents will decorate for the party. Pam and I are working together great to make this the best Christmas yet. A little note to families: When sending packages from Amazon or other companies, can you please put who they are from or call or email Pam and I stating you are sending packages, so we can make sure to tell your loved one who it is from. We hope all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If anyone has items they would like to donate to the store please contact: Pam or Laura
Laura Stein Co-Actvity Director
Phone # 515.574.5906 Email: photz@marianhome.com lstein@marianhomefd.com
A Community of Compassionate Care