Members in the News

The following editorial ran in this morning's USA Today features Donna Taylor, Vice President, Human Resources, from Arizona Baptist Retirement Centers, and supports the CLASS plan's inclusion in health reform.

Donna who cares for her mother and grandmother, talks about her father's last days, the burden of long-term care and CLASS Act -- an insurance policy she hopes becomes law. Taylor says CLASS Act would have helped her family care for her dad at his home. Instead, he died in a nursing home.

The story can be found online at http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/10/debate-on-disability-our-view-lon...

If you would like to contact Donna, here is her info:

Donna Taylor, SPHR, CASP
Executive Vice President
Arizona Baptist Retirement Centers
11315 W. Peoria Avenue
Youngtown, AZ 85363
623-933-3333, ext. 1302
www.abrc.org

Hello fellow staff,

Do you remember when Health Corner TV was here back in July and filmed Peggy, several recreation staff members and a resident about care giving tips and celebrating the holidays?

Well, the two separate segments will air this Sunday, November 1st at 10:30 a.m. (our time) on Lifetime Television (Cox Cable channel 24). Joan Lunden, former host of Good Morning America, will host this show also.

If you can’t catch it live, both segments should be up on their website located at: http://healthcorner.walgreens.com sometime this weekend. Be sure to check it out and cheer on members of our community!

One more way we’re telling our Beatitudes Campus story!

Sincerely,

 
Christie Munson

Campus Foundation Office

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"My name is Peggy Mullan and I'm the President and CEO of the Beatitudes Campus in Phoenix, Arizona. My experience as a family caregiver has been like everybody else, it's filled with both joy and sorrow, primarily it's filled with very good memories. My dad was very close to his family, he was a great father. I think about my own family situation. He died of cancer and I felt so grateful to be here and to be close to him. My sisters from out of state would send family photos so we could take them to him, and it was good for him, it was good for all of us.

PHOENIX – What does 28 years of experience, unwavering patience, and a high level of compassion for older adults equate to for Beatitudes Campus staff member and CNA, Nora Yohn? It is a culmination of many years of dedicated service and the honor of receiving the most prestigious Stella Parrish Lifetime Achievement Award, granted by the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA).

In late September, Yohn was acknowledged for her 28 years as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) who is a team member at the Beatitudes Campus Health Care Center (HCC), in north-central Phoenix. The Stella Parrish Achievement Award is NAHCA’s most prestigious designation and is given to a CNA with 20 or more years of experience, is an outstanding quality of care provider, displays a positive attitude, serves residents by respecting their rights, and has above-average attendance. Yohn embodies all of this and more.

CNAs are responsible for basic care services for Campus residents including bathing, grooming, assistance with meals and mobility, and social and emotional support. In addition to her duties as a CNA, Yohn is an outstanding part of the nursing team. She is a Quality Mentor, serving as a resource to new CNAs and leader in her work team. She also keeps the nurses on their toes by providing resident status reports and updates regarding the declining health of a specific resident before any issues are known by other staff. In addition, Yohn is a certified Restorative Nursing Assistant (RNA) and works with the physical therapy team to support and work with residents who are staying at the HCC for rehabilitation.

 “Being a CNA is challenging work and not very glamorous,” says Yohn. “You have to have a lot of patience and really care about the person you are working with. The glory that you get from working in this profession comes from the compassion you feel for the resident, as if you are taking care of your own family member.”

Yohn joined the Beatitudes Campus team in October of 1981 and had many goals. One was to perform a job she could feel good about but another was to fulfill a promise to herself. As a teenager, she helped to care for her grandmother who suffered from cancer. During this time, Yohn witnessed the lack of knowledge about the disease and the lack of care her grandmother received from medical staff at the end of her life. Yohn was determined to work in the health care field, make a difference by providing education about cancer and other diseases, and provide quality care for our elders who deserve dignity, compassion, and respect.

Karen Mitchell, Campus Director of Nursing said of Yohn, “We are so proud of Nora for receiving the Stella Parrish Award. Her fellow co-workers feel she has accomplished her goals and fulfilled the promise she made. We know she will keep making a difference in the lives of residents and staff alike.”

About the Beatitudes Campus

For more than 40 years, the Beatitudes Campus has served as an all-inclusive Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Memory Support. Through our programs and services, our Campus offers a true community that recognizes and nourishes the spiritual, physical, social, and emotional needs of our residents.

The Campus is sponsored by the Church of the Beatitudes, a United Church of Christ congregation. The Church of the Beatitudes also founded the following related nonprofit organizations: Beatitudes Agelink, an intergenerational child development center located on site of the Campus; and Duet: Partners In Health & Aging, serving homebound adults, family caregivers, nurses in faith communities, and grandparents raising grandchildren.

For Information Contact:
Christie Munson, Beatitudes Campus, 602-995-6139, cmunson@beatitudescampus.org
Michelle Just, Beatitudes Campus, 602-995-6120, mjust@beatitudescampus.org

We're delighted to inform you that the Tohono O’odham Nursing Care Authority has been selected as a 2009 Top Small Workplace by The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces.

They are featured inWall Street Journal print and online editions in the Journal Report on Small Business, which you can read here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020473180457438460016779714...

Congratulations to Tohono O’odham Nursing Care Authority!

Please click here for to read the article printed in the Arizona Republic.

Sharon Grambow heads a company that wants people to trust it with the rest of their lives.

Please click here for the article from the Arizona Business Gazette.

Please see the link to the Star 's video and audio slideshow from our resident camping trip.

Steve Kolnacki

http://azstarnet.com/ss/2009/04/29/srcamping/

Beatitudes Campus Committed to Lifelong Learning for Older Adults

Day of Discovery and Inter-generational Programs Address Seven Dimensions of Wellness

            PHOENIX – Many older adults are exploring their world and learning new things right where they live – at the Beatitudes Campus – through its Lifelong Explorers program and Day of Discovery events. Through this new programming, Campus seniors have access to learning opportunities that promote brain health, link them to younger generations, and address the Seven Dimensions of Wellness that ultimately enhance their quality of life.

            The Health Care Center (HCC) at the Beatitudes Campus, a continuing care retirement community, has recognized the importance of lifelong learning and the many benefits it provides the older person. The Campus has rolled out a Lifelong Explorers initiative to ultimately serve its approximately 700 residents across the continuum. 

            Specifically, HCC activity and recreation staff members started an inter-generational Day of Discovery series and hosted “Nano Discovery Day,” where Orangewood Elementary students and parents joined Campus residents in discovering the world of things nanoscale – the world of molecules too small to see with a standard microscope. The discovery series is planned to continue this fall with “Out of this World,” which will transport our seniors to the stars via a portable planetarium that will be able to seat 30 or more participants! 

“For the sometimes isolated senior, the act of learning can create a new passion, a sense of purpose, and develop new connections with people and the world,” says Melody Basham, HCC 2nd and 3rd Floor Activities Coordinator and a Campus leader in the lifelong learning initiative. It is a well established fact that participation in engaged learning and creativity promotes brain health, prevents depression, and connects us to something that is larger than ourselves.”

The lifelong learning concept also connects directly to the Beatitudes Campus’ Seven Dimensions of Wellness philosophy, which is a model for successful aging. The Seven Dimensions of Wellness include intellectual, social, spiritual, vocational, emotional, physical, and financial elements for well-being. Many of the Day of Discovery topics relate to several of the wellness components and the Campus’ Pastoral Care Department is now offering a Faith in Living Series to residents that discuss interesting and sometimes controversial topics including science and religion, faith and immigration, sacred storytelling, and many others.

The lifelong learning initiative is growing and the Campus plans to eventually have a Neighborhood Discovery Center that will provide a permanent space that will foster learning across the lifespan through inter-generational experiences; provide meaningful learning experiences that is person-center, brain-based, and experiential; and serve students of all ages regardless of physical or cognitive limitations.

Beyond the Beatitudes Campus, more and more discoveries are being made about the benefits of lifelong learning for older adults. Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that “in all of the studies on healthy aging, the single most important factor, above all others, was lifelong learning. When an older adult continues to live in a world of ideas and challenge themselves with new thoughts and experiences, they not only create new neural pathways but they also find new self-expression. Whether this intellectual or creative engagement happens in senior centers or universities, the results were remarkable.”

About the Beatitudes Campus

For more than 40 years, the Beatitudes Campus has served as an all-inclusive continuing care retirement community (CCRC), including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Memory Care. Through our programs and services, our Campus offers a true community that recognizes and nourishes the spiritual, physical, social, and emotional needs of our residents.

The Campus is sponsored by the Church of the Beatitudes, a United Church of Christ congregation. The Church of the Beatitudes also founded the following related nonprofit organizations: Beatitudes Agelink, an inter-generational child development center, and Beatitudes Center DOAR, a Valley-wide, interfaith organization that assists homebound adults, caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren and congregational health programs.

###

Please click here for photo.  Photo caption: Orangewood Elementary students and Beatitudes Campus Health Care Center resident, Isobel Davidson, explore how to make molecules at the Nano Discovery Day. (Photo courtesy of Beatitudes Campus.)

            PHOENIX – The Beatitudes Campus, a continuing care retirement community, is a center of excellence in the field of aging research and training. Located in north-central Phoenix, the Campus has developed best practices in dementia care and is committed to sharing its knowledge on a local, national, and international level.

            Our commitment to education is due to the growing number of people who are affected by dementia-related diseases. In Arizona, it is projected that by 2010 there will be 94,000 individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (USDHHS, 2007). While the race to find a cure continues for this disease and other dementias, many families and professionals struggle with care giving essentials as loved ones move through the devastating disease process.

Through generous funding from the BHHS Legacy Foundation, our Campus’ Dementia and Aging Research Department has collaborated with Hospice of the Valley and created the Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia: A Model Teaching Unit (PCAD) program. Palliative care focuses on the comfort of the individual and empowers staff members to anticipate the needs of the individual. Training also focuses on the person-directed approach to care.

Since 2005, the PCAD program has trained more than 400 individuals on best practices in dementia care, including staff in long-term care facilities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, skilled nursing and hospice professionals from the greater Chicago area, and faculty members from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

“The Beatitudes Campus is able to give back to the broader community – locally, nationally, and outside of the U.S. – through the Palliative Care training and education,” says PCAD Co-Director, Tena Alonzo, MA. “This outreach not only honors our mission, but also sets us apart from other continuing care retirement communities.”

Evaluation of current training methods and research on other important aging topics are a current focus to provide leadership in helping meet the challenges and opportunities of aging for our residents and also to serve as a resource beyond the walls of the Campus.

Through grant funds, the Beatitudes Health Care Center (HCC) conducted research and created educational tools to help the improvement of pain management for its skilled nursing residents. Education and training was provided to more than 90 staff over a six month period along with the development of quality improvement tools and practices. Direct care staff benefited from the training and learned the major principles of comfort and pain management for residents. HCC residents were able to participate more fully in the management of their own pain, ultimately enhancing their quality of life.

About the Beatitudes Campus

For more than 40 years, the Beatitudes Campus has served as an all-inclusive Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), including Independent Living, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, and Memory Care. Through our programs and services, our Campus offers a true community that recognizes and nourishes the spiritual, physical, social, and emotional needs of our residents.

The Campus is sponsored by the Church of the Beatitudes, a United Church of Christ congregation. The Church of the Beatitudes also founded the following related nonprofit organizations: Beatitudes Agelink, an inter-generational child development center, and Beatitudes Center DOAR, a Valley-wide, interfaith organization that assists homebound adults, caregivers, grandparents raising grandchildren and congregational health programs.

Please click here for The Tohono O'odham's skilled nursing facility "winning profile" article.