National Nursing Home Week

The theme for 2016 National Nursing Home Week was “It’s A Small World With A Big Heart”, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the New York World’s Fair.  We planned many ‘fair-themed’ events over the week, starting with a King and Queen contest on Monday morning.  Claire Curtis and Eloise were the chosen royalty, and wore their crowns all week. King & Queen Contestants included Claire Curtis, Mayne Courter, Bob Connop, Eloise Hill, Mildred Linder, and Lorraine Suter

We had a variety of fair foods over the week, as that is a huge part of the fun!  We sampled funnel cakes, cotton candy, lemonade shakes, fried candy bars, etc.  The 3rd Grade Class joined us one morning for carnival games, including duck pond, fishing, prize wheel, bean bag toss, and ring toss.  They collected prizes (gift certificates for ice cream, toys, food) and had sacks and juice boxes before heading back to school.  After the kids were finished, our ‘big kids’ took their turn with the fun!

Fran Lowe gave a program and led reminiscing about the Winfield Fairs held on this site in the early 1900’s.  Rhonda shared info on the New York World’s Fair another morning, finding that some of our residents had actually attended the event.

Our annual Variety Show was held Wednesday afternoon, with many of our staff and residents taking part.  The audience then voted for their favorites, with monetary prizes awarded to Shelby Hartman for first place (vocal selection), Loretta White for second (hair dresser skit), and Rhonda Connop and Brenda Spray for third (dog park skit).  This is always a fun event and we are amazed at the talent (?) our family possesses!

Jason Burgus again provided and cooked fish for a Community Fish Fry on Thursday evening.  Abby Tuttle and crew made baked beans, potato salad, broccoli salad, chips, cookies, drinks and more to round out the delicious meal.  We were pleased with the turnout of family and friends who joined us for the event.

An artist came in that evening to add to the fun with face painting.  Kids – of all ages- were sporting colorful works of art.

Other events included Happy Hour, Bingo, an ID contest and more.  We are so fortunate to have a TEAM here that work well together to make these special events run so smoothly!

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The Winfield – Mt. Union 3rd grade class came to enjoy fair games!

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Thank you to Paul Dennison and KILJ radio for the live broadcast during our 5th annual National Nursing Home Week Fish Fry. Eloise Hill and Claire Curtis, our King and Queen, took their turn with the microphone along with long time Winfield resident Wanda Linder and other Sunrise Terrace leadership.

NAHCA’s National Convention

June 1st and 2nd our NAHCA CNA Leadership Team traveled to Des Moines for NAHCA’s annual “Key to Quality” national convention. Representing Sunrise Terrace Nursing & Rehabilitation Center was Angie Gibbs, Mellisa Bandy, and Amanda Wilke. Convention topics included Respecting and Protecting our Elders, Driving Quality from the Frontline, Restoring our Elders to their Fullest Potential, Recruiting and Retention, and The Way Ahead.

Out of hundreds of CNA’s, Sunrise Terrace’s Amanda Wilke was the recipient of NAHCA’s Rookie of the Year award. This was a great honor. Later, to our surprise, Amanda also won an all-expense paid trip to next year’s convention in Washington, D.C.! It was a wonderful evening and we are grateful for the opportunities NAHCA provides all of our CNA’s and the benefits they provide to our residents! Our CNA’s would also like to thank the community for the support they received while raising funds for national convention.

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Amanda Wilke accepts NAHCA’s Rookie of the Year award.

Building Project Update

Sunrise Terrace’s building project, completed under the direction of AHTS Architects of Waterloo and Point Builders of Cedar Rapids, is set to complete Phase 1 on Thursday, June 16th. Phase 1 is the addition of a new laundry area, employee breakroom, and our dietary manager’s office/storage. With a new hallway built into this space, employees will now enter through its west door from the employee parking lot. Though we currently remind employees to be quiet upon entering and exiting the building, this change will positively impact resident’s quality of life as this new location should reduce noise levels to a new low. From their new breakroom, employees will enter the facility by our beauty salon and main dining area. Hence, resident rooms will be further from any potential commotion that occurs during ‘resident report’ at shift change in the early morning or late night.

Phase 2 will start June 20th. This phase is scheduled to take approximately 45 days and includes the remodeling of our old laundry space to create a new living and dining area for Garden Terrace residents. The current employee entrance will become an exit door off the residents’ living space that will lead them out into their new outdoor patio area. This outdoor space will be enclosed with a tall fence to create beautiful sceneries of flower and vegetable gardens and a walking path.

Phase 3 began June 9th. Although this is the last phase and the majority of the construction in this area cannot be completed until phase 2 is complete, contractors have several weeks’ worth of outdoor work that they can complete to keep the project moving in a timely fashion. Phase 3’s completion date is February of 2017 and is the addition of six private suites that will be dedicated to skilled rehabilitation and a large therapy gym. Those who choose Sunrise Terrace for their skilled therapy needs will have the luxury to be on a wing designed to help them get well in a hotel-like environment. Each suite will be equipped with a walk-in shower, electric bed, electric recliner, flat screen T.V., small refrigerator, and private dining area for room service.

Conveniently, located just feet away from each patient’s door will be the therapy gym. The new gym has the capacity to accommodate six patients at a time. This will allow not only licensed therapists to work with our skilled patients, but our restorative team to complete cares with our long term residents at the same time, keeping them as safe and independent as possible. The gym will provide an efficient use of space and patients will receive effective treatment up to six days per week that will enable them to return home safely in a shortest amount of time.

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Delzell Selects Sunrise Terrace for her Volunteer Ombudsman Role

Becky Delzell is Sunrise Terrace’s new Volunteer Ombudsman. Becky will spend 3-5 hours in the facility each month to help meet the mission of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. Their mission is to protect the health, safety, welfare and rights of individuals residing in long-term care by investigating complaints, seeking resolutions to problems and providing advocacy with the goal of enhancing quality of life and care.

Iowa’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman program is responsible, through federal and state law, for advocating for residents and tenants of long-term care facilities, including nursing facilities, residential care facilities, assisted living programs and elder group homes.

The Office strives to fulfill this responsibility every day by working to resolve complaints that impact the health, safety and welfare of residents and tenants, as well as by informing residents and tenants of their rights.

Sunrise Terrace Exceeds Expectations of Louisa County Man

What do you do when a previous experience in a local skilled nursing facility did not meet your expectations and you need equipment in your knee replaced a second time? You do research, of course! At least that is what Richard Fordice did after his wife experienced less than desirable care from a CMS 2 Star facility. He went online, found out Sunrise Terrace was a CMS 5 Star facility and read positive reviews. Months prior to Richard’s scheduled surgery, he reached out to Sunrise Terrace about our “Get Well…Go Home” program. Although his home was located 35 minutes away, he was adamant about receiving care at our facility. After his surgery at the University of Iowa he asked his discharge planners to send his information to Sunrise Terrace. After they contacted the facility, our Clinical Admission Specialist worked with his discharge planner to ensure a smooth transition.

Steps to Take Before Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility

  • Visit Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s (CMS) Nursing Home Compare Website at https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.html (or Google “CMS Nursing Home Compare”)
    • Type in your zip code and select the mile radius in which you would like to search. This will tell you each facilities Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) star rating.
  • Tour, Tour, Tour!
    • Call and schedule a tour with your selected facilities, or just stop by and peek around
    • Do NOT skip this step! Go see where your loved one will be staying and who will be providing their care
    • Here is a checklist that will be beneficial for your tour https://www.medicare.gov/files/nursing-home-checklist.pdfHe got well and went home!

Our Medicare Part A “Get Well…Go Home” Skilled Rehabilitation Program Successfully Transitions Patients from Hospital to Home

What is Medicare Part A? Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) covers skilled nursing care provided in a skilled nursing facility (SNF) under certain conditions for a limited period of time. Skilled nursing care includes, but is not limited to: skilled nursing care, physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, medical social services, medication, dietary counseling, medical supplies and equipment used in the facility, meals, your room and board, and ambulance transport if other transportation endangers health.

Who is eligible? Individuals with Medicare are covered if they have Part A services, have days left in their benefit period, are admitted to the hospital for three midnights, and their doctor determines they need daily skilled care under the direct supervision of skilled nursing or therapy staff. Skilled nursing and therapy services are offered 5 to 6 days per week, depending on the facility. If you refuse your daily skilled care or therapy, you risk losing your Medicare SNF coverage.

What does it cost? Days 1 – 20 are $0 for each benefit period, days 21 – 100 are $161 per day of each benefit period, and days 101 and beyond are paid in full by the patient. Based on an individual’s insurance plan, some companies do cover skilled care costs after day 20.

Now that you know what skilled nursing care is, you must be wondering how Sunrise Terrace compares to other surrounding com

unities. Sunrise Terrace has the lowest re-hospitalization and highest discharge to the community rates amongst six counties. This means, once you choose Sunrise Terrace for skilled care, we are able to successfully manage your health condition(s) without returning you to the hospital and are able to get you back home. Our average length of stay is also six days less than the state average, ensuring that our nursing and therapy teams are effective at returning you home safely in the shortest amount of time.

When searching for a skilled nursing facility, be sure to visit Medicare.gov’s Nursing Home Compare website (https://www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare/search.html) to find a facility that will meet your needs!

He got well and went home!

“Medicare.gov said you had a CMS 5 Star facility and you also had good reviews. I knew that was the kind of facility I wanted to be at for my therapy. I am very satisfied with the quality of care I’ve received. They taught me how to do my injections so that I could return home.” – Richard Fordice

 

“I was blown away by my care in the hospital. Those girls were awesome and nothing changed when I came to Sunrise. Really, I’m tickled that we found Sunrise Terrace. You had everything I needed. It’s clean, everyone is nice and friendly, they treated me and everyone else very well.” – Gene Young

 

Jamison Restoration & Repair Trip

Mike Jamison entertained a group of residents at his tractor restoration shop on Nov 9th.  He explained the restoration process, answered questions, showed tractors in various stages of restoration, and lead the banter over what color tractor is superior.  Everyone really enjoyed the outing and found it very interesting!

Veterans Day Celebration

Veteran’s Day was celebrated with a delicious breakfast buffet for veterans from our home and community.  The Sunrise vets were honored and presented with  a ‘USA ‘ pin.  We were delighted to have so many local veterans join us and share their stories.  We certainly appreciate your service, dedication, and contributions to our country’s freedom!

Trick or Treat!

We love having Trick-or-Treaters  visit, especially when they are relatives!

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Howard and Lydia Meeker are the great grandchildren of Eloise Hill

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Brodie and Laney Suter helped great grandma Lorraine Suter hand out treats

The Care We Deliver is More than Appreciated

It is our mission to provide Health, Hope, and Happiness to all we serve. Every day we are committed to providing compassionate care to all of our residents. The staff at Sunrise Terrace understand that they are here working for the residents, not just completing tasks to receive a paycheck. As you can decipher from the testimonials below, “We care” and this sets us apart from our competition.

“I so appreciate all the dedicated staff at Sunrise and the excellent care they give the residents.”

“You were highly recommended. If I need this care again, you are my main stay!”

“Everybody here was very considerate and smiley.”

“I appreciate all you do and highly recommend your facility to anyone who needs that type of care.”

“Everyone here has been very kind and caring and I’ve enjoyed the food, a lot. If I have to be somewhere other than home, Sunrise is where I’d like to be. The therapy team has done a great job getting me back on my feet.”

“I’m going home thanks to all of you! Without your help, I would have never made it. I’ll miss all you girls waiting on me hand and foot, you’ve made my stay an enjoyable one!”

“I wouldn’t know where else in the country you could go to get better care than Sunrise Terrace. Staff were friendly. One heck of a place you’ve got here!”

“You took good care of me – above and beyond!”

Remember, when it comes to choosing who delivers your care, you have a choice. Choose Sunrise Terrace Nursing & Rehabilitation Center to Get Well…Go Home sooner!