Author Archives: Lindsay Remick

Play Ball!

Posted on by

Play Ball!

On June 18th, five residents and two staff members headed out to watch the Winfield-Mt. Union 3rd -5th grade girls play softball against Mediapolis, coached only by our new Director of Nursing, Jason Burgus. Residents ordered the traditional ball game snacks which included hotdogs, cheeseburgers, supreme nachos, pop, popcorn and candy. The evening was perfect with a light breeze and low humidity. The girls played well and the residents enjoyed watching the children learn the fundamentals of the game.

Attending events such as these are only possible through funding for the bus, the coordination of the staff and the participation of our residents. The Activity Department thanks you.

We also had a surprise visit from Rita Moser and her family. Megan Moser’s son, Mason, wanted to sit with our group to watch the game.

play ball_KS&mason

American Health Care Association’s Quality Initiative

Posted on by

The American Health Care Association (AHCA) has broadened its Quality Initiative to further improve the quality of care in America’s skilled nursing care centers. The expansion of the Initiative will challenge its members to apply the Baldrige Excellence Framework to meet measurable targets in eight critical areas by March 2018. AHCA’s goal is to reduce the number of unintended health care outcomes, safely reduce hospital readmission, safely reduce off-label use of antipsychotics, safely reduce hospitalizations, increase staff stability, improve discharge back to the community, adopt functional outcome measures, and adopt customer service satisfaction questionnaire and measures.

Specifically, these goals will address the following: the fact that 2/3 of unintended health care outcomes are potentially preventable, reduce the negative physical, emotional and psychological impacts caused by hospital readmissions, prevent adverse events for those with dementia on anti-psychotics, reduce hospital acquired infections, pressure ulcers, weakness and delirium – factors that affect quality of life, the ability to provide consistent staffing in order to deliver person-centered care and respond to each residents personal needs, ensure individuals are discharged back to the community within 100 days, improve functional outcome measures such as self-care and mobility, and ensure the happiness and peace of mind of patients, residents, and their families is being met through a uniform customer satisfaction survey.

Most importantly, Sunrise Terrace has already put efforts in place in order to meet the initiative’s challenges by applying for and receiving the Bronze National Quality Award and joining the Telligen National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative. Sunrise is committed to quality and by taking these steps we will have the tools and resources to meet the needs of our residents.

 

2015 National Quality Award Winner

Posted on by

Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Receives Bronze National Quality Award 

Iowa center recognized by national program for commitment to quality care —

Winfield, Iowa – Sunrise terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been recognized as a 2015 recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award for its dedication to improving the lives of residents through quality care. The award is the first of three distinctions possible through the National Quality Award Program, presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The program honors centers across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by AHCA/NCAL with a National Quality Award,” said Peggy Beaty, Administrator at Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. “Improving the lives of the residents and families we care for every day is what brings us joy. This award symbolizes the dedication and commitment we have to the quality journey.”

Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The program assists providers of long term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Centers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision and mission statements and an assessment of customers’ expectations. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system. Trained Examiners review each Bronze application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As a recipient of the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award, Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the Silver – Achievement in Quality Award.

“Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has demonstrated its commitment to providing quality care and I commend them for that,” said the AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Board of Overseers Chair Christine Boldt. “I encourage Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to continue their quality journey by striving for the Silver and Gold levels.”

The awards are sponsored by AHCA/NCAL Associate Business Members My InnerView, by National Research Corporation and PointRight. My InnerView represents the true voice of nursing home and assisted living residents, families, and employees with the most insightful quality measurement solutions and satisfaction surveys in the healthcare continuum. PointRight is the recognized leader in data-driven analytics for health care and insurance. Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was one of 545 centers to receive the Bronze level award. The award will be presented to Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehabilitation Center during AHCA/NCAL’s 66th Annual Convention and Exposition, October 4-7, 2015, in San Antonio, Texas.

New Faces in New Places

Posted on by

When you come to visit at Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehab Center, you will notice there are some new faces in old places and some familiar faces in new places!

Jason Burgus RN,  after six years as the day shift charge nurse, will become the Director of Nursing on May 1.

20150428_161541_resized

Dana Kuisle RN, has assumed the Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) position after seven years at Sunrise as the Director of Nursing.

Dana Kuisle - Director of Nursing

Lindsay Remick has joined the management TEAM as an AIT (Administrator in Training).  She is currently in the Masters program for Health Care Administration.

Lindsay

Each of these individuals offers unique talents and we welcome the years of knowledge and experience that they bring to our professional TEAM.

Employee Monthly Celebrations

Posted on by

Monthly Celebrations

Each month all staff at Sunrise Terrace are charged with meeting three goals that align with our mission to provide health, hope and happiness to all we serve. It is our way of keeping them knowledgeable about our services, what is expected of them, and the regulations we must follow each and every day to keep our residents safe and our quality measures at the highest of levels. The last Friday of the month we celebrate the success we’ve made towards these goals and provide all employees a special lunch. It also provides an opportunity to introduce the next month’s goals.

May’s goals include:

  1. Achieve 90% attendance at our May in-service
  2. All residents who enjoy outdoors will go outside at their specified times of choice
  3. When asked, all employees will know the answer to at least three customer service questions that were discussed at April’s in-service

Goals stem from monthly data collection through various reports and feedback that we receive from residents and their families.

Spring Fling

Posted on by

At long last, winter is over, and on March 19th our residents happily welcomed in spring with our annual Spring Fling Gala. Residents always look forward to this time of celebrating, with dinner, drinks, and entertainment.

The anticipation of a special evening started that afternoon, as the ladies got all dolled up and the men dusted off their suits and dress shoes. The restaurant, aka our main dining room, was decorated in a spring theme of flowers and butterflies. The evening began with offerings from the bar and the talented, Mary Kilpatrick, playing the piano. Many songs from years gone by were played, which had people singing along and reminiscing. Mary continued to provide music throughout dinner, which was enjoyed and appreciated by all. And what’s a celebration without great food? Prime rib, Butterfly shrimp, Cheesy Potatoes, Roasted red potatoes, Buttered baby carrots, Parmesan brussel sprouts, Dinner salad and Rolls were on the menu. After dinner, the dessert cart was presented at each table and choosing was not an easy feat, as the variety of homemade, tempting, desserts all looked so good.

Each of our residents left the gala with satisfied tummies, smiles and new memories. Yes, evenings such as this take planning, participation and extra effort from all staff, from all departments, and I speak for all of us when I say that every second of effort on our part, was worth every moment of joy that our residents experienced.

Join us for National Nursing Home Week

Posted on by

National Nursing Home Week at Sunrise Terrace

Sunday

2-3:00 PM            Mother’s Day Tea*

Monday              

10:30 AM             Making Mariachi Music

11:30 AM             Mexican Meal

2:30 PM               Churros

Tuesday              

7-9:00 AM           Community Omelet Breakfast*

2:00 PM               Variety Show*

Wednesday       

10:30 AM             Sombrero Toss

11:00 AM             Spanish Lesson

2:30 PM               Worship

3:30 PM               Children’s Soccer*

Thursday            

11:00 AM             Macarena/Cowboy Jim

5:00 PM               Community Fish Fry*

Friday                   

10:30 AM             Piñata Party

2:00 PM               Margarita Bar

3:45 PM                Mexican Soda

National Nursing Home Week is just around the corner! The theme this year is “Bring on the Fiesta”, encouraging homes to utilize a Mexican flair in their special events for residents, community members, families, and staff. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the vital role long term care facilities play in our communities and to showcase our specialties, while having fun in the process. We hope you can join us for several of our events. Specifically, we invite you to the variety show, community fish fry, children’s soccer, community omelet breakfast and Mother’s day tea; each of which have a (*) after their name on the schedule.

She got well and went home!

Posted on by

Even though the ground was still covered with snow, Shirley Finke is excited about going home. She spent some time with us at Sunrise Terrace Nursing and Rehab getting strong and ready to go back home. Our team work hard to make her stay as positive and productive as possible. With a little celebration and warm send off, she was on her way. We are thankful Shirley chose Sunrise Terrace for her short term stay. It was great to have her be part of our family. She made the comment’ “if I needed anything else, I will be calling you.” She will always be welcome.

– Marilyn Nichols

Reading is Fun

Posted on by

There are many therapeutic benefits in reading aloud not only to children, but to the elderly as well.

New research suggests that reading books, writing and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. Reading exercises our working memory which requires us to use more mental energy than, for example, processing an image on a television screen.

As for the case with the elderly, reading aloud encourages them to “tap into” these already stored life-long memories. We shouldn’t underestimate the effects of everyday activities, such as reading and writing, on our children, ourselves and our parents or grandparents.

To supplement this need and accommodate visual and attention deficits, we have been reading aloud to residents to provide memory stimulation and engage long-term memory.

Therefore, the emphasis placed on reading to children should also be directed to our elderly population, especially considering eye function declines as we become seniors, making it difficult to read to oneself.

Currently we are reading “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingles Wilder. This book has been met with great interest by both higher- and lower-functioning residents, keeping interest for up to an hour. Rhonda has been reading after supper in Garden Terrace several evenings each week and Katie has started a new ‘Reading Circle’ that meets most Monday mornings. We discuss various details of the book, adding personal spins on the content. This type of book taps into the tales they heard as children, perhaps even from the reminiscing of their elders. The book paints vivid mental pictures that they can visualize as we read, and allows a brief escape from our everyday lives.

-Katie and Rhonda