Companionship Cures Loneliness

 

Charlotte Keegan, who lives in the Molokai Neighborhood, was having a conversation with Director of Nursing Janinne Grimes. She was telling Janinne that she felt lonely. When Janinne asked how we could help her with her loneliness, Mrs. Keegan responded that she used to have birds when she was younger, and wished she could have a canary of her own again.

Mrs. Keegan’s daughter was approached with the idea of getting a bird for her mom, and she agreed. She picked up a cage and some supplies. Administrative Secretary Temmie Faudan went with Mrs. Keegan to the Maui Pet Shop in Kahului where she chose a beautiful orange canary and named him Peri. After getting a clean bill of health from a local veterinarian, the canary joined our family at Hale Makua Wailuku.

This story is a heartwarming example of how companionship can cure loneliness. The Eden Alternative Principle 3 states that "Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.”

New Faces at Hale Makua Kahului

We're excited to introduce the newest care partners of our Kahului Nursing team, LPNs Ashley Naone (top) and Jaynnel Agrade. Aloha and welcome to the ohana!

Eden Alternative Tip of the Week: Deepening the Leadership Bench for the Organization

In following Eden Alternative Principle 10: "Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues. Fir it, there can be no substitute." The Denali Center in Fairbanks, AK has a plan. They want to make sure they have a strong leadership legacy to keep their journey going. They will tell you that leadership succession planning is “just what they do and who they are.” The story began when they were noticing that their leaders were getting close to retiring.

 
They began thinking about who could fill these positions with a goal to help employee care partners grow and not just stifle in their positions. Each leader in the organization writes out what they do in their jobs, and a description of what they did to secure their position. They have created a bulletin board with all of these positions posted. In the center, they feature a leadership position each month. If an employee care partner finds a position they are interested in, they can job shadow the person who holds the position and see if it is a good fit. Then, the organization helps them acquire the education they need, e.g. growing from CNA to an RN or from a dietary aide to a dietary manager. Together, they develop a growth plan.

 
Another leadership growth tool they use is something called neighborhood book clubs. They began because of a communication challenge in an area for Elders living with dementia. The book club started with a title about Alzheimer’s disease. They handed out the books and asked for volunteers to read a chapter and then bring it to the following week’s meeting and present what they read. The team then discussed how the chapter related to what they do and how they can do better. It made a tremendous difference. It has since expanded to include journal articles, conference information, and other books that get shared with the team. Since then, other neighborhoods have adopted this practice too. As a result, they are doing a great job of growing informal leaders within their neighborhoods.

Submitted by Denali Center

Happy Birthday Gloria!

Gloria with her daughter Susan Crawford

Resident Gloria Distefano celebrated her birthday today. She joyfully shared a huge birthday cake along and mochi ice cream with her family, neighbors, staff and even visiting nursing student from the University of Hawaii Maui College.

 

Becoming Well-Known

Becoming well-known is a hallmark value of the Eden Alternative philosophy, which is defined as "When the Elders and their Care Partners are well-known to one another needs are anticipated, Elders are the decision makers, Elder preferences are met, and genuine human caring comes ahead of tasks. When the person in more important than the task, there is nothing we will not do to improve their well-being."

My role in the organization isn't as a direct care give, but I am fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know residents and clients by interviewing them for stories and/or taking their photos. Many of them know my name, but most probably know me as the person who takes the pictures. Adult Day Health client Elayna Kaplan, whom I've know for over a year, left me the above magazine clipping a note saying that she thought I'd like the photography in this particular story. She was right. Getting to know the residents and clients here is wonderful, but I'm always pleasantly surprised to realize that many of them have gotten to know me as well.

Residents Give Care Too!

My son enjoying the vibrant colors in the book Gloria Distefano colored and gave to him

Last week I met with resident Gloria Distefano to interview her for a story I was working on for an upcoming newsletter. I always enjoy having the opportunity to talk story with residents, so that I can share their wonderful stories with others. In this way the residents and clients that let me interview them for stories are providing care for me as well as the organization as a whole. The Eden Alternative teaches that creating opportunities to give as well as receive care is the antidote to boredom.

During my conversation with Gloria, I happened to mention that I have a ten month old son. She quickly responded that he should have one of her colorings. She brought out books for her colorings and asked me to choose one for him. Since he loves the color red, I chose a picture of a tropical red fish. Instead of tearing out the page, she gave me the entire book of her vibrant, meticulous colorings. Needless to say my son loves the book and all of Gloria's color selections! Just another way Gloria was able to provide care for someone else by creating and giving them something that they can enjoy and appreciate.

Variety & Spontanity in Simple Pleasures

As stated in Eden Alternative Principle 5, the antidote to boredom, is a community that imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. Yesterday a family from the House of Hope Fellowship in Hana came to spend time with many of the residents of Hale Makua Kahului. The youngest girl in the group had so much fun just getting to push Yaeko Hasegawa in her wheelchair, and Yaeko loved getting a ride from someone who is only as tall as her wheelchair!

Donation of Flowers Brings Smiles & Joy

Yesterday a truckload carrying 30 buckets filled with beautiful, fresh cut white hydrangeas, orchids and calla lilies was delivered to Hale Makua for residents. Activities team members Jodi and Teresa assembled dozens of individual flower arrangements that were delivered by staff to smiling residents like Juanita (above) and Sally (below). This very generous donation was made through the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea by guests Adrian and Alicia Wilson, who recently renewed their wedding vows. Congratulations to the happy couple, the flowers from your wedding continue to bring joy to our residents!

An abundance of flowers being delivered

Nutrition Services Team Member Exemplifies Principle 7

The East Neighborhood would like to recognized Eva in Nutrition Services for going above and beyond her job. A resident who was restless, starting at 4 a.m., said that he wanted to eat steak, which is not something that Hale Makua typically serves. So, I called a family member to see if they could bring in a cooked steak for the resident to help curb his restlessness, but unfortunately he doesn’t cook. The family member asked if Hale Makua could make the steak instead. I called the kitchen and asked Eva if she could help us with a special request, as the only way to end this resident's restlessness is give him a eat steak to eat. Eva did not hesitate to say yes to the request. 

Eva exemplifies what is Luana all about, specifically Principle 7: "Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never it's master". Because the resident's restlessness was able to be calmed by giving him a steak, the use of a chemical restraint to calm him wasn't necessary. Thank you EVA!

From,

Luisa

East Neighborhood Supervisor

Nutrition Services Honored for National Nutrition Month

In honor of National Nutrition Month in March, we recognize our Nutrition Services team of 47 individuals who ensure that our residents and clients enjoy nutritious, well-balanced meals three times a day, 365 days a year. They serve over 421,000 meals a year, and wash more than 1,100 dishes and over 200 pots/pans every day. A few long time team members share what they like most about working in Nutrition Services:

• Charlene Kuhia recently celebrated her 35th anniversary with the organization, and was one of the people who launched Wailuku’s continental breakfast. She enjoys interacting with the residents, always learning something new at work, and how the Nutrition Services team is like a second family.
• Eva Valentine has been with Hale Makua Health Services for over 30 years, and over that time has learned a lot about different diets, foods of different ethnicities, and cooking; which she enjoys applying when making meals for her own family.
• Lorena Hendrickson loves her job, and has been with our organization for 24 years. She enjoys prepping the food that nourishes our residents, and working with her coworkers, who are just like family.

Celebrating Social Services

We are celebrating National Social Work Month throughout the month of March.  Why Social Work Matters…The social work profession has played an important role in achieving civil rights and human rights advances nationally and internationally for over a century.  The primary mission of social work is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic needs of all people, especially the most vulnerable.

The Social Services staff of Hale Makua support our residents by remaining aware of their strengths and needs as we assist them with issues such as grief and loss, mental health concerns, chronic physical illness and disability, and economic insecurity.

Social Services involve residents’ families in care coordination and accessing of health and psychosocial services that will improve their family members’ health outcomes. They support family members by educating them, assisting with their adjustment to the resident’s new home, and encouraging their continuing role as advocate for their family member.

Your Social Services Team members are Julie Hoy, SSA; Donna Martin, Secretary; Asha Pierkarz, SW; Gail Raikes, SW; Donna Tabion; SSA; and Natalie Turnbull, SSA. They will continue to strive to bring an effective strengths-based, person-in-the environment approach as we serve our residents and families to address quality of life, the role of spirituality, end-of-life care, coordination of medical care, and overall service delivery.

Mahalo to our Social Services team for all that you do for our residents/clients and their families! We applaud the wonderful work that you do in advocating for our residents/clients and supporting them!

Po'okela Team Community Service at Hale Makua

Back row from left:  Tevita "Mo" Takitaki, Jerycho Medeiros, Cody McDonald Front row from left: Tiliti Adams, Tommy Musto, Ansel Newman, Spencer Takitaki, Lyti Akinaka, Joey Musto, Jhoel Sarraude, Rhys Bridge

The kids for the Po'okela soccer team (pictured above) and Hale Makua residents enjoyed a few hours of bingo together on February 25th. Everyone had a blast, and the kids are looking forward to making this a quarterly event!

Photos courtesy of U12 Po'okela FC