Resident Shares Her Crocheting Expertise

Hale Makua Wailuku Resident Marieta “Nana” Yalon learned to crochet at school in the Philippines at the age of 15, and has been crocheting ever since. At Hale Makua, she makes tote bags, hats, and lap blankets, which she sells at the monthly Country Store.

While sitting and crocheting one day, Nana realized she was being watched. Administrative Secretary and Care Partner Temmie Faudan was watching with interest as Nana Yalon created a hat out of colorful yarn.

“Come on, I’ll teach you” Nana remembers saying to Temmie. Several lessons later, Temmie is trying to meet Nana’s high standards for tight stitches. “She reviews my work and sometimes tears it out and makes me start over” laughs Temmie. 

This is an example of Eden Principle 4:  An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care.  This is the antidote to helplessness.

Residents Participate in Care Partner Training

Care partner Ruby Yadao met with the members of the Hale Makua Kahului Resident Council to ask them if there were things that could be taught or shared with new hires to improve the quality of care that is provided to them. The residents couldn’t think of any specific areas of improvement, but suggested having a resident participate in the training so that care partners would get some practice with an actual resident and the resident could provide feedback at the time of the training that may help further improve care. Resident Beverly Kamimoto pictured above volunteers for training on the lift with care partners Malia Spencer and Ryan Nasu.

This is an example of Eden Alternative Principle 4, which states that an Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness. By asking residents for their input, and Principle 8 that states an Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision making authority into the hands of Elders or into the hands of those closest to them

Eden Alterntaive Tip of the Week

When was the last time you filled out a care balance check-up sheet for yourself?  When was the last time your care partners did the same?  A care balance check-up involves thinking about an average day of any given week in your life.  During the course of an average day, what are the ways you give to others?  How and what do you receive from your care partners, both at home and in your professional life?  Think out of the box when it comes to what you receive.  The gift of warm, receptive smiles is as important as the obvious, more overt gifts of care.

An important part of reflecting on care balance is acknowledging the gifts of care you give to yourself.  Self-care is a vital and essential part of assessing care balance. If you notice a significant deficit in your own self-care, start holding yourself accountable to adding acts of self care, one at a time, each week.

Once you've all completed your care balance check-up, share them with each other to learn more about how you each perceive the balance of care between you. Use this information to make subtle adjustments. Open, supportive discussion around care balance is a vital part of creating a life worth living!