Nurses Week Celebrations
They work long hours. They work around the clock. They are asked to do difficult things under difficult circumstances. They comfort patients and families in trying times.
For all these reasons (and more), nurses deserve to be celebrated. And that’s exactly what happened in mid-May, when Nurses Week was observed at all six of The Allure Group’s facilities.
Celebrations and events took place across all of our centers to celebrate our incredible nurses. Gifts were given, luncheons were held, and a delicious breakfast in the case of our Bedford Center, for their night staff.
It was also Nursing Home Week this month which meant even more reason to celebrate and honor all of our incredible staff. Thank you very much to everyone who helped to put on these wonderful events and celebrations.
See below for some highlights of our celebrations:
Allure Chairman, Joel Landau, featured in hhm global
The Allure Group Chariman, Joel Landau, wrote a piece this month for HHM Global titled “For Seniors, Managing Health Means Managing Money” where he included a list of tips and recommendations to help seniors manage their funds. From sticking to a budget to downsizing, the article discusses ways in which managing money can also help with managing your health.
COO Melissa Powell Published in Medcity News
The Allure Group’s COO Melissa Powell penned a piece on May 9 for the Medcity News entitled “Let’s Hang on to What We’ve Got: Why Employee Retention is Crucial,” in which she discussed the challenges of retaining quality staff.
The thrust of the piece is that while compensation is a factor, other things — like engagement, work-life balance and culture — matter just as much, if not more.
So too does leadership. As she wrote:
“(M)anagers can set the tone. They can serve as conduits from the C-suite, communicating to the rank and file the organization’s vision and direction. They can establish the culture, make workers feel wanted and yes, hold the fort when it comes to that slow (and costly) leak of talent.”
Further, she wrote, the management team would do well to connect with employees on their turf — to understand their day-to-day role and plot ways in which they can make it easier for them. That’s how a culture grows, and how organizations can minimize personnel losses.
Congrats to Winsome McLean-Davis: Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award Recipient
Congrats to Winsome McLean- Davis, Post-Acute Care Administrator of Harlem Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation, for winning the prestigious ACHCA Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award. We are honored to have you as a part of The Allure Group family!
MANHATTAN TIMES, PATCH AND HARLEM WORLD MAGAZINE COVERED OUR HARLEM CENTER’S PAINT AND SIP EVENT
Clients in the Fortune Society’s Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) program continued a new initiative called ARTrition on May 20 at the Harlem Center, one that exposed residents to art and nutrition.
This program, a variation on Fortune’s “paint and sip” classes, called upon justice-involved individuals to not only teach residents the finer points of sketching, but also to serve them nutritious smoothies.
The classes were led by Guy Woodard, a Harlem native who began drawing at a young age by learning to skillfully replicate images around him. Woodard’s creativity eventually led him down a dark path, as he did several stints in federal prison for counterfeiting and forgery. After his incarceration, Woodard met with the head of The Fortune Society. The group provided support services, a renewed sense of purpose and a new way to use his talents. “Teaching is my favorite thing to do now,” said Woodard.
In the class Woodard taught for us, they worked on a drawing of President Barack Obama, a request from our residents.
Programs involving creativity have been found to give seniors a sense of purpose, afford them the opportunity to interact with others and experience personal growth, among other things.
To read more about this story, check out the coverage:
Dementia Education Presentation at Bedford Center
Laura Wayman, “The Dementia Whisperer,” raises dementia awareness worldwide and came to present to our community, staff and resident’s family members at our Bedford Center this month.
Laura Wayman is an internationally renowned in-demand expert and author of “A Loving Approach To Dementia Care,” published by John Hopkins University Press. Her expertise in dementia communications and care enables her to provide others with the tools to better understand the world through the eyes of those afflicted with this disease.
Easy Riders: Allure Pedals into Bike Week
Some Allure staffers took part in the Get Out and Ride Bike Challenge, May 13-19, part of National Bike to Work Week. Congrats to all who took part, and see you on the road again next year!
Bedford Center held Pet Therapy for residents
It has been proven that pet therapy benefits seniors in many ways — that it positively impacts their heart health, gives them purpose and can reduce stress. Pets even improve socialization, since they can serve as unbiased listeners and give unconditional love.
With that in mind, the Bedford Center hosted a pet therapy session on May 2nd.
“The Value of a Varied Diet in Skilled Nursing Facilities”
As residents enter a skilled nursing facility it is vital to their overall well-being to feel a level of control over what they are eating each day, as well as to feel that their specific dietary needs have been addressed. These facilities must meet standard requirements to serve a certain level of nutritious meals and snacks to their residents and to achieve basic levels of food safety and preparation. But beyond this, they can tailor daily offerings to ensure their residents feel as comfortable and “at home” as possible.
At The Allure Group, several dietary options are offered, whether residents are looking for Asian, Latin or Kosher fare. Our six facilities also customize their menus to our clientele at each location. For example, we serve Kosher menus at our King David and Bedford Centers, Chinese food at our Hamilton Park location and American and Spanish dishes at the Crown Heights Center. We also change the menus every season, and hold tastings for our residents when we do so. With this mix of choices, residents can look forward to meal times, secure in the knowledge that they will be able to have what is familiar to them.
Read the entire post here.
