News
KindredHearts Announces
2008 Caregiver of the Year Award Recipients
KindredHearts Senior Living proudly presented the 2008 Caregiver of the Year Award to two very deserving caregivers recently. Nominations for the award were made by residents, families and co-workers. These outstanding caregivers and leaders were recognized for possessing qualities such as honesty, respect for others, compassion and reliability.
The 2008 Caregiver of the Year Awards were presented to: Darcy Tennie, Resident Assistant Specialist from KindredHearts of Kaukauna and Consuela Kirkendoll, Resident Assistant from KindredHearts of Brown Deer. The awards were presented to the recipients by their Residence Directors at the annual KindredHearts Holiday Party in December of 2008.
The reward for the recipients included a relaxing day at the spa, Christmas Dinner, a gift card and Christmas Present as well as an engraved plaque in appreciation for the care they provide daily to the residents of KindredHearts.
One family member said it best on her nomination form when she said "having dad here is the next best thing to having him home with me." The caregivers of the year make this feeling possible on a daily basis.
Congratulations to the 2008 Caregiver of the Year Award Recipients!
What's in the works?
Staff development at KindredHearts
Early in 2007, the management team began the process of evaluating our systems and operations. It was clear that a well trained, consistent, and dedicated team of caregivers is integral to quality resident care. To move forward, staff involvement and input was necessary. In July 2007, KindredHearts met with selected staff representatives from each location to share ideas, outline issues, and define any barriers to preserving the tradition of providing the highest quality of care to our residents. A summary of the discussion items and action taken is as follows:
- Concern about choosing between job duties such as cooking, laundry, and cleaning versus completing resident care.
Action: KindredHearts is currently working on hiring additional personnel and/or contracted services whose sole responsibility is to ensure the cleanliness of the residence and resident rooms. To date, this service is being provided in eight of the locations and is being researched in the remaining locations. - Imperative to have a core staff with clear responsibilities and set schedules.
Action: KindredHearts recently enacted a scheduling policy. This policy provides a consistent and fair way of scheduling employees to ensure that seasoned staff has a set schedule. - Training should be shared by all to allow staff to be trained in a timelier manner.
Action: KindredHearts is developing a training program which will allow resident assistants to be trained at a rate consistent with their knowledge and experience. KindredHearts is also creating a career ladder program providing opportunities and resources for growth and advancement. Compensation will be based upon the knowledge and goal accomplishments of each individual employee. - A protocol is needed for filling shifts to ensure fairness for all staff.
Action: KindredHearts recently enacted an open shift policy which clearly defines how to fill open shifts. This policy will ensure all staff is involved in filling the shifts. - More continuing education is needed in areas like dementia and situational training when new skills or tasks are started.
Action: KindredHearts is developing a dementia training program that will be mandatory for all staff working in a memory care unit and optional for all other staff. The training will be offered on a quarterly basis.
We appreciate the ideas and brainstorming of the resident assistant representatives. We will continue to follow through with the ideas of the group and provide you with periodic updates. In the meantime, please feel free to contact your regional director of operations with any questions or ideas that you may have. We appreciate your feedback and want to thank you for your contribution to caring for the elderly.