Administrator Charlie Green and Secretary Jozy Moyer discussed some more changes that the Nursing Home plans to implement in an interview with the Sheridan Express Thursday. The changes are focused on ensuring the long-term viability of the Nursing Home as well as improving the quality of life for residents by creating a less restrictive environment for the residents. Green said that some of the changes were as a result of state mandates; others were a matter of running a business. "There is a lot of stuff that we are doing that is simply a matter of running a business," he said.
The Nursing Home has already made some changes; they have replaced the stoves and remodeled the showers twice. They will get a new van from a state grant in November; the used van that they were recently donated has already led to more independence for residents; residents are able to go to more doctor's appointments and the Nursing Home has taken residents to a lot more community events such as the Draft Horse Pull and the Allendale Rodeo. Previously, they had not been able to do so for fear of the old 1970 van breaking down. In addition, under the grant program, the state owns 80% of the new van, meaning that in eight years or 175,000 miles, the state will likely replace the current van, meaning that the WCCC will not have to wait 20 years to replace their van like last time.
Among other changes that are down the road include the following:
--The boiler system, which has been there for 40 years and has far exceeded life expenctancy, will be replaced with individual heating and cooling systems. This will allow residents to control the heating and cooling in their own rooms and gives residents more control of their own rooms.
--The floor, which was the original floor, will also be replaced.
--The wall between the two therapy rooms will be knocked down and the therapy room enlarged, allowing for a greater variety of exercises for residents and patients doing rehabilitation. It will also allow the WCCC to put in more equipment as well.
--Administrator Charlie Green said that as the result of a new federal mandate, the current railing beds would be replaced with a high-low bed which was adjustable and which could slide up and down. Green said these would be safer and provide more independence for residents than the old beds.
--The employee policy manual is being updated to become more specific and eliminate what Green said were redundancies and contradictory policies. Green said that they were being dated for the first time so that it would be easier to enforce. He said that previously, it was difficult to enforce the policy manual because nobody would remember when policies were put in place. For instance, Green noted that the policy manual has always had a loyalty policy and a dress code, but that they have never been enforced. In the same way, the job evaluation criteria and the performance evaluations were being updated as well.
Work continued on the current projects as well, with painting being done on the rafters in the dining area; the front parking lot is still being worked on while the bidding deadline for the rear parking lot was Friday. Residents or Powers of Attorney (POA's) or other relatives authorized to act on behalf of a resident will vote; when the votes are tallied up in early September, the work on the hallway walls will proceed. Secretary Jozy Moyer said some of the old pictures may go back up while residents have taken others and put in their rooms. She said that the facility would try to balance the wants of residents who wanted old nostalgic art with those who wanted art that looked forward to the future. She said that the location of the birdcage was not set in stone, but that it would be determined after the current dining room and hallway projects were complete.
In addition to renovations, the facility has been focusing on safety with a series of in-service safety meetings with employees. On Thursday, they conducted a training on infection control; one of the main concerns this year will be swine flu, which has been deemed to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Other safety trainings will be held in September and November. One will focus on protecting residents' privacy; for instance, employees need to know proceedures to follow so that when they fax information, they fax the information of the patients that they intend to and not fax someone else's information.
Green said that he would gauge interest in a Family Council at the upcoming WCCC Picnic September 3rd and would go from there. He said that the two purposes of a Family Council were to give residents who were not able to voice their opinions a voice through POA's and family members who were able to speak for them. Family Councils would be able to represent the interests of family members and residents who were not able to make their voices known to the board and staff and administration; the final say in decisions would still be with the administration and board. Green said it would be another platform for residents to speak for a non-threatening position. "We want there to be plenty of avenues for communication whether you are a resident or employee or family member," he said. For instance, the WCCC has a suggestion box that people can use to submit their ideas. Suggestions have focused on offering a greater variety of food; the facility has switched to bringing out meals restaurant-style, which Moyer said involves bringing food to residents directly from the kitchen. "It's more like home to bring food to residents directly from the kitchen," she explained.
"We have to keep in mind that there are currently 36 residents and we have to determine all of their wishes and let them speak for themselves," said Moyer. "Everyone has a voice here and there are always going to be different opinions." She said that in the same way, they had to take into account the opinions of all of the employees as well. The WCCC board instituted a salary freeze in 2007 during the height of the financial crisis, but they instituted a new salary scale in July of this year that includes raises for the employees. She said that there is a procedure for employees to resolve problems with their supervisors and go up the chain of command.
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