Two new team members join the Apostles Center Staff

Please join with me in welcoming Jessica Good and Krista Murphy-Denlinger to the Homestead Village team.  Both will become part of the Apostles Center Leadership Team.

Jessica is our new Registered Nurse Assessment Coordinator (RNAC), a very specialized RN who uses her skills to complete all of the documentation required by both the federal and state government.  As RNAC, Mr. Good will ensure completion of the Minimum Data Set which is used to both care plan resident needs and for reimbursement from the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  The RNAC position is very important from both a clinical and financial standpoint.  Jessica earned her RN deagree at Lancaster General Hospital School of Nursing and her BSN from Millersville University.  Our previous RNAC, Claire Salve, had worked for Homestead Village for many years; but due to family issues needed to resign from the RNAC position.

Krista Murphy-Denlinger is returning to Homestead Village after a four year hiatus.  Her new role will be Social Worker for the Apostles Center for Care.  She will be very familiar to many Homestead Village stakeholders as she worked in the dining services department form 1995-2010, starting when she was a high school student and continued to work here on weekends while working as a social worker elsewhere.  Krista is also the wife of Rich Denlinger, Supervisor of Grounds.  Krista earned her Bachelors Degree from Shippensburg University in 2001 and her Masters from Temple University in 2005.  She will be coordinating both social services and admissions for the Apostles Center.  Our current Social Worker, Ilyasha Kling has accepted a position with the Pennsylvania Department of Health in Harrisburg.  We wish Ilyasha much success in her new position.

The Person Centered Transformation continues in the Apostles Center for Care

Periodically we post about the changes/improvements to the Apostles Center for Care.  Six months ago we highlighted the improved life enrichment program and ongoing culture changes.  Here is the latest update.

Eight years ago we began a journey to transform our nursing home from cold and institutional to a more home-like, person centered environment.  Those first steps were challenging but they got the ball rolling.  We eliminated the frequent rotating of staff assignments. We eliminated institutional meal service where most of the meals were served on trays that came out of the kitchen.  We eliminated the large fort-like nurses station that separated the staff from the residents.  We began working in smaller teams of staff to care for our elders.

Then in 2010, we began the physical transformation of the Apostles Center.  Moving every wall in the central section, we created two distinct houses, Fickes House and Radcliffe House, each with its own living room dining room, kitchen, spa and sun room.  We created a parlor for small gatherings and care conferences and actual offices for staff to work in (something that was in short supply for the first 24 years).  In the resident rooms, we added a privacy wall, flat screen TVs for each resident, improved lighting and a full bathroom including a shower and heat!  The new Apostles Center featured a kitchen at its very center, making made to order meals for residents at every meal a priority.

The physical changes were breathtaking and created a much nicer environment in which to live and work.  We did not stop there.  We brought in the premier providers of memory support training in the country and trained all of our staff in true person centered training.  The training focused on residents with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia; but the principles applied to everyone.  We had accomplished a lot over a period of about six years.

This past year we have focused even more attention on the Apostles Center to improve our care even more. We installed magnetic locks on all of the doors to provide a more secure environment, minimizing the chances of a resident wandering away as well as keeping out intruders who don't belong.  We implemented a new personal laundry service that allows each resident to have their personal laundry individually washed and folded rather than the old method of sending it to the institutional laundry with the bed linens, towels and washcloths.

We are transforming Fickes House into a true memory support household.  Significantly enhanced Life Enrichment staffing is the core of this transformation; but every staff member will also receive additional training through the SELF program, a series of educational programs that consist of both self learning modules and group activities designed to great increase each caregiver's understanding and ability to meet the needs of residents with memory support needs. We are developing the Fickes House outdoor patio to be a safe and secure outdoor area.

We have implemented a new electronic health record to vastly improve our record keeping, data tracking and response to resident needs.  PointClickCare is the most widely used nursing home electronic health record in the country.  Eventually all aspects of care will be tracked electronically and the need for massive paper charts will decrease dramatically.

We will not stop there.  Over the next year, we will continue to look for better ways to create a more home-like and enjoyable environment for our residents to live and our staff to work.  Together we will make the Apostles Center for Care at Homestead Village a truly home-like experience.