St. Andrews Village Retirement Community

St. Andrews Auxiliary Launching 15th Annual Lottery

Ask anyone, these are the best odds anywhere! The St. Andrews Hospital Auxiliary will sell only 300 tickets at $100.00 each during its 2008 fund raiser, a cash transfusion for St. Andrews Hospital and Healthcare Center. This year there are three chances to win! The winning tickets are worth $5,000 First Prize, $3,000 Second Prize and $2,000 Third Prize and may be purchased by an individual person or a group. The hospital will receive $20,000 to be used for equipment or services. Lottery entry forms are located at St. Andrews Village, the new John F. Andrews Medical Arts Building, St Andrews Hospital, St. Andrews Auxiliary Thrift Store and at other locations around town. Complete your entry form with your $100.00 and cross your fingers! The drawing will be held during Windjammer Days, Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 5:00 PM in Boothbay Harbor’s Waterfront Park. You do not need to be present to win. Good luck and thank you for supporting this great cause!

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Helpful Travel Tips for Seniors-Keep Your Health Information Close at Hand

There is always a lot to think about when planning a trip. What to wear? Where to visit? Where to stay? Just as important and almost always overlooked is being prepared for a health emergency. Visits to a hospital Emergency Department are usually sudden, unplanned and the last thing anyone thinks about!  Whether you're at home in the Boothbay Region or traveling here for a vacation stay, here are some helpful tips from the St. Andrews Hospital Emergency Department that can help the ED staff provide excellent care and customer service to you.                                                                

·       Carry a list of your current medications in your wallet or purse at all times.  In addition to the names of all your medications, also include the dose strength and the times when you take them.  If you take vitamins, herbs or other supplements be sure to include them.  Also remember that aspirin is a medication!  It is surprising how many patients we see who neglect to tell us that they take an aspirin daily.

·       Allergies are important and are not limited to medications.  Food and latex allergies are increasing.  Be sure this information is included with your list of current medications. 

·       Cuts, scrapes and burns are frequently treated in the ED.  You will most certainly be asked about your last tetanus shot, which is usually updated every 10 years.

·       Have you had a flu shot?  Pneumonia vaccine?  Hep B vaccine?  These records can be obtained from your primary care physician. 

·       Do you have a pacemaker or cardiac stents?  If so, you should have been provided with a wallet information card from your cardiologist.  It will contain the model and location of your device. Carry this information with you.  It can't help you if it's in a drawer at home.

·       We are now seeing cardiac patients who carry a wallet sized copy of their EKG.  Ask your doctor if this is a service they offer.  If not, obtain a copy of your most recent EKG and carry it with you, especially if you're traveling. Obtaining medical records between hospitals can be a time consuming process.  By being prepared, you can help yourself when time is critical. 

Hopefully you have found this information helpful and will take a few minutes to organize your health information into a compact portable format. It is well worth your time and can help healthcare professionals better serve you in a crisis. The Emergency Department at St.Andrews Hospital is here to provide you with excellent care and customer service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In an emergency, you can count on us to be there for you!

Duane MacLeod, RN

St.Andrews Hospital Emergency Department

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St. Andrews Village to Host Fund Raiser for the Lincoln County Humane Society on April 10th

Mark your calendars for a noon time luncheon on April 10th! Amy and the dining team are preparing a delicious menu to benefit a great organization-The Lincoln County Humane Society (LCHS) www.furrypets.com.

LCHS is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty and abuse to animals, birds and wildlife. It is a place of safety for healthy adoptable animals; a temporary home for the homeless; a haven for the mistreated, neglected or abused animals of Lincoln County and surrounding counties.

This has been a hard winter for many in Lincoln County. This fact, coupled with the down turn in the economy, has resulted in the very difficult and unfortunate circumstance of some people having to give up their pet or pets. The end result being the LCHS has seen a significant increase in the number of pets the shelter is caring for and utilization of shelter resources.

Please come join us to have a delicious lunch served by the Village dining team. The menu includes:

• Cold Tomato and Cucumber or Cream of Asparagus and Chicken Soup
• Veggie Wraps with sundried tomatoes, ham,onion,swiss sandwich with honey mustard or tarragon chicken on assorted rolls
• Bacon broccoli salad
• Wild berry shortcake.

The cost of the luncheon is underwritten by St. Andrews Village with all proceeds going to the Lincoln County Animal Shelter. Donations are appreciated with $7.00 suggested per person. Please Contact St. Andrews Village Reception Services at 633-0920 for additional information.

 

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Scamming Disadvantaged Seniors-Even in Parade Magazine!

I received a call this morning from a friend who was concerned about his dad. His dad happens to be in his late seventies and is on medication for memory loss. He called his son this morning (Sunday morning) and told him about free Amish electric heaters advertised in the Parade magazine insert that comes in the Sunday morning paper. "Free", I said to my friend? "Yes free Mark", my friend said.

When I heard that four letter word free, my antenna went on high alert. I told my friend I would do some research and call him back. I pulled the Parade out of my Sunday paper and began to thumb through it. I flipped though several pages and there it was In bold print, "Amish man's new miracle idea helps home heat bills hit rock bottom". I proceeded to read the slick two page add. It was littered with words and phrases that were very compelling such as free, giving away, miracle, everyone is getting one, so real it fools everybody, giving heaters away. You get the picture!

Speaking of the picture, you can't miss the 6" x 6" picture of an Amish man in a straw hat shaking the hand of a Heat Surge official. What a job title that is! And talk about a contradiction, the add goes on to state, "And here's the best part. Readers who beat the 48-hour order deadline are getting their imported hi-tech miracle heaters free when encased in the real Amish built solid wood fireplace mantles". For some reason, I had great difficulty reconciling that the Amish man's miracle idea was an imported hi-tech heater!

To make a long story short, as you proceed through the second page of the the add it tells you with written words that you are paying two hundred and ninety eight dollars for the solid wood mantle! OH-but the heater is free! I relayed all of my incite to my friend to compare notes. Unfortunately, his dad had already made the call for two free heaters that went on his Discover Card for $700.00! Of course, they were quick to take his credit card number, but were not there to rescind the order.

The add may have been legal, but it was clearly aimed at taking advantage of unsuspecting  or disdvantaged seniors who were thinking they were getting something for free.  Which in my opinion, is a scam.

Mark

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Community Raises Over One Thousand Dollars for Boothbay Region Fuel Assitance Fund!

The community helped to warm many hearts this past Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14th. About 100 participants from around the Boothbay Region and from St. Andrews Village, New England's Premiere Retirement Community, helped to raise over $1000.00 for the region fuel assistance fund.

Guests signed up in advance for either an 11:30 AM or 12:30 PM seating. Cory, Alyssa, Shawna, Edith and Amy from the dining team developed and served a scrumptious menu. A choice of two soups and a variety of Amy's signature sandwiches were served. The homemade tomato bisque soup was, as usual, a big hit with the guests!  Other members of the St. Andrews Village team pitched in to help set up, greet, serve or work on the cleanup team. 

I always enjoy meeting our guests! The lower part of Emery Lane borders on our local middle and high schools and a number of teachers made time for lunch to support this event. Several members of the St. Andrew Hospital Thrift Store team visited as well! By the way, if you have not checked out the new location for the Thrift Store at the Boothbay Harbor mini-mall, please do so! There are bargains galore and they are now accepting and selling furniture as well! Bruce and other members of the Tindal and Callahan team www.tindalandcallahan.com stopped in and lended their support to the effort.

One of the benefits of living at St. Andrews Village is our continuum of services from independent living to skilled nursing and rehabilitation. The north end of the main inn at the village is devoted to health care services. Our assisted living residence is on the second floor and our Gregory Wing skilled nursing home is on the first floor. The beauty of the main inn is that all of our services and programs are accessible under one roof. Viv, the Activities Coordinator for the Gregory Wing, took advantage of this by coordinating a lunch out for several residents and their family members to help support the cause!

One of the best aspects of living in the Boothbay Region is that it offers endless opportunities for community involvement. The culture of community stewardship is a common thread that runs throughout the greater community and within the community of residents at St. Andrews Village. Thanks to all for helping to support the community fuel assistance fund!

Mark    

 

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St. Andrews Village to Host Community Benefit Luncheon for Local Fuel Assistance Fund on February 14th

Mark your calendars! St. Andrews Village will  be hosting a benefit fund-raiser for the community fuel assistance fund on Valentine's Day, February 14th.

This is an opportunity to warm many hearts including your own! Amy and the St. Andrews Village dining team are planning a delicious luncheon! We are planning on two seating's and a suggested donation of $7.00. More news to follow!

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Keeping Active is Key to Healthy Senior Living

As Health and Wellness Manager, I consult with many seniors who live at St. Andrews Village. I encourage residents to participate in as many activities and exercise classes as possible. Staying physically active is a key component to living well and independently.

Exercise classes at St. Andrews village are offered three times a week by a certified physical trainer, Donna Townsend. Donna is thrilled  watching the size of each new class grow . Participants come from both the cottage-style and apartment-style homes here at St. Andrews Retirement Village.

In addition to exercise classes with Donna, the Village offers a number of other "evidenced based" health promotion programs that have been prov-en effective by research conducted by national universities from around the country. For example, Matter of Balance is a program where participants learn about ways to prevent falls in the home. Falls are a leading cause of hospitalizations for seniors. Living Well is a class where participants learn relaxations techniques, goal setting, stress management, eating for better health, and ways to work in partnership with their personal health care team.

In my role as Wellness Coordinator, I offer a very individualized program for residents called Enhance Wellness. Enhance Wellness participants have a full nurse assessment and then work collaboratively with me and a social work professional to develop their own personal health action plan. I am proud to say that St. Andrews Village is the only retirement community in the country to be offering the Enhance Wellness program exclusively to it's residents.

I'm very excited about the programs we offer here at St. Andrews Village! Please call me or visit us on the web at www.standrewsvillage.com to learn more about our extensive health promotion programs. We are fortunate to have such great resources available to enhance healthy living for seniors. All in beautiful Boothbay Harbor Maine! Come share your story with us!

Debbie Siegel, RN 

Health and Wellness Manager

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St. Andrews set to Celebrate Top 100 Honor for Home Health Providers in U.S on February 28th

St. Andrews Home Health has been named to the 2007 HomeCare Elite Top 100, a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the United States. St. Andrews is the only Home Health provider in Maine, and one of only two in New England, to receive this honor. 

This annual review, the only of its kind, identifies the Top 100 agencies in the country, ranked by an analysis of performance measures in quality outcomes, quality improvement and financial performance.

“Part of the reason for our success,” stated Lauri Andrews, RN, of St. Andrews Home Health, “is that we are small, we all know each other very well, and we collaborate.”  Kathy Bean, Home Health Director added, “The small size of or organization and our rapport with our Rehab Services Department allows us to develop a plan of care without delay and we are able to begin patient care almost immediately.”

To recognize the success of th e Home Health Team, there will be a celebration held in their honor Thursday, February 28.  The party will be held at 5:00 p.m. in the Main Dining Room of St. Andrews Village, New England's Premiere Retirement Community.  All are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

For more information, contact St. Andrews Home Health at 633-1919. 

Megan Carpenter

Director of Development and Community Relations

The St. Andrews Home Health Team, pictured at right.

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The Bucket List and Improving Care for Seniors

I have not seen the movie "The Bucket List",  but have seen the commercials and it looks worthy of a trip to the mall! I do not have a bucket list. However, as a licensed nursing home administrator, I have a professional bucket list.Tops on that list is to eliminate needless regulation that gets in the way of providing end of life care and services to residents in nursing homes. Here is my story.

We recently (within last 6 months) helped two men move to our nursing home unit, the Gregory Wing. Both were residing in a residential care setting. Both had a terminal condition and had become very ill.

In the State of Maine, anyone accessing long term care nursing home services is required to go through the State Assessment agency. This agency sends an RN out to do an on site assessment to certify that services are necessary. Both men easily qualified for nursing home services and moved to the Gregory Wing.

The Gregory Wing care team helps them improve remarkably, both physically and psychosocially over their first 90-days at the facility. Believe it or not, here is where the problem resides.

The State of Maine requires a follow up 90-day assessment to insure people continue to qualify for nursing home services. Upon reassessment, both men are deemed to not qualify!

As advocates, we appeal this decision. However, the rules of the hearing only allow a review of the exact information used by the RN assessor at the time of the assessment. We lose again!

The only possibility for each resident to continue to reside on the Gregory Wing is to have a clinical decline, generating a significant change MDS (federal level of care tool) leading to another request for a new assessment. What a great way to treat human beings with a terminal health condition!

Imagine being a nursing home resident on hospice care, just having moved to a new environment, feeling and looking better, dealing with the psychosocial aspects of death and dying, making new friends, and having to worry about another move to a new environment because the nursing home staff did too good a job in taking care of you!

We are working with our state associations and local legislators to work on providing an alternative to seniors in situations like this. Wish us luck and stay tuned in!

By the way, one of our dear friends passed away recently just before his appeal. Our other dear friend and his family desire to continue residing on the Gregory Wing and we are going to make that happen!

Mark Lowell
www.standrewsvillageblog.com

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Growing Your Own Talent

I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at our Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course graduation program held at the Gregory Wing long term care unit at New England's premiere retirement community, St. Andrews Village. Nine students graduated and we entertained a large group of proud families and friends along with a contingent of Gregory Wing residents lending their support. These graduation events are a favorite activity for residents and staff alike. Everyone enjoys seeing the pride in accomplishment expressed by both the graduating students and their supporters.

St. Andrews Villlage is a big supporter of "growing our own talent". We have a long standing tradition of sponsoring CNA training courses. In addition to CNA training, the village now provides Certified Residential Care Medication Assistant (CRMA) recertification training and Personal Support Specialist (PSS) training for people who desire to work in our home companion services program,Heart to Heart Home Companions. These training programs are a win-win for everyone involved. Students receive low cost career training. The Gregory Wing staff gain valuable skills serving as mentors to students during their extensive clinical experience. The community at large benefits as a result of St. Andrews Village furthering the development of the long term care labor pool in the Boothbay Harbor Region.

Congratulations to the fall class of CNA graduates! Thank you to all of the employees and residents of the Gregory Wing long term care unit who contributed to the students educational experience. 

Mark Lowell, VP, Senior Living Services

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St. Andrews Village blog up and running!

Last spring, we worked closely with the crew at flyte new media (www.flyte.biz) in Portland in the launch of our new web site www.Standrewsvillage.com. To say we are satisfied customers of flyte new media is a definite understatement! The flyte team offered excellent customer service and consultation throughout our design and content development process. They are undoubtedly experts at what they do! Our results, as measured by our positioning on the major search engines within the first six months of site launch, exceeded our expectations. Thank you to Carolyn, Rich and the entire crew at flyte new media!

Now we are on to blogging! We decided to blog since so much more time is being spent by consumers on the World Wide Web. We have a host of experts on all facets of senior living at the village and we have others located on Mill Cove at St. Andrews Hospital who are experts on medical care and healthy living. We have a great deal of information to share and we will be blogging this expertise to the World Wide Web. So stop in, check us out on a periodic basis and learn more about senior living at St. Andrews Village, New England’s premiere retirement community in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. 

Mark Lowell

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