Morrow Home Community Messenger Newsletter of Morrow Home Community • Sparta, WI • (608) 269-3168 SPRING 2012 Michael’s Message Young at Heart Child Care Center By Michael Bonello Five Years of Quality Community Child Care In May of this year, we celebrate the five-year anniversary Secondly, everyone of our Young at Heart Child Care Center. This ministry has knows that combining in- become an integral component of Morrow Home Commu- fants and/or young chil- nity. Mary Ellen Leis, the Director of Young at Heart Child dren together with older Care Center, tells the wonderful history in her article on page people is wonderful for six. all. Whether it is mak- I saw a Mothers’ Day card that referred to a mother’s worst ing snacks or doing art nightmare as “no peanut butter in the house and the child- projects, watching chil- care provider had ‘gone fishin.’” Any parent knows this is dren playing or eating to- not a joke. When our two boys were young, Deb and I would gether, having snowball do anything to find quality child care. Keeping an extra sup- or squirt gun fights, or ply of peanut butter was always a much easier task. just visiting – everyone We have continually stressed the three successful goals of enjoys this quality time. quality child care in our long term care organization. Young Professionals call this Young at Heart student Aubree Kast with nursing at Heart provides quality child care to the employees of intergenerational home resident Doris Nading Morrow Home Community thus enhancing employee satis- programming. Residents and children call it plain old FUN! faction and recruitment and reducing turnover. I always tell Finally, there is a need for additional quality group child the employees whose children attend our child care ministry care in Sparta. There is a myth that Young at Heart only serves a fact: they will always lovingly remember working at Mor- the employees of Morrow Home Community. Young at Heart row Home Community close to their child. These memories serves community families also! Fewer than 20% of the chil- will include having their child stop by to give them a hug or dren enrolled at Young at Heart are children of our employ- kiss (or maybe deliver pancakes with syrup, sausages and ees. This means the vast majority of the children for whom juice). They will always remember being close enough to we care are from community members. nurse their infants or stop on their break to give a bottle. Young at Heart is blessed more than most child care orga- nizations with food delivered from a central kitchen, organi- zational administrative and financial experts, lower operat- ing costs, maintenance needs met very quickly, and profes- sional nurses just down the hall. The greatest blessings of Young at Heart are the employ- ees and their wonderful expertise in serving children. Mary Ellen Leis, the Director, has over 25 years of quality child care experience. She leads an experienced group of dedi- cated employees with compassion and devotion. Mary Ellen’s great team that provides great care are the teachers: Cassie Young at Heart teachers Marla Carlone and Karla Sullivan have been Cunitz, Michelle Hansen, Karla Sullivan, Marla Carlone, and the core of Young at Heart’s teaching team since the first year of Carly Brandau. operation. Pictured are: Front Row from left: Logan Stremcha, James Thurston, Aubree Kast, Austin Stebbins Middle Row: Piper Pursell, Come join us at our Five Year Anniversary Celebration Seymour Snowman, Jacoby Hauser, Teacher Karla Sullivan Back Row: this May. Teacher Marla Carlone, George Mulvaney, Alex Wiedenfeld, Zander Reetz Activity Professionals We do it for the love of the job! The nursing home recreation therapy department celebrated “National Activity Professionals Week” in January with a bulletin board which describes some of the reasons they love their job. Christine S. Vian - B.S. RT Director with Nurs- Mark Lakowske - RT Assistant - Certified Lena Evins - RT Aide with Nursing Home ing Home resident Bernice Whitegull “I love stay- “I love using my creativity for the enjoyment resident Vern Kast “I love the joy I feel when ing connected to my heritage through our resi- of others.” I am with the residents” dents’ Virginia Larsen - COTA RT Assistant - Certified with Mae Randle - CTRS, RT Assistant Director with Nursing Home residents Ed Fanta, Fern Olson, Nursing Home resident Jeanne Baumbach “I love Bob Schwartz and Helen Webb “I love hanging out with 100 Grandmas and Grandpas” working with an age group I respect and enjoy” Tiffany Bloom - RT Assistant with Nursing Home resident Gary Hanson - RT Assistant - Casual Call with Nursing Home residents Helen Dan Clemmerson “I love bringing smiles to the residents’ Webb and Virginia Muellenberg “I love making a positive difference in the lives of faces” others” SPRING 2012 - Messenger 333 Announcing: New To Our Home We welcome the following people who have joined our Morrow Home 2012 Royalty senior living family between the dates of December 1, 2011 & March 24, 2012: PARKVIEW INDEPENDENT LIVING APARTMENTS Lucy Kowalski Carol Holcomb HOMESTEAD INDEPENDENT & ASSISTED LIVING APARTMENTS Robert and Lorraine Manke (from Nursing Home) We wish to present Morrow Home Community’s 2012 Royalty: Nursing MARYCREST ASSISTED LIVING APARTMENTS Home King Roger Herberg, Queen Virginia Muellenberg & Adult Living Services Queen Elfriede Bolyard, King Paul Amberson. Janice Cole (from Nursing Home) These residents will represent Morrow Home in Sparta’s June Butterfest Parade here in Sparta and will be presented at the summer BRIDGEPATH ADVANCED ASSISTED LIVING & Concert in the Park. Our best to each of you! MEMORY CARE Kenneth Smith (from Nursing Home) Delicious Changes in Mildred Adkins (from MaryCrest) Culinary Services! Clark Maher On February 1, 2012, Morrow Home Culinary Services began Luell (Muffy) Dwyer (from Nursing Home) an exciting new program. We now offer an “Always Available Lois Jandt Menu” in the main Dining Room. Residents now have four choices We also welcome the following people who have become a for both the dinner and supper meals. These choices are the regu- lar menu, the daily alternate, and now we have added a choice of part of our nursing home facility between the dates of chef’s salad, tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich, and December 1, 2011 & March 24, 2012: meatloaf (a meal at dinner and a sandwich at supper). The three Shirley Baumel Rhoda “Brandi” Pecher choices can be changed to give more variety and will always be (from BridgePath) Joy Reisinger varied when we move from our Fall/Winter menus to our Spring/ Helen Benedict Francis “Bud” Ruedy Summer menus and vice versa. Culinary staff visit with residents (from BridgePath) Carrol Sipes in the Dining Room after each meal to obtain the residents’ choices Rodney Berg Lloyd Stiehl for the next day. Whyliss Brooks Norm Thurow (from BridgePath) This new change is in addition to the modifications we made in Audrey Dahnke Cecil Tremblay November. Those modifications were regarding stopping tray ser- (from BridgePath) Gilbert VanDinter vice and going to a more restaurant-style service where residents Ruth Everson Marie Whitehead can choose their beverages and also have choices of salads and Leona Kast (from BridgePath) Virginia Zietlow desserts. Dorothy Kronberg Our nursing home residents are embracing this change and en- joying the opportunity to have more input into what they will eat PROUD TO HAVE PROVIDED SERVICE at meals. One of our residents who really likes meatloaf has stated, We are proud to have been able to provide service to the “Now I can have meatloaf three times a week!” following people who have returned home or to another setting Culinary Staff have embraced the changes as well, and we are between the dates of December 1, 2011 & March 24, 2012: happy that we can offer more Resident Centered Care to our resi- James Beron Richard Marx dents. Willard Brueggen Ralph Matthews Janice Cole (to MaryCrest) Fern Olsen (to Homestead) Debbie Conrad Dale Osley Robert Crook Charles Palmer Luell “Muffy” Dwyer Betty Preuss (to BridgePath) Ara Pugh Joseph Ebert Dennis Scripture Kenneth Jacobsen Doris Seekamp Douglas Kowitz Kenneth Smith (to BridgePath) George Loeffelholz Beatrice Stratton Rodney Loging Michael Weber Lorraine Manke (to Homestead) Carrol “Laura” Zaragoza Morrow Home Cooks created the ideas for the new menu choices. Above Robert Manke (to Homestead) Thelma Zimmerman are Linda Arneson, Norma Flint, Janae Berends and Dorinda Meno. (to BridgePath) Missing from photo: Jeanne Davis 444 Messenger - SPRING 2012 Morrow Home Community Adult Living Services Activities around the Clock MaryCrest Residents Violet Gomez, Rosellen Carlisle and Toni Sullivan, A tasty Pancake Breakfast is served once a month to Morrow Home enjoying the awesome gingerbread houses they helped decorate for Community residents. Homestead residents Fern Olsen and Helen the Christmas party table decorations. Meyer chat over hot coffee and delicious food. A Happy New Year was celebrated by residents in Assisted Living. Gifts are given to all residents at Christmas, thanks to the generosity Above are MaryCrest Residents Eleanor Mull and Lawrence Isensee. of Mary Morrow’s Attic. MaryCrest Housekeeper Deb Miller assists with handing out gifts to Homestead resident Helen Helgesen. A special Golden ‘90s celebration is held each year in the nursing home St. Patrick’s Day is a fun time of games and snacks. Here are BridgePath and assisted living. MaryCrest resident, Nina Rhodenhizer, center, re- residents MaryJane Hem and Louise Kiefer sharing laughs and listen- ceives this recognition with friend Bev Laufenberg, left and daughter ing to Irish stories. Eileen Gajewsky. SPRING 2012 - Messenger 555 Growing Up With Young at Heart Child Care On May 21, 2012 Young at Heart Child Care will cel- Anderson, on a part-time schedule.