I can’t pick just one!

Amy Hynes is the Administrator at Heron Pointe Senior Living, in Monmouth, Oregon.  She celebrates an ‘Employee of the month’ focusing on creating a culture of kindness and grace.  Amy invites the residents to nominate employees for this special recognition, as they are closest to the Care Partners, and will have heartfelt feedback. 

Amy and her leadership team were reviewing nominations, and read this employee nomination letter from Carol Webb, a resident at Heron Pointe.

This is Carol’s Letter to Amy

When I first came here, I was filled with anger, hate, and pain; but mostly I was filled with fear.

I had to leave my home of over sixty years.  I had to leave those that were my friends in my neighborhood during this time.  We raised our children together.

I had to give up my freedom to come and go as I liked because I had to give up driving.  I really felt like I was no longer a person.  Just a thing. Just a responsibility for my kids, both physically and financially.

But as soon as I walked in your door, I was surrounded by compassion and love.  Everyone I came into contact with welcomed and helped me at every turn. All the girls and young gentleman treated me with great respect and kindness beyond my expectations.

When they found me crying, they held me and cried with me. 

When I was lonesome, they took the time to talk with me.

Sometimes they found me playing cards by myself and sat down and taught me a new game.

They bathed me, taking away my embarrassment and shame.  They helped me accept and change my ostomy bag even without gagging as I was inclined to do. 

They helped me get around from place to place, telling me how and where to find the laundry room, dining room, hair salon, and more.

They became my new friends and family.

Each one of them became my dear friend, helping me find the important things when I had lost them – things like my smile and my heart, my hope, and most of all my courage.

God Bless all of the care partners, the housekeepers, the cooks and servers, and all who work here.

I discovered I gave up nothing – and added everything to my life.

I love you all!

Carol L. Webb

P.S.  I can’t pick just one – you are ALL the Employee of the month! 

“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have.” – Margaret Mead

About Carol

Carol was born in Hood River Oregon and lived there for 10 years before moving to The Willamette Valley where she stayed until moving to Heron Pointe in February 2019.

She married her husband in 1958 after the Korean War. Carol made clothing and blankets for the family to cut costs. Her typical day was spent sewing, taking care of children, and working on the farm. She even drove a wheat truck for 10 years! Carol was a homemaker, a Cub Scout leader and taught Sunday school.  Carol says her greatest accomplishment in life is her 3 children. She said, ”They drove me crazy, but they are sure a blessing.” At Heron Pointe Carol enjoys feeding and watching the birds, sewing or embroidery and listening to old western music. She loves people and helping in any way she can.

#TrueNorthElderhood and #NALW

What does it mean to be a True North Elder? 

Elders are pushing boundaries and shaking things up every day. Stories are plentiful of elders that are meeting at the gym, playing on basketball teams, or earning their high school diplomas at age 92. They teach us that we as humans can always learn, grow, adapt, and overcome the changes of aging. This is a True North Elder to us. Connecting with these experienced individuals brings us a sense of joy, love, and feeling of reward that is greater than the money we may earn by caring for them. They become part of our families–not by blood, but by relationship. Maya Angelou once said:

Family isn’t always blood, its the people in your life who want you in theirs: the ones who accept you for who you are, the ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.

Celebrating our ‘family’

This week is National Assisted Living Week® and Compass Senior Living communities are participating by celebrating this year’s theme Family is Forever. Employees, residents, and families are spending time embracing this found family and the True North Elders in our midst. Throughout the week, we’ll be sharing stories, tidbits of wisdom and photos from the events that take place each day– and the lessons that our elder families can teach us.

We invite you to join us for events in your area and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for updates and use #TrueNorthElderhood to share your story about an elder in your life that is a True North Elder in your family–however that may be defined!

Do you trust the average company?

Trust and transparency are two of the hottest topics in senior living right now. Why now? Why not ten years ago? Or twenty? Don’t we always want customers to trust us? The truth is, senior living companies (and many others in various industries) never really had to answer to the consumer. The digital age has introduced a whole new era of interacting with others that have used a service–and want to tell you about it.

What does this mean? Does it really mean that companies wanted to pull the wool over our eyes and just can’t get away with it as easy now? Maybe some, but not certainly all. There are many well-meaning companies out there that really do the right thing. You can see it on the state surveys that are public knowledge. Oregon has a website dedicated to sharing this information.

What steps are being taken? Its great that its coming up now, but transparency really should be an every day thing–from the beginning. Here are ways that you can keep all companies you interact with honest:

1. Do your homework on regulation citations. Find your state’s government agency such as Seniors and People with Disabilities department or licensing agency that regulates senior living. Ask them for state surveys or records of complaint and whether the complaints were substantiated or not. When all else fails, as the communities that you visit–they’re required to let you see a copy.
2. Read Reviews. This may seem obvious for restaurants or a hair salon, but its becoming more popular and trusted for senior living companies.
3. Write reviews. Is someone doing something right? Write about it! Everyone likes to write a negative review when emotions are strong and they want to “stick it to” the company. But, what about those that do something right? Don’t they deserve credit too? Some providers have reviews and links to write them directly on their website.
4. Look for pricing online. Does the company you’re looking into share their real pricing info freely or do they hide it? Do you have to get the “sales pitch” before you can be”privy” to that information? Whether its true or not, most humans can’t help but feel like something is being hidden when you can’t get a straight answer.

What makes you trust a company over another? Post in the comments or email me. I’d love to hear and keep the dialogue going. Thanks!

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About the Author: Amira T. Fahoum is the Director of Marketing and Director of Operations, Northwest Region for Compass Senior Living located in Eugene, Oregon. Her path to senior living started when she simply decided to be open to possibilities in life. Possibilities are what led her to eight years of learning the senior living industry in roles ranging from Administrative Assistant to Director of Sales and Marketing to unofficial IT coordinator. Possibilities also led her into the world of education technology for almost three years. Now, on her journey with Compass, she has found true reward in working with the people that care for others. She lives in Eugene with her husband, Michael, where they enjoy golf, travel, and volunteering.

Be the fountain

You can be the fountain, or you can be the drain. This is what the keynote speaker said during the opening keynote of the 2016 Oregon Health Care Association conference. Someone else had said it to her and she used it in her presentation titled Get what you want with what you’ve got. Most of the talk was quips and ideas you’ve maybe heard before or may have in a slightly different fashion. This sentence struck me though. I hadn’t heard it before. It so simply creates an image, a visual, succinctly representing one thing–choice. You have a choice in everything you do–we all do. It doesn’t mean we won’t have bad days or annoyances or times we just want to scream. It just means we have the choice to let them flow through us and be repurposed into something beautiful or let it drag us (and those around us) down.

She went on to relay a story about how her son was attempting to get an autograph from a Harlem Globetrotter after a performance. He kept getting shoved to the back and, after realizing there was a player on the side, he went over to the gentleman that wasn’t as protected by the crowd. When the young boy asked how the player “was doing” the player smartly said, “better because you’re here”. She was struck by the glow on her son’s face. How special he felt because of that comment.

Senior Housing News recently published an article about “relational marketing vs. transactional marketing“. The idea is that instead of treating your marketing and sales efforts like a transaction (i.e. I provide X, you pay Y), senior living needs to treat marketing and sales like a relationship (i.e. we’re working together to get you the care and services you really need). I must admit, this is not a new concept to me. The senior living companies that I’ve been the marketer for have subscribed to this philosophy for years. I recognize, though, that its hard for some to transition out of the “sales” mentality. How do you do it?

I’m reminded of a Maya Angelou quote which I’m sure you’ve all heard: I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Fountains are possible because of a simple use of one of the most basic elements on Earth–and yet they can produce amazing joy and fun. Feeling special is possible because of a simple word said in the right way and a person with the where-with-all to choose that they are going to be the fountain.

I hope in your day to day, you can find a moment to ask–how can I make this person feel special today? That’s the “holy grail” in filling a community and making those “sales”–by filling it with love and commitment to the people (all people) that make up the community.

How do you make residents, families, and employees feel special? I invite you to comment and share what you’ve experienced.

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About the Author: Amira T. Fahoum is the Director of Marketing and Director of Operations, Northwest Region for Compass Senior Living located in Eugene, Oregon. Her path to senior living started when she simply decided to be open to possibilities in life. Possibilities are what led her to eight years of learning the senior living industry in roles ranging from Administrative Assistant to Director of Sales and Marketing. Possibilities also led her into the world of education technology for almost three years. Now, on her journey with Compass, she has found true reward in working with the people that care for others. She lives in Eugene with her husband, Michael, where they enjoy golf, travel and volunteering.