St. Anne's Living Center - St. Anne's Living Center

March 18, 2016

They do a lot for you…So keep your kidneys healthy!

Not everyone has the advantage of healthy kidneys…Here at St. Anne’s, we have three resident who need to be on kidney dialysis.

March is National kidney month…But how much do you know about your kidneys and keeping them healthy? We have two kidneys, each the size of our fist and located in the lower back. Our kidneys filter about 200 liters of blood each day, according to an article by the National Kidney Foundation. In doing this, they remove waste and excess water.

These important organs also help regulate blood pressure and red blood cell production. They also help regulate salt, potassium, and acid content as well as balancing body fluids.

Unfortunately, these bean-shaped helpers at risk for disease. In fact, one third of us are at risk of kidney disease for a variety of reasons, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Cardiovascular disease and a family history of kidney problems are also risk factors. That is because these conditions damage the tiny filtering units in the kidneys (We have about 1 million of these.) One informative article shared that kidney disease is one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S, but many Americans have the disease and don’t even know it yet; early stages of the disease often do not have symptoms.

As we age, kidney function may decrease as the number of filtering units and the amount of kidney tissue may go down, according to a Senior Health article.

All is not lost, however. The National Kidney Foundation and SeniorNet offer tips for keeping your kidneys healthy:

Exercise regularly
Don’t overuse over-the-counter painkillers or Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Control weight
Get an annual physical
Know your family’s medical history
Don’t smoke or abuse alcohol
Talk to your doctor about getting tested if you’re at risk for Chronic Kidney Disease
Keep blood pressure and cholesterol within normal ranges.
Make sure diabetes is well-controlled.
Reduce sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams per day.
Eat a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy and whole grains

March 11, 2016

The Sun & the Rain & the Appleseed…Johnny Appleseed Day

Did you ever learn the ‘Johnny Appleseed Prayer” as a child?

It is a neat little jingle that comes to mind on this March 11th Johnny Appleseed Day.

Oh, the Lord’s been good to me,
And so I thank the Lord,
For giving me the things I need,
The sun, the rain, and the apple seed
The Lord’s been good to me.

We used to have an elderly lady living here at St. Anne’s who actually enjoyed eating the apple seeds. We would be busily peeling and slicing apples and she would get herself a collection of seeds to enjoy!

But what about the man we honor today?

Johnny Appleseed (whose real name is John Chapman) was born two years before our country declared its independence from Britain, on Sept. 26, 1774. He died of pneumonia in his early seventies, on March 18, 1845. He travelled around and planted apple trees in Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Illinois, West Virginia, and Indiana. He led the way in conservation and was known for his kindness and generosity. His career in apple business lasted about half a century. At the age of eighteen, he headed west with a younger brother and other pioneers. This began his travels, in which he preceded west-bound pioneer groups, planting apple trees before them.

Not only was Chapman a friend to the settlers, he was also on good terms with many native peoples. He reportedly had sufficient knowledge of many of their languages to converse.

Resources:

http://kids.bestapples.com/kids/teachers/johnny.shtml
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed

March 8, 2016

P.M. PERSONAL CARE AIDE-UNIVERSAL WORKER – PART TIME

We have another opening for a personal care aide! Check it out!

JOB SUMMARY

The P.M. aide is responsible to care for the needs of the residents on 2nd and 3rd floors as instructed by the nurse; visits residents, assists in carrying out social, recreational, and craft activities; and performs some laundry and some light housekeeping duties to maintain the facility in a clean, sanitary manner. The individual also works at the reception desk as needed, including some evening hours.

JOB RELATIONS

Is responsible to the nurse supervisor and works as a staff team member in caring for the needs of each resident.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

1. Education: High school
2. Training/experience: Previous experience in working with the elderly and disabled is preferred.
3. Physical demands:
a) Physical ability to lift, turns, and transfers a minimum of 50 pounds.
b) Ability to tolerate standing or walking 75-85% of the time.
c) Physical capabilities of stretching, pulling, bending, and stooping.
4. Verbal and auditory abilities to communicate effectively with residents in responding to their needs.
5. Emotional stability to handle stress of caring for the residents.
6. Observation skills in responding to emotional, physical, and mental needs of the residents.
7. Valid Driver’s license.

BEHAVIOR

1. Maintains strict confidentiality regarding residents’ personal life/activities and internal affairs of St. Anne’s.
2. Uses patience, tact, and sensitivity in dealing with residents.
3. Coordinates and supports efforts by administration and staff in meeting the resident’s needs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Performs laundry duties-residents’ personal clothing.
2. Assists in assuring residents are neatly dressed, groomed, and hygienically acceptable by performing and/or supervising some bathing and clothes changes.
3. Reports physical, mental, and emotional change to the nurse.
4. Assists in orienting new residents to the facility.
5. Assists in making beds (when necessary).
6. Performs housekeeping activities as necessary.
7. Transport residents to/from appointments.
8. Uses tact, sensitivity, and firm kindness in dealing with residents and problems involving them.
9. Assists residents in cleaning drawers, closets, and other personal areas.
10. Delivers evening snacks to residents.
11. Performs those tasks that are necessary in fulfilling the performance of this job but may not be considered essential functions.
12. Observes safety rules and practices.
13. Observes infection control policies and procedures.
14. Attends required in-service education meetings.
15. Reads Policy and Procedures manuals on an annual basis.
16. Reception desk four hours weekly.

March 7, 2016

Job Opening….Kitchen / Server

If you, or someone you know, is looking for part-time employment, you can stop by St. Anne’s or visit www.stannesguesthome.org/employment.html to apply.

Hours: Mon., Thurs., Fri. (4-7 p.m.); Every other weekend: Sat. & Sun. (6:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.)

Kitchen (minimal cooking) / Server

JOB SUMMARY
Prepares meals according to the menu and sanitary standards set forth by state requirements. Assists in serving the meals while being attentive to resident needs and preferences and maintains the dietary area in a clean sanitary manner.

JOB RELATIONS
Is responsible to the Dietary Supervisor.

JOB REQUIREMENTS
1. Education: High School.
2.Training/experience: Previous cooking experience preferred, will provide on-the-job training for institutional cooking.
3. Physical demands:
A.Ability to tolerate walking, standing 90-95% of the time.
B.Ability to lift or transfer a minimum of 50 lbs.
C. Ability to frequently bend, stoop, stretch, pull, and climb three-step ladders.
4. Ability to tolerate disinfectant soaps.
5. Verbal and auditory abilities to respond and communicate effectively with the residents and staff members.
6. Ability to taste and smell foods for quality and palatability.
7. Visual acuity and observations skills in responding to resident dietary needs.
8. Hand and finger dexterity and upper extremity mobility in manipulating kitchen equipment and supplies.
9. Ability to tolerate temperature changes–heat near ovens and stoves; and cold in walk-in cooler and freezer.
10. Ability to work with limited floor space.
11. Valid driver’s license.

BEHAVIOR
1. Maintains strict confidentiality regarding resident’s personal life and activities as well as the internal affairs of St. Anne’s.
2. Uses tact, patience and sensitivity in dealing with residents.
3. Works as a team member in the dietary department.
4. Maintains a positive attitude.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Serves meals as prepared by the A.M. staff in accordance to the menu. May have to prepare minor dishes for a meal.
2. Assists supervisor with food supply inventory.
3. Monitors foods in storage for compliance of sanitary requirements.
4. Performs sanitary maintenance tasks on stoves, counters, cupboards, cooler, freezers, storerooms, equipment, and general areas.
5. Carry out instructions for residents with special nutritional needs.
6. Report to supervisor any concerns that may arise regarding resident’s eating habits.
7. Place food on plates in an attractive manner.
8. Monitor food waste.
9. Observes safety and infection control policies and procedures.
10. Observes sanitary standards as set forth by state regulations.
11. Reads department’s policies and procedures manual annually.
12. Assists staff with Resident Work Therapy Program.
13. Completes the daily check list at the end of the shift.
14. Go to the grocery store for immediate grocery needs.

Information regarding salary and benefits to be discussed with supervisor.

March 3, 2016

It Takes Special People…

coffee time The following poem was printed in our resident newsletter, The Broadcaster, in March of 2015. The source is unknown, but it is a lovely tribute to those who work with the elderly and the challenges they face. Thank you to all the staff who serve our residents on a daily basis!

It takes special people to care for the old
It takes great compassion, hearts of pure gold.
It takes being able to see beyond age,
To see beyond bodies, to overlook rage.

It takes being able to look deep inside
The hearts of the aged, where youth still resides.
It takes understanding to look through their pain.
And help them remember they’re people, again.

It takes lots of patience to wipe away tears,
To reach through confusion, to intercept fears.
it takes being willing to give of yourself
To those who are feeling they’re left on some shelf.

Indeed it’s a calling from heaven above,
to work with the aged and show them God’s love.
Though rewards on this earth,
indeed may seem few,
God is laying up treasures in heaven for you.

February 24, 2016

We Never Know…

Reprinted from Our Franciscan Fiat

Last evening, I was again working as personal care aide here at St. Anne’s Guest Home. I often take the back stairs and pass hurriedly by some residents’ room on my way to tend to the needs of a few of their floor-mates.

If I know the person is there, I try to call out a friendly greeting to them. If time allows, I stop and exchange a few words, asking how they are doing. I think it is important. It’s not that I’m so special and they should feel privileged to see me, or anything of that sort. However, it is an opportunity to cheer a person up, or simply show them that someone genuinely cares about them and is interested in them.

Last night, as I went past a particular resident’s room, I was in a hurry. I didn’t have lots of time to stop and visit. I did, however, make the effort to give a friendly greeting, hopefully, showing that I cared…

I have found myself hurrying past a room with a quick ‘hello’ and then stopping, turning around, and giving them a few extra seconds. It sometimes strikes me: “Nothing you have to do is that important that it can’t wait 30 seconds. Go back there and show them they’re important.”

~ ~ ~

This morning, at about 3:45 a.m., I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing at our convent. Sr. Rebecca got around to answering it before I did. She carried on a bit of a conversation with the caller. When they had hung up, I learned that one of our residents had just died, the one whose room I had passed on my evening rounds just hours before.

Although I hadn’t had much time to visit, at least I had made the effort to greet him.

We never know what will be our last opportunity to do good to another person, or even what effect a kind word or gesture can have. I guess this is a lesson to me never to neglect any opportunity to serve Christ in another person. We’re not guaranteed another chance.

Sr. Christina M. Neumann

February 23, 2016

Checking in…on ‘the Scoop’

St. Anne's Scoop I would like to take this opportunity to check in with the readers of our ‘St. Anne’s Scoop.’

Would you please share your thoughts? What kind of posts do you most enjoy? What do you think about the frequency of it? Do you have any suggestions?

Also, if you would ever have a topic of pertinence that you would be interested in writing about for publication on ‘the Scoop,’ please let us know.

Thanks, and happy reading!

February 18, 2016

Not ‘monkeying around.’ Banana Bread Day is coming up!

Easy Cake-Mix Banana Bread If a person wanted, one could celebrate almost every day of the year. One such random observance is ‘Banana Bread Day’ on February 23rd.

This observance would not have existed prior to the 1930s, when banana bread became popular as resourceful housewives sought to use whatever they could during the Great Depression. The availability of baking powder and soda around this time also led to banana bread’s growing popularity.

Below is a highly recommended recipe, originally printed in the St. Paul Pioneer press almost 30 years ago.

Another recipe, used by our dietary staff, uses a yellow cake mix.

Banana Bread (from Pioneer Press [11/2/1988] )
2 mashed bananas
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
2 eggs
½ cup sour cream
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter with sugar; beat in eggs and mix until fluffy. Sift flour with baking soda and salt. Stir in flour mixture. Stir in mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla. Stir in
nuts. Place in greased and floured 9 x 5 loaf pan or 2 smaller loaf pans. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bake at 350º for 30 to 45 minutes or until done.

Heavily butter your pans otherwise it will be difficult to remove the loaves. Let the cooked loaves rest for 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. Then run a table knife around the outside of each loaf. Turn the pan(s) upside down and gently shake the loaves out.

(A special thanks to Bernadette Dutke for sharing this recipe.)

February 11, 2016

World Day for the Sick

Who of us likes to be sick? No one, right? Nonetheless, winter seems to be a time when many of us spend days not feeling too well. St. Anne’s, in fact, has had a number of residents in this condition recently, whether it be a cold or serious cardiovascular condition.

Today was declared ‘World Day for the Sick’ by St. John Paul II in the early 1990s. This was over a hundred years after miraculous events in Lourdes, France, where many people travel, to this day, hoping for healing at the sight where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette. February 11 is, in fact, the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

February is also International Friendship Month. With these two observances in mind, might we take a look at our own interactions with those we know who are sick? What might we do for them? Today can be a call to us to truly be friends to the sick.

During Bible Study last week, we made valentines for the skilled nursing residents at St. Gerard’s in Hankinson. Today, as we also mark ‘Shut-in Visitation Day,’ might also be a time to consider stopping in to see someone who is unable to get out much because of sickness or ill-health.

We don’t have to limit the word sick only to those with intensive physical symptoms. There are many others, including here at St. Anne’s, who could use our special friendship and concern.

February 2, 2016

Do you need a lift?…a little history of the Elevator

Last Sunday evening, we had a little excitement here at St. Anne’s. Actually, it is not the first time in recent history that the elevator made life a bit more interesting around here. Our head maintenance man, Jeff, came over, however, and all was well once again. In the meantime, we got a little bit creative, escorting residents to the apartment wing to use that elevator since the one on the basic care side was not being cooperative.

In light of these recent events, we thought it would be fun to share a little history of the elevator, a device taken much for granted by many people.

Elevators, actually, are not the modern novelty you might think them to be. An elevator system may, in fact, have been in use when the ancient Egyptian pyramids were made.

As early as 236 BC, Greek mathematician, physicist and inventor Archimedes, made an early version, operated by “hoisting ropes wound around a drum and rotated by manpower applied to a capstan,” according to history.com. Nor did the Romans neglect vertical motion technology, Did you know that, beneath the Colosseum, they had rooms, pens and tunnels, made accessible by man powered elevators through vertical shafts. The Romans were not the only early civilization having used elevator contraptions. Around 1000 AD, a lifting device was used in Islamic Spain in order to bring up a large battering ram in military endeavors.

By the 1600s, elevator devices were found in palaces of England and France.

Closer to our own era, an elevator system was also used in France by Louis XV. Anyone having read St. Therese of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul may recall her use of the image of an elevator or ‘lift, as a spiritual analogy. By her time (later in the 1800s), stem or water-powered elevators could be purchased. In 1852, Elisha Graves Otis made a monumental invention for elevators, creating a safety break. Other inventions during this industrial century also advanced elevator technology.

Along with luxury for the rich, in more modern times, elevators also served a very practical purpose when stem-powered elevators were used in coal mines. The writer of this post can remember, as a child, being sent far down into the earth in an iron-ore mine in northern Minnesota.