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“Here at Signature HealthCARE of East Louisville, our stakeholders, residents, and family members are a united team. We work as a family to not only provide exceptional medical care, but to foster friendships and compassion for our residents.” Fran Stahl, Administrator
On April 24, Signature HealthCARE of Columbia broke the World Record for longest wheelchair race, with 205 wheelchairs. The record was previously held by the Christopher Reeve Foundation, with 193 wheelchairs. Local radio station WXRQ was on hand broadcasting live from the parade, and WSMV-TV (channel 4) featured the event on its six o’clock newscast. The Columbia Daily Herald also published a front-page article.
To read the newspaper article, visit the newspaper’s website. For WSMV coverage, see below.
The residents at SHC of East Louisville celebrated National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day by creating art. Our chosen medium? Peanut butter and jelly!
Some of the artists created self-portraits while others designed wonderful nature scenes. One resident was so proud of her artwork that she went through out the facility showing it off, telling everyone “I did this myself.”
It was deliciously messy!
– Keri Jewell, QOL Director, SHC of East Louisville
I would like to take a moment to thank the staff of Signature HealthCare of East Louisville for the care and treatment given to my mother, Ms. Albertha Harrison.
I came to live in Kentucky via the military, however, my family lives in New York. My mother had suffered from seizures and I was always worried about her because I was so far away from home. However, my mom was very independent and family was always there (in New York) to look out for her. In May of 2011, my mom had a severe seizure which required hospitalization, and then rehabilitation.
I was with mom during the hospital portion and was told that she would be moving to the nursing home/rehabilitation center after a few weeks. Unfortunately, mom suffered a setback in August, which required an even longer stay in the hospital then was originally expected. It was not until October 2011 that I visited my mom in the nursing home located in New York. The facility was overcrowded and understaffed. To say that I was very disappointed in the level of care and attention that was given to my mom does not begin to tell the story.
There may be few things more important to nursing home residents than what’s to eat and when it arrives. Recognizing that, Signature is continually making efforts to improve its dietary program – and, for now, SHC of East Louisville is helping pave the way.
This week, the facility was recognized as a leader among several of its peers in the region when the center’s dietary staff won a competition for food quality and plate presentation. The competition will be held monthly, each time expanding to include a larger number of Signature facilities, said Al Ales, Vice President of Dietary Services for Signature.
“We want to radically change the landscape of long term care in dietary – that’s our goal,” he said. “We have to break the mold of what used to be done and create the new.”
Innovative and creative plate presentation, along with proper cooking techniques, were key factors in the selection of East Louisville as the winner.
“We all eat with our eyes first,” Clark said. “We wanted everyone to focus not only on the main meal, but the altered diets as well. The team at East took the competition a step further by ensuring that every item that leaves the kitchen has a special touch.”
Addressing the facility’s dietary team, Ales emphasized the importance of food being presented as it would be served or eaten in one’s own home.
“It’s like you’re feeding your family here because this becomes your family,” Ales said. “These folks are relying on you. Our job is to at least give them 20 minutes of, ‘wow, this was good. This satisfied me.’ It’s a huge role that you’re playing here, and I really have a lot of faith in you.”
The team is led by John Herzog, who joined Signature in recent months. Herzog’s most recent experience is in long term care, but he also worked for PGA National Resort & Spa, in Palm Beach, Fla., and Loblolly golf club in Hobe Sound, Fla. He attended Florida Culinary Institute & School, located in West Palm Beach.
Herzog said future plans for the dietary program at Louisville East include café menus, a salad bar and food prepared from scratch.
“We have a golden opportunity here,” Herzog told members of his 12-person dietary staff during the award ceremony. “We know what we’re capable of, and I’m privileged that our facility is being used to showcase what’s possible in the company.”
Administrator Fran Stahl said the improvements in food quality and presentation at his facility have been noteworthy.
“I’m extremely proud of our progress and excited about where these stakeholders will lead our dietary program in 2013.”
The Home Office dietary team also wanted the experience to be educational for the facilities and sent them food presentation tips to prepare for the competition. For more tools, tips and information about the dietary programming at Signature, check out their blog HERE.
The residents and staff of Signature HealthCARE of East Louisville celebrated the Halloween Holiday with great delight. Earlier in the week residents enjoyed pumpkin painting. Later in the week residents and staff celebrated with a facility wide Halloween Party.
Senior athletes from Signature HealthCARE of East Louisville competed for gold at the 2012 SHC Senior Olympics. See Gallery for links to full media coverage.
On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Signature HealthCARE hosted its second annual Senior Olympics games for nine Signature nursing homes across Kentucky. About 60 nursing home residents competed in the games, and a total of about 200 people attended. Celebrity judges included Bellarmine University men’s basketball coach Scotty Davenport, famed sports writer Billy Reed and Roger Burkman, who played for the University of Louisville and the Chicago Bulls.
Residents, patients, and staff from SHC East Louisville, Four Courts at Cherokee Park, and SHC of South Louisville gathered for a picnic in Cherokee Park. Staff from all three facilities collaborated to cook up an early fall back yard barbecue. Residents and staff celebrated their youth with games of cornhole, horsehoes and some well supervised time on the playground.
Residents and staff celebrated the 2012 Jeffersontown Gaslight Festival by featuring a float in the annual festival parade. Residents and staff donned their brightest in keeping with the theme of the float: “Our Future is So Bright!” Philip Phillips provided live music and staff distributed candy along the two mile parade route.
Respiratory Therapist Margaret Downs led our residents in a “healthy breathing” activity called Bubble Mania. She instructed residents, patients, and staff on the importance and technique of healthy deep breathing.
