Learning to Listen and Listening to Learn
Left to right: Jacquoi Light, Jessi Dean, Brie Raymond, Emily Shockley, Josie Woosley, Amanda Meeks, Candace Timmons, Sam Richards, Lois Clendenin, and Lisa Rees
October 4, 2019
NOTE: This story was taken from the blog of Foundations Health Solutions leader Bob Speelman. Each week Bob works at one of our Foundations Health facilities in different roles such as housekeeping, or as a nursing assistant, to see firsthand how we embody the vision of our founder and nursing home developer, Brian Colleran, to be "A Culture of Care."
I spent the day at Capri Gardens, our brand new 80-bed, all private room facility in Lewis Center. Amanda Meeks is the Administrator there and she is building an incredible team of caregivers. Two of those fantastic caregivers that I spent most of the day with were Candice Timmons, RN, and Sam Richards, STNA. They were both absolutely amazing.
Candice was an assistant director of nursing at a sister facility but wanted to go back to being a nurse because she missed the hands-on interaction with the residents. For Candice, her great-grandmother was a very important person in her life and helped shape her into the person she is today. Maybe this is part of the reason Candice loves long-term care so much and her time and interaction with the residents. We are incredibly lucky to have Candice on our Team!
Sam has been an STNA for over ten years. This is the first building she has been a part of from day one, and she LOVES that experience. She does aide work, cooks (she actually took the Serve Safe course to help in the kitchen), does housekeeping and laundry, central supply… You get the point. She does whatever it takes to make the facility a success.
Like Candice, Sam's grandmother was an incredibly important person in her life. Sam told me she can remember as a kid going places with her and she never met a stranger. She said she was so loving and kind and she wants to be just like her.
As we worked throughout the day, Sam gave me good insights into things we could change or do differently on the next new building. In particular, we went into the shower room and she showed me where the towel cabinet was in relation to the shower. We needed something next to the shower to put towels on. Easy fix, we ordered a towel rack. She also showed me that she had no place by the shower to hang the residents' clothes. Again, easy fix, we ordered a robe hook. The last thing she showed me was the shower chair. It rolls over the toilet when no one is on it, but when someone is sitting on it, the weight pushes it down enough that it no longer rolls over the toilet. Well, you know I had to try it and guess what, she was right again!
Another easy fix. I got on the phone to Pam Mink, who is over our procurement (purchasing), and told her the issue and sent her a few pictures and it is being taken care of.
It's amazing the great ideas I get and the issues we can solve while out in the field working with our amazing staff. They have incredible insight and ideas if we just ask them and/or listen. They are fully invested in our Culture of Care.
I loved my time at Capri Gardens. I have a feeling this facility is going to fill up fast with a team of passionate caregivers as they have.
"When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know.
But if you listen, you may learn something new."
Dalai Lama
- Bob Speelman, STNA
Each week, Bob Speelman visits a Foundations Health Solutions nursing home. He works alongside a variety of departments to ensure Foundations Health is excelling in the vision of founder Brian Colleran's "Culture of Care." Foundations Health continues to practice the principles nursing home developer Brian Colleran instilled such as resident and family satisfaction, positive employee culture, and investment in the community.
Bob's Blog