Resident Council General Meeting
Minutes for March 7, 2016
The March 7 meeting of the John Knox Village
Resident Council was opened by President Jim Ham at 2 p.m. in the Courtyard
Commons. Two first-time attendees were introduced and welcomed. Robin Hudson
lives at 628 Joy Place, and Roy Hatfield lives in 310 Villager East.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Resident
Services Committee: Chair Martha Wood reported on the
February meeting. Maria Timberlake, vice president of senor living, and Melissa
Seid, area manager, were the speakers. Maria gave an update on construction.
The new Courtyard Commons has experienced delays due to moisture and
temperature.
Villa II will come down next week, the elevator will
be in place the end of February and Manor II will be ready for demolition 45
days later. Thirty sweet gum trees have been taken down as the pods created
safety hazards and new trees will be planted as weather permits. Maria
presented additional Holleran survey results. The first of these was overall
satisfaction with John Knox Village. The “Excellent” responses were up from 2011
and 2013 and the “Good” were similar to previous surveys. In the “Value for
Price Paid” category, both “Excellent” and “Good” ratings were high enough to
be named statistically significant. In the “Confidence in John Knox Village’s
Future” category, “Excellent” and “Good” were also statistically significantly
favorable. In “John Knox Village’s Fulfillment of its Mission” the “Good”
answers outranked “Excellent” and when asked “Would you recommend John Knox
Village to a friend or relative”, the results were very high in spite of
inconveniences caused by all the construction. Maria asked the committee for
suggestions for how the administration and department managers could be more
accessible and responsive to the residents. Discussion followed about how the
responsibilities of the John Knox Village Board and the John Knox Village administration
differ. This included suggestions of ways to inform residents about each. The survey
showed a statistically significant positive response when asked about opportunities
for resident input. Maria made it clear that she welcomes suggestions from
residents if they have ideas concerning the accessibility of the staff. The next
meeting is March 14.
Finance
Committee: Chair Gerry Wachsmann reported on the last meeting,
at which Melinda Ward from Village Helpers presented an overview of the
services provided by Village Helpers. Vice President of Finance, Kim Klockenga presented
the January financial report. Deposits and lease move-ins and entrance fees
were below budget. Independent Living occupancy at the end of January was 735;
Village Assisted Living was 177 (5 above budget); Village Care Center was 271.
Although revenue was below budget, expenses were also below budget. The next
meeting of the Committee will be March 30.
Health
Services: (As reported by Chair Helen Darby at the Resident
Council Executive Committee meeting, February 26, 2016). At the February
meeting of the Health Services Committee, the speaker was David Mercier, administrator
of the Village Care Center. David presented the results of the Village Care
Center response to the recent resident satisfaction survey. David reminded us
that nationally there is a nursing shortage necessitating a higher usage of
agency staff than during the previous year. David stated the survey showed that
eight out of 10 respondents were satisfied with the care received resulting in
a 79.4 percent satisfaction score. David noted that there was an overall
increase in the “Excellent rating” category. 78.4 percent of respondents stated
they would recommend the Village Care Center to friends and relatives and 79.6
percent said they would use the VCC again. High scores were also noted in the
following categories: Friendliness and courtesy, and access to physicians. This
past fiscal year, the VCC increased their budget in order to pay higher wages
for CNA staff and provide on- site CNA classes and courses for clinical
advancement. One year ago there were 60 open clinical positions, now there are
less than 10. Leadership training is in place for RNs and LPNs and a new
position, of an “On-Boarding Manager” is helping with consistent orientation of
new VCC clinical staff, which provides needed consistency in care delivery. A new
patient orientation program has been developed including explanations of
transitions of care and financial responsibility. There is on-going development
of a new admission package specific to each unit. Rodney McBride, vice
president of community health services, reported that the VCC participated with
a survey of a “secret shopper”. A surveyor from Greystone provided a surveyor
familiar with VCC operations to go throughout the different units and make observations.
This surveyor’s report indicated staff was not always doing a good job of
greeting visitors or making eye contact when someone comes on to a unit, however;
the surveyor did note that staff appeared to be enjoying their patients,
participating with them and providing good service. Rodney also let us know
that Village Assisted Living completed their state survey in January and
received zero deficiencies. A note of congratulations will be sent to Heather
Scott on behalf of the committee. Village Assisted Living will have all
electronic medical records by the end of February. The next meeting will be on
March 9 and the topic will be VCC food service.
Sales,
Marketing and Communications Committee: In the absence of
Chair Margie Stowell, Oralee Oleson reported on the February meeting. Marybeth
Roberts, director of sales, marketing and communications, introduced a guest,
Ashley Alpert, with advertising partner GlynnDevins, who shared information
about a book entitled “Read This When I'm Dead.” It was felt the book had
valuable information, but was not appropriate as a marketing tool. Karen Burec,
manager of marketing and communications, and Stephanie Zeilstra, from the Village Voice, presented the results of
the resident satisfaction survey in the form of the TV show “Family Feud.” All areas
of communication (Village Voice, Village Voice Mid-Month, JKtV, and
Village Voice Online) scored above 80 percent, but there is still room for
improvement. Marybeth presented the sales statistics through January. The next meeting
will be March 17.
Nominating
Committee: Chair June Dewsberry asked the current three
Resident Board members to stand and be recognized and thanked for their
service. The current members are Wanda Chinnery, Jerry McElhiney, and Carol
Evans. Carol's first three-year term will conclude in May and that position
will be vacant. Candidates for the position were solicited and one resume was
received for the Resident Board member position – that from Carol Evans. Carol
was asked to come forward and say a few words. President Jim Ham then asked all
Neighborhood Representatives to stand, and approve Carol by acclamation.
Carol's resume will now be forwarded to the Board Development Committee, and
she will be interviewed at their discretion. The final selection is the
responsibility of the Board Development Committee.
Program:
Our speakers were Heather Scott, administrator of Village
Assisted Living, which includes Residential Care, Assisted Living and Memory
Care, and Tami Hoversten, assistant administrator of the VCC. Heather was
applauded for the recent deficiency free report from state inspectors. Both
Heather and Tami gave the results of the Holleran survey for their respective areas.
In the assisted living facilities, Heather indicated the survey was done mostly
by telephone. Three areas were then focused on for action. First, orientation
for new residents and the admitting process were addressed. Secondly, the
staffing challenge brought about a number of changes. And finally, activities
were enhanced by connecting with local schools and arranging activities to
include families of residents once each month. Tami spoke about staffing
challenges at the VCC. Overall satisfaction with the unit was at almost 80
percent. Special strengths that were mentioned were friendliness and courtesy
of staff, accommodation of special dietary requirements, laundry, and the
ability of residents to have input in decisions. Actions taken focused on orientation,
availability of Medical Director., care plans and staffing. Increases in
salaries for CNA's, special classes, and an on-boarding position (hand holding
for new hires) have all helped in filling many positions. Tami concluded by
answering a number of questions from residents. Director of Public Safety,
Craig Faith, gave a presentation on severe weather preparedness and tornado drills.
His comments focused on “How to Plan for an Emergency”, “What to do During an
Emergency”, “Severe Weather Procedures”, and “What to do After an Emergency”.
March 13-19 is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and there will be a statewide
tornado drill on March 15. This will take place at 1:30 p.m. when alarms will
sound. For complete information on all the above subjects, please refer to your
Resident Handbook – pages 52-54. You may also contact Craig for written instruction
on the subjects he covered. Craig reminded us of the “No Solicitation” policy
at the Village. This includes political canvassing. Also, watch out for scams.
Craig encourages us to be sure to vote in the March primary, and the April 5
election. The Village is known for our high voting percentages.
The next General Meeting will be on Monday, April 4.
The program will be given by John Knox Village Resident Board member, Carol
Evans. Carol will explain duties of the Board of Directors.
Respectfully submitted,
June Dewsberry, Secretary, Resident Council
