Page 56 - Vibrant Living Scrapbook

Home Brings Out the Best in People
The normalcy of the Household Model reawakens amazing behaviors in people. Once idle householders might now prepare gifts for family members help select decor and raise money to purchase it for their new home or develop cookbooks that highlight recipes unique to them and their housemates. At Perham Memorial, residents of every household joined in a rummage sale to raise money for a new golf cart. It pulls a trailer that carries residents on lovely rides through their town.
Stories of Unplanned Normalcy
Dell
“We help Dell into a chair or sofa. He crosses his legs, opens the newspaper and reads it just like he always has.”
Still Sound Asleep
At 10:15 a.m., a nursing assistant tells the homemaker, “Joe and Evelyn are sound asleep...Evelyn didn’t go to bed until 2 a.m. last night.”
Charlie
“It is so important not to take away everything from people when they move into a nursing home. So many people get much of their motivation to live by giving to others. The day before they move to the nursing home they make their own bed and do many other chores. Why do we assume we have to do everything for them the very next day? When I share this with people they often assume that people in skilled care just can’t do many of these things, but we are often surprised.
“Charlie is one example. He certainly belongs in skilled care. Yet the staff found out two things he really enjoyed doing were vacuuming and baking cakes. Now, even with his limitations, he takes care of vacuuming for part of
the house he lives in and bakes the birthday cakes for all the residents in his household. It is so clear in talking to Charlie how important it is to him that he can still give to others, even in this small way. And he’s a great baker to boot!”
– Chuck Hofius, CEO Perham Memorial Hospital
When you meet Charlie, he looks like he is only visiting. “I don’t think of this as a nursing home,” he said. The homemaker asked Charlie if he would like to vacuum. He gave a look like, “Isn’t that your job?” And then in a tone of mock irritation he said, “Okay... I’ll do it.”
It shows that the caregivers really know him, and that he gets a lot out of vacuuming no matter his expression.
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