Knox County Gazette Inside this issue: Administrator’s Conversation 10 Monthly Activities 2 Memory Care Unit 4 Kevin Godsil Social Services 5 Tammy Guile D.O.N.. 6 Dietary Cory Huddle- 7 In Memory Of.. 8 Knox County Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center October 2015 Special points of interest: Do you know that your county nursing home offers all rehabilitation services? Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy Speech Therapy As well as Restorative Therapy Medicare Certified Trick or Treat Fun -by Renie Britenbucher “Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!” Humbert Wolfe
Transcript
Knox County Gazette Inside this issue:
Administrator’s
Conversation
10
Monthly
Activities
2
Memory Care
Unit
4
Kevin Godsil
Social Services
5
Tammy Guile
D.O.N..
6
Dietary
Cory Huddle-
7
In Memory Of.. 8
Knox County Nursing Home &
Rehabilitation Center
October 2015
Special points of
interest:
Do you know that
your county nursing
home offers all
rehabilitation
services?
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Speech Therapy
As well as Restorative
Therapy
Medicare Certified
Trick or Treat Fun -by Renie Britenbucher
“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!”
September was a busy month! Here are a few highlights of our fun events:
Thanks to all who joined us for our Grandparents Day Carnival! The
children enjoyed the games and the face painting. We want to send a
special thank you to Mr. Shull, who generously donated the money for
the face painter. It was a really big hit with the kids!.
On Oct. 2nd, we will hold our Annual Weenie Roast! It will be held
outside in the Gazebo at 4:30pm. No reservations are needed.
We hope to see you there!
Other activities that we will be enjoying in October
John Stevens Band will be here at 6:30 pm on the 13th
Our Halloween Party & Parade for the Residents will be on Oct 30th. There will be games,
food, fun times and a parade of costumes.
Trick or Treat at Knox County Nursing Home will be the 31st at 5:00pm. This always a fun
event and we hope to see you there!
From
Georgene Erickson:
We have a beautiful
selection of Christmas
Cards for sale in the Gift
Shop for only 25 cents!
Please join us for an Art Night Fundraiser!
Thursday, October 29th — 5:30 pm
KCNH (in the Therapy Dept.)
$30 per participant— cost includes all the supplies plus instruction for you to create your own fall-themed work of art! Canvases and paints will be provided by
Studio 20.
If interested in participating, please contact
Tammie Leaf or Meg Wicks with payment by
OCTOBER 23rd
From the Business Office...
Page 3
MEDICARE’S OPEN ENROLLMENT DATES ARE HERE:
October 15 through December 7, 2015 – Open Enrollment Period for
Medicare Advantage Plans (Part C) and Prescription Drug Coverage (Part D) During this time you are able to join a Medicare Part C or D plan for 2016. Your plan will take effect on January 1, 2016.
If you are currently enrolled in a MMAI Medicare Medicaid Alignment Initiative Plan (Health Alliance Connect or Molina) this is the only time you can sign up for a Part D plan to “Opt Out” of the Managed Care Plan and go back to traditional Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
If your loved one does not have a Part D or Prescription Drug Plan, you may want to consider signing them up for one. Please let me know if you need help choosing a plan. Visit www.medicare.gov to get detailed and current information about your Medicare eligibility and enrollment options, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Please stop by or call me in the Business Office if you have questions or need help with switching back to traditional Medicare and Medicaid. (309)289-2338.
Thank you~ Jori Shull, Business Office Manager
From The Memory Care Unit Julie Jones
Page 4
A study that linked the antioxidant-rich flavanols in cocoa to improved memory in healthy older adults produced lots of yummy headlines, so it’s OK to stuff ourselves with leftover Halloween candy, right? Well, not exactly.
Study participants — all between the ages of 50 and 69 — saw striking improvements in memory after drinking a special cocoa drink daily for just three months. On average, the memory of 60-year-olds improved to perform more like that of 30- or 40-year-olds, according to lead author Scott A. Small, professor of neurology at Columbia Univer-sity Medical Center in New York. A control group that downed a low-flavanol drink did not show such improvement on the memory and pattern-recognition tests. Sadly, this does not mean the average older adult could improve his or her memory with candy bars. First, Small estimates you would have to eat at least 25 chocolate bars a day to get the amount of flavanols in the drink — and the ensuing obesity caused by all that fat and calories would be terrible for your brain and heart. Second, the pro-cessing of most chocolate bars makes them virtually flavanol-free. “Do not, please do not, eat that much chocolate,” Small urges. Beyond the cocoa headlines, there is even more exciting news from the study published in Nature Neuroscience, Small adds. It turns out that the area of the hippocampus most involved in age-related memory loss (dentate gyrus) is “clearly distinguished” from the area of the hippocampus affected by Alzheimer’s (entorhinal cortex). The study also helps validate previous research that found cocoa flavanols improve blood flow, heart health and memory in humans and mice. The study was funded in part by Mars Inc., as well as the National Institutes of Health and two research foundations. “I do think that the idea here is that dietary intervention and lifestyle might ameliorate a normal age-related memory process,” Small says. So we may one day be able to create a chocolate bar that improves memory in older brains. When that happens, by the way, we won’t be handing them out to the little trick-or-treaters at our house. We’ll keep those for ourselves.
Article originally appeared at: http://blog.aarp.org/2014/10/31/trick-or-treat-does-chocolate-help-brain-health/
From the Director of Social Services, Kevin Godsil...
We’re Having a Fish Fry!! Please join us!!
Catfish Fillets, Coleslaw, Baked Beans, and Dinner Roll
Wednesday, October 21st
Dine-In All You Can Eat $10; Carry Out $8
From the Director of Nurses, Tammy Guile…..
Page 6
Influenza Is Serious — Get Immunized
An annual flu shot is a safe and effective way to help protect you and your family from influenza. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the support of leading health experts, recommends that everyone, 6 months of age and older be im-munized. Influenza is a serious respiratory illness that is easily spread and can lead to severe complications, even death, for you or someone with whom you come in contact.
Flu shots will be given to residents and staff at Knox County Nursing Home in October. Flu consents were mailed out with the October statements, please sign and return them as soon as possible. We encourage everyone to get a flu shot, this will help protect the ones we love and care for.
If you suspect you have the flu, please do not visit until you have been symptom free for 72 hours. By doing this you will help to protect everyone from potentially contracting the virus.
Thank You,
Tammy Guile RN
Director of Nursing
What’s Cookin’? From Cory Huddleston………
Page 7
Save yourself a hassle– let us do your baking! This year we are selling delicious home-made Thanksgiving pies. They will be baked by our amazing cooks as a fundraiser for our bus. They will be ready for pick-up the day before Thanksgiving (Wed. 11/25). Here are the specifics:
Price: $10.00 each (payment at the time of pick up)
How to Order: *Order forms will be available at the reception desk beginning Oct. 1st
Order Deadline: All orders have to be turned in to the front desk by Nov. 20th @ 4:00 pm
Pickup Date: Wed., Nov.25th (day before Thanksgiving)
*Order form will have the list of pies offered
Please Join Us!
It may seem early but Thanksgiving is just around the
corner. We will be hosting our Annual Thanksgiving
Meal on 11/26/15 @ 11:30am-1:00pm.
The cost of the meal will be $9.00 (tickets can be purchased at the front
desk). In order to reserve your space, please RSVP by Nov.19th and let us
know the number of people in your party. You can stop by the front desk or
call (309)289-2338. We hope to see you there!
Thanksgiving Menu:
Cold Line Hot Line
Oreo Fluff Roasted Turkey
Watergate Salad Honey Glazed Ham
Assorted Fruits Green Bean Casserole
Cranberry Salad Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Assorted Relishes Candy Yams
Dinner Roll with Margarine
Dessert
Pumpkin Pie & Apple Pie
In Memory Of…………..
In Memory of... Our lives as caregivers have been blessed for having been given the
opportunity to know, love and care for each of the residents we serve.
It is with heartfelt sympathy that we extend our support to the families
of those residents that passed away since our last newsletter:
Harold Holmes, John Bonis, Ralph Maguire,
Lee Winter, Bernard Kelley, Robert West,
Nancy Ruetz & Audrey Hughbanks
Your gift can make a difference
Honor your loved one or the memory of a friend with a tax deductible gift
through the Friends of Knox County Nursing Home. Your gift can be in the form of a brick me-
morial along the entrance walk of the Home, an addition to the landscape of the Prairie Trails, or
a gift of money with a designated purpose for the benefits of the residents, or the most treasured
gift that anyone can give is your time. Volunteer to read to a resident, help with activities or join
us on a trip around town. Your Board of Directors of the Friends of Knox County Nursing Home
appreciates your contributions and serve as volunteers to raise money and to use the funds con-
tributed to best serve the residents of the home.
Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses
waving above one’s head, and listen to silence.
To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow.
To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.
Oscar Wilde -
Memorial Services, in remembrance of the treasured residents that we have had the privilege of serving are held quarterly to enable our Staff to take time to share their memories with families and friends in attendance. Please make time in your schedule to join us to share this circle of love and caring spirit.
This is a note I received from a family member and after reading it, I just had to
share. What an amazing feeling it is to know the work our staff does every day
makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE! The care and compassion I see from our staff on a
daily basis is amazing. If you see our staff, tell them how they are doing!!
Rachel Secrist
“When you have to make decisions in regards to your parents to make the absolute best choice for their safety, overall health, and personal hygiene, it’s very difficult!
My mom lived at the Kensington for 5 years and developed sepsis after having her teeth pulled. She was in the hospital for a month and a half not able to go back to the Kensing-ton that she had independence.
I had to look for a nursing home for her to go to. Spent many hours walking through all that I could that fit her personality and well-being. With that being said… I decided that Knox County Nursing Home in Knoxville, Illinois would be my choice. It is less convenient for me to drive and for my children and grandchildren to visit. This was not about me though…This was about my mother whom I love with all my heart.
Not only are the staff and nurses amazing! She is treated with kindness and love and looks better and acts better than she has in years! They have goats to feed, flower gar-dens, goldfish ponds and many other awesome things that keep you in touch with the world!
I have heartfelt kind words to say about Knox County Nursing Home in Knoxville and want to give credit to a person by the name of KEVIN GODSIL…who has called me back every single time in a matter of a half hour and listened to what I wanted for my mother and took it to hear. He is outstanding and I will never forget the way I was treated and how well my mother is now doing.
Forever grateful to everyone at Knox County Nursing Home and sending all my love and proud I made the right decision!” – Lisa M. (daughter)
Page 10
From Meg Wicks, Administrative Assistant
Page 11
Delona has worked at Knox County for about three
years. Recently she accepted a new position as the
Transport Driver, taking residents to various doctors’
appointments in the community. Before this she
worked as a Helping Hand on Wing 2. Delona enjoys
her new position very much and likes being able to
interact with residents outside the facility: “It’s nice
to be able to go to so many different locations
everyday.”
Delona lives just outside of Maquon on a farm
with her husband of six years. She has a six-year-old
son named Rocky. She enjoys running in her spare
time as well as taking care of the many animals she
keeps on her farm.
Delona has enjoyed fundraising for the Walk to
End Alzheimer’s Walk in past years and especially
helping out at the Applebee’s Pancake Breakfast
Fundraiser with her son.
Delona was nominated by an anonymous family
member, who said:
“Delona is very professional. She makes sure she is always on time for appointments and keeps busy each day helping others. The residents and families love her!”
Knox County Nursing Home is proud to
announce that October’s Employee of the Month is Transport,
Delona Revie-Meyer!
*For residents, family, and visitors who would like to cast their votes for
Employee of the Month- please visit the Receptionist’s Desk for more information.
