Moments of Joy Make this Holiday the Best Ever! Mistye Johnson Medical Records Director Important Dates Holiday Pictures A-Hall, B-Hall and D-Hall December 4 C-Hall and Nettie Miles December 5 Holiday Family Parties A-Hall, B-Hall, and C-Hall December 8 5:30pm Main Dining Room D-Hall and Nettie Miles December 9 5:30pm Main Dining Room Partner Benefits Fair was a hit! A special thanks to all who helped with the displays. A special thanks to Kennett High School National Honor Society for all of their help decorating for our patients. Without their help, it would be a great challenge to get it all done. Thanks again, from NHC Partners! A moment of joy is something that brings happiness to a person who may not remember it a few moments later. Creating moments of joy for our patients with Alzheimer’s is an important part of improving their quality of life. Many basic functions leave with the progression of Alzheimer’s. A patient may not be able to communicate adequately, may no longer be continent, may not be able to feed themselves, etc. They also may not remember their family members or daily caregivers. With the loss of so many things, a lot of the joy in life disappears. As caregivers and family members, we can make our patients lives happier by creating moments of joy. Small things that we may not even think about can bring happiness. Following are just a few examples of ways to bring joy:  Give a hug  Pat someone on the arm or back  Give the patient a kiss  Hold their hand  Rub lotion on hands and arms  Brush their hair  Just sit with them and touch them to let them know you are there  Play their favorite music or gospel music  Pray aloud with them  Tell them that you love them and that they are a good person  Encourage them by telling them they are doing good  Tell them they look pretty or handsome  Bring a flower to smell  Spray room with a favorite scent  Bring a favorite food  Look at photos from the past together  Reassure them when they are upset and confused and let them know you will check on it and take care of it (lost child, lost pet, etc) Making sure they know they are important, wanted, and loved is the most important thing we can do. Regardless of whether the patient will remember it later does not matter. Whether you know them or not, what matters is that for that moment in time, you made them feel happy. Congratulation to Phillip Barrera on being selected Partner of the Month for Novembers. He is part of the ReHab to Home Team. Phillip works very hard with all of our patients helping them to return home as soon as possible. As special thanks for all you do for our patients. Send a special message to your family member! E-mail Address: [email protected] Please, be sure to include recipient’s name in the subject line of your note. E-mails are printed and delivered to rooms daily Recreation Department NHC Kennett News from the Bootheel December 2014 NHC Kennett P.O. Box 696 Kennett, MO. 63857 573-888-1150 A Special Holiday Invitation from NHC Kennett Partners Birthdays: December Partners: Administrative Staff Alex Sellars Administrator Dr. Jackie Sutherland Medical Director June Craig Director of Nursing Jeanette Randolph Asst. Director of Nursing Carla Smith Social Services Director Terri Foresythe Admission Coordinator Janet Carter Dietary Manager Stephanie Winzenburger Dietitian Tommy Allgood Recreational Director Donnie Edington Laundry/Housekeeping Dir. Brad Deckard Director of ReHab Raymund Solijon Assit. Director of ReHab Richard Gossett Maintenance Director Mistye Johnson Medical Records Director Alicia Morris Bookkeeping/Office Manager Tonya Holmes Bookkeeping Sandy Gunn Human Resources Director Stephanie Wadley Unit Manager Aaron Chase Unit Manager Jessica Bader Unit Manager Debbie Harris MDS Coordinator Brittany Wyrick James Conley Hayley Brown Krista Morris Irene Grubb Teresa Sykes Aaron Chase Kay Collier Jordan Wagster Karla Fisher Mark Greaney Patients: 12/01 12/08 12/17 12/17 12/18 12/20 12/21 12/21 12/26 12/27 12/27 Partner Anniversaries: Tritia Britton Sharon Cato James Conley Frieda Geary Amanda George Sara Liddell Lessie Pulliam Kayley Ridings Nancy Smith 1 year 9 years 1 year 6 years 2 years 4 years 8 years 1 year 6 years Erma Key Jeff Wheeler Patricia Cote Dorothy Bost Edith Griffin Willie Parnell Alberta Robinson 12/01 12/02 12/06 12/13 12/26 12/26 12/26 The holidays are here and for many of us it is a time of joy and stress. The holidays come with wonderful memories and traditions that we spend many hours trying to re-create from year to year. Many of our holiday traditions revolve around food and family. We would like to help relieve some of the stress you might be feeling as you try to combine these two traditions visiting with your loved one at NHC. We will be providing some comfort food on two of our holidays to give you an opportunity to enjoy special time with your family member here at NHC. On Christmas Eve from 2:00-3:00, we will have Christmas cookies, hot apple cider and coffee available in the Carl Adams Day Area for you and your family to enjoy together. On New Year’s Day, we will have our soup kettle full of black eyed peas with cornbread available from 12:00-1:00 in the Carl Adams Day Area, to provide a snack and to bring you good luck in 2015. We hope this will provide you with a great opportunity to visit and reminisce about family gatherings and traditions that have been important to your family. From the NHC Dietary Department, to you, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Janet Carter Dietary Manager