PioneerCare and the Fergus Falls campus of Minnesota State Community and Technical College are partnering to provide Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training for people interested in a caregiving career.

CNAs work directly with patients in a variety of medical settings, including nursing homes, doctors’ offices and hospitals. They are an important part of any medical team, working closely under RNs, physicians, or LPNs. CNAs are trained in all the basics of healthcare, and they often can be found checking vital signs, administering medication, and caring for patients.

“In today’s job market, the healthcare field is one of the few career fields that provide stability and growth,” says Nathan Johnson, Administrator at PioneerCare.

Current economic conditions have had little effect on careers in caregiving. Locally, the demand for trained and certified caregivers is strong and continues to grow with new developments such as the opening last spring of the new PioneerCare Center and the anticipated opening of PioneerCare Suites later this month. In fact, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton came to PioneerCare in August 2011 after hearing about PioneerCare’s innovative approach in workforce development. PioneerCare uses a blended-worker concept that is more responsive to its residents and at the same time enhances the employees’ work experience.

PioneerCare is offering job shadowing experiences for people interested in learning whether a career in caregiving is a good fit for them. Shadowing sessions will be scheduled between Jan. 11 and Feb. 9, and anyone interested in participating should contact Pioneer at 218-998-1500 as soon as possible. All interested individuals are required to pass a background check.

Caregiver training begins at PioneerCare on Wednesday, Feb. 14, with classes, labs, and clinical experience scheduled during daytime hours. Students who finish the program will be prepared to complete CNA testing in early March, allowing placement in a new career within just a few weeks.

A detailed program schedule is available online. More details are also available by calling M State at 218-736-1500 or PioneerCare at 218-998-1500.

Before forging ahead into 2012, we pause and remember the many blessings PioneerCare has received this past year. True to our mission, we continued our commitment to diverse and holistic care through PioneerCare Center, Pioneer Pointe apartments and through Pioneer Cottages at Fergus Falls and Breckenridge.

The most pronounced evidence of a blessed 2011 we see is the completion of PioneerCare Center. We thank so many of you for helping fulfill this vision. Leadership through our Corporate Board of Directors and Foundation Board of Directors helped steer the process. Committed staff developed and implemented a new way to serve our people – a new culture – to provide better care in this new space. Neighbors and community members supported our vision through donations, volunteerism and countless other ways. Many of you may look back, as I do, to the excitement of move-in day in May. Since then, PioneerCare Center has become a wonderful place to call home.

As residents, staff and volunteers settled into new surroundings at PioneerCare Center on Mabelle Avenue, crews began remodeling our historic location on Sheridan Street. Pairs of rooms in our former south unit have been transformed into PioneerCare Suites to create a new option for housing and care in Fergus Falls. PioneerCare Suites will begin providing enhanced assisted living services through a partnership with New Dimensions Home Health Care.

We are very pleased to partner with New Dimensions, which will expand and enhance services to Fergus Falls and surrounding communities. The PioneerCare Suites project is just one of many planned between New Dimensions and PioneerCare.

PioneerCare is committed to assisting people in all stages of need. To help people remain independent and in their homes we’ve continued to grow the PioneerLink® program. PioneerLink now serves 175 clients in five counties. PioneerLink has added MedSmart® to its care system. MedSmart is a device that reminds people to take their medicines properly and on time. Coupled with the Home Monitor System and Personal Emergency Response System, PioneerLink is able to make people feel safe and supported in their own homes.

Now we look forward to an equally busy and blessed 2012. Please join us as we expand our current services and build new ones, all toward our mission of Christ-like care.

-John Richards, CEO

Staff at Pioneer Cottages are boosting their ability to care for individuals with all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s Disease. Linda Zimmerman and Heather Nelson recently completed the Dementia Care Certificate Program and earned their certificate of completion – 30 hours of in-depth professional study specifically devoted to providing high quality dementia care. This first-of-its-kind program was developed by Aging Services of Minnesota in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter and offered for the first time in 2011.

“Specialized dementia care has been an integral piece of PioneerCare’s spectrum of services since well before the first of our Pioneer Cottages was built. We’re proud of our staff for positioning themselves as leaders in their field,” said John Richards, Chief Executive Officer for PioneerCare.

More than 100,000 Minnesotans are currently living with some form of dementia, and that number is increasing. The Dementia Care Certificate Program is believed to be the first in the nation to pair direct care providers with the Alzheimer’s Association and leading researchers and practitioners in the field of dementia care.

As a result of this specialized approach to training, caregivers will be better able to read and interpret complex behavior signals, more effectively manage living spaces and environments and expand their ability to engage in quality, meaningful interaction with individuals along the full spectrum of dementia diagnoses.

The first year of the Dementia Care Certificate program was an incredible success – approximately 225 individual caregivers from all over the state participated in the training. They include professionals in a wide variety of roles, including direct caregivers, dementia program directors, directors of nursing, social workers, activities coordinators, housing managers and administrators. Participants also represent a wide variety of aging services settings – including home care, adult day care, assisted living/housing-with-services and care centers.

Topics addressed by the Dementia Care Certificate Program include:

• Dementia Basics and Practical Approaches to Disease Symptoms (managing challenging behaviors)
• The Art of Engagement: Practical Approaches to Activities for all Stages of Dementia
• Exploring the Correlation Between Depression and Dementia
• Organizational Philosophy of Caring and Its Impact on Dementia Care
• The Appropriate Use of Medication in Dementia Care
• Partners in Dementia Care: Supporting Caregivers and Partners (or others)
• The Role of the Environment in Promoting Quality Dementia Care
• The Legal Aspects of Decision-Making for Persons with Dementia
• End-of-Life Care for Persons with Dementia
• Practical Approaches to Activities for all Stages of Dementia

The Dementia Care Certificate Program is one example of how Minnesota providers and caregivers are proactively leading the charge to build new skills and greater capacity to deal with this growing public health challenge. 

Service Simplifies Managing Meds

Doctors and pharmacists agree that taking medications at the right time is as important as what meds are taken, but according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 50 percent of individuals do not take their medications as prescribed. The reasons given include difficulty organizing multiple medications and doses, hard-to-read labels, and can be as simple as just remembering each dose.

Making medication management easier is the goal of MedSmart®, the newest service introduced by PioneerLink® this month. MedSmart is an electronic reminder and dispensing system designed to help individuals take medications properly and on time.  The system rents for $39 a month on a month-to-month basis through PioneerLink.

Programmable from one to six doses a day, MedSmart’s audio and visual alarms make it effortless to incorporate medication management into everyday activities at home. The system features a large display and programming buttons to set date, next alarm and dose information. An easy-access keypad makes programming quick and simple. A med tray inside the system is easily loaded and automatically rotates, beeps and flashes to signal the time for each dose. The user flips the unit over to remove the correct pills. All other doses remain safe and secure.

Through a personalized notification system connected to a regular phone line, the MedSmart can report events like missed doses, refill reminders or machine error notices to a care giver or family member by phone, email or text message.

MedSmart now joins PioneerLink’s Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) and Home Monitor System (HMS) to help empower people throughout west central Minnesota to live independently, at home, through innovative technology and personalized services. When a person subscribes to a PioneerLink system, a professional installer will connect and test the system, show the subscriber how it works, and help set up a response plan that works for the individual.

PioneerLink is locally owned and operated by PioneerCare in Fergus Falls and is supported in part by a CS/SD grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). More details are available by calling Brenda Daniels, PioneerLink Director of Clinical Services, at 218-998-2628.

New Dimensions Home Health Care and PioneerCare are forming a partnership to provide people with seamless navigation between home and community based services and other forms of care.

The two organizations will share resources to expand and introduce new services. Adding home care to its spectrum of services has been part of PioneerCare’s strategic plan for several years, according to John Richards, Chief Executive Officer for Pioneer.

“Our plans are based on the expectation that there will be more demand for home and community-based services in the region we serve. Expansion of these services helps address changes taking place in clinical practice as a result of health care payment reforms. For many, care at home can be a cost effective and preferred choice,” Richards said. “We are as committed to keeping seniors in their homes as we are to caring for them when they live under a PioneerCare roof.”

New Dimensions and PioneerCare will work together to serve tenants in the new PioneerCare Suites, set to open by January 1 at the care center’s original location on Sheridan Street in Fergus Falls.  The space is being remodeled to accommodate the partnership’s new services. New Dimensions leadership will oversee specialized care services while PioneerCare will handle general operations, social programming, dietary needs and other amenities for tenants. The two organizations will also bring adult day services back to the community in early 2012. The adult day services will be located at the Sheridan Street location.

“Our goal is to provide best-in-class services to residents in our region,” said Wendy Erlandson, Administrator for New Dimensions Home Health Care. “This partnership will bring added resources and services to clients so they can live the highest quality of life possible.”

Together, the partner organizations have built a workforce of more than 720 employees and that workforce continues to grow.

Founded in 1993, New Dimensions has a strong clinical presence in the community, providing a full range of home health care services.  They serve 490 clients in homes spread throughout 19 counties in Minnesota. Founded in 1928, PioneerCare provides housing and services for about 420 individuals through PioneerCare Center, Pioneer Cottages, PioneerLink, Pioneer Pointe, Pioneer Therapies and Pioneer Wellness.

“At the start, we are planning to support about 22 people in our care suites and about 20 people using our adult day services. Then, as partners, we will be providing close to 1,000 people with needed services,” Richards said.

PioneerCare Suites has started a waiting list for new tenants. More details are available by calling 218-739-6399.

PioneerCare Center moved to its new location just four months ago and workers have already begun renovations to the original site on Sheridan Street. Beginning later this fall, the building’s south wing will house up to 18 people and provide them with enhanced assisted living services.

“Up to now, we haven’t had this combination of housing and care available to our community,” said John Richards, Chief Executive Officer of PioneerCare. “It’s a service gap that Pioneer is well positioned to fill, especially with the availability of space since we moved the care center.”

Richards noted the number of older adults and people managing chronic illness who need more assistance than other assisted living facilities can offer, but not at the higher level that a skilled nursing care center provides.

The south wing renovation is the first phase of a re-use plan for the entire site. Scheduled to open later this fall, Pioneer’s enhanced assisted living suites will include a living and dining area, kitchenette, bedroom and bathroom with a roll-in shower. In addition to the suites, several rooms will be available for those who need shorter-term housing and care.

Karen Wulfekuhle, Director of Home and Community Based Services for PioneerCare, is overseeing the program development side of the project. She has researched similar projects in other communities and is developing the lines of service the building will provide.

People living at the renovated site will have access to 24-hour personal care services, chef-prepared meals and snacks, spiritual care, housekeeping and laundry services, transportation to appointments, personal emergency call systems, scheduled activities, therapy and wellness programming.

PioneerCare will accept month-to-month residency agreements for the enhanced assisted living suites. Shorter term arrangements will be accepted for individual respite care rooms.

“There is room for many more units beyond the ones we’re building in the south wing, but how we use that additional space will depend on the needs for other service lines we’re developing,” Wulfekuhle said.

“For example, adult day programming has been missing for some time now, and we know there is significant need for it.  PioneerCare will offer such a service at our Sheridan site, beginning some time after the first of the year.”

Pioneer’s founders built the original building in 1928. The first major addition was built in 1953 and additional wings were built through the years, including the south wing in 1971.

PioneerCare provides a spectrum of aging services including skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, memory care, home based services and housing for seniors in west central Minnesota.

About 200 residents, families and friends gathered Sunday, August 28 to dedicate PioneerCare’s Celebration Center and Chapel during a special afternoon worship service.

The Reverend Laurie Natwick, Assistant to the Bishop for the Northwest Synod of the ELCA presented the dedication homily. Chaplains Harry Olson and Chris Eldredge performed the rite of dedication. Other paricipating clergy included Father Greg Paffel from Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Pastor Jon Olson from Hope Lutheran Church, Pastor Jim Johnson from Calvary Free Lutheran Church, Pastor Marv Abrahamson from Zion Lutheran Church, Pastor Doug Dent from Federated Church, and Pastor Lauren Youngdale, retired chaplain of Pioneer.

A massed choir of more than 80 voices led the congregation in the entrance hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation” and presented Brahms’ “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah.  Mabeth Gyllstrom directed the choir made up of singers from Augustana Lutheran, Bethlehem Lutheran, Federated, First Lutheran, Grace Methodist, Hope Lutheran, Zion Lutheran and Amor Zion Lutheran Churches.

The Federated Church Bell Choir, directed by Doris Enderson, also provided special music with “Foundation” by Anna Laura Page and “God of Grace and God of Glory” by Paul Manz. Soloist Susan Clambey sang “Bless This House” by Helen Taylor. Pianists included Carol Andstrom, Linnea Hagemeister, Sandra Sedivy and Gloria Anderson.

PioneerCare Center residents and staff were treated to a mid-morning visit with Governor Mark Dayton and members of his cabinet on Wednesday, August 24. About 100 residents and staff gathered in the new care center’s Garden Court to meet him.

Governor Dayton came to PioneerCare and other locations in Fergus Falls to gather information about workforce development issues in Minnesota. He said he had heard about Pioneer’s use of the household model and blended worker concept in its new care center.

Before his informal “meet and greet” in the Garden Court, the Governor spent 45 minutes in a private meeting with PioneerCare Administrator Nathan Johnson and other senior staff.

 “We felt incredibly privileged to host the Governor. He was very interested and engaged in the conversation we had about workforce issues in the skilled care setting,” Johnson says. “We talked ‘big picture’ and at the same time, helped him see a local perspective.”

“Some of the regulations we follow are based on care models from as far back as the 1950s, especially those that define specific job duties for caregivers. Our caregivers at Pioneer want to be more responsive to resident needs, but in some cases their hands are bound with outdated, red tape.”

 “It reminds me of a book on my shelf called ‘The Death of Common Sense,’” said Governor Dayton.

PioneerCare leadership discussed challenges that face aging services caused by chronic underfunding and asked the Governor to support aging services in the state’s budget decisions.

Mark Phillips, the commissioner for the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), noted the absence of representation from someone in aging services on the Governor’s jobs creation initiative group. He also said what he was hearing was “180 degrees different” from what he hears in St. Paul, noting the difference between the health care workforce needs in the Twin Cities and in Greater Minnesota.

“The Governor and his staff were very engaged, took a lot of notes and asked some challenging questions,” Johnson said. “We’re very hopeful that his visit may be just the beginning of a dialog toward reforms that make sense.”

“It’s all about providing the right care at the right time, at the right place, at the right cost,” he said.

Johnson joined the Governor and other leaders later that day, participating on a panel at a public forum on workforce development specific to the needs of west central Minnesota. The Fergus Falls stop is the first for the Governor to address needs for job growth in the state.

PioneerCare provides a spectrum of aging services including skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, memory care, home based services and housing for seniors in west central Minnesota.

PioneerLink™

For many years, Dewey worked in leadership roles within PioneerCare. He served on PioneerCare’s corporate board of directors for nine years. While on the board, he was chairman of the search committee when John Richards, now Pioneer’s CEO, was hired as administrator. In 1999, he became chairman of PioneerCare’s foundation board of directors, which led to his involvement in researching and developing Pioneer Cottages, specializing in memory care.  Dewey later joined the Pioneer staff as director of development and served in that role for about five years until his retirement in 2009. 

As his health declined, Dewey became a resident at PioneerCare Center. During his stay at Pioneer, he and his family were inspired by a nursing assistant who cared for him overnight. Even with a non-traditional work schedule, she made time to exercise each night at 3:00 a.m. on her way home after her shift. 

Noting Dewey’s life-long belief in the importance of regular exercise and his strong commitment to PioneerCare, the Tommerdahl family wanted to help make such a daily regime more convenient and accessible for Pioneer staff. 

“Our intent for this equipment and room is that it be used to better the physical, mental and emotional state of the employees here at Pioneer,” said Dewey’s son, Mark Tommerdahl.

The new gym is outfitted with a high quality elliptical machine, stationary bike, and treadmill and a weight station, free weights, and stability balls. It will be open and free of charge to employees 24 hours a day through secured access.