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October 10, 2022
Dear Residents and Families,
It was wonderful seeing so many residents, families and staff members attend the 14th Annual ALS & MS Walk for Living in Chelsea on September 18. Your support really made a difference! This year’s in-person event was full of enthusiasm, spirit, and inspiration. You can read more about the Walk for Living in this newsletter.
I am excited to announce that The Great Room at the Brudnick Center for Living is getting a facelift! Renovations are now underway. Please pardon our appearance as the work takes place. Improvements include carpeting, flooring, wallpaper, paint, tiling and window treatments. We look forward to welcoming you into our beautiful new space soon.
In mid-October, we will roll-out our fall/winter menus, with seasonal specialties as well as traditional favorites. With this in mind, it is appropriate to thank our loyal and dedicated staff in the dietary department as the first week of October marked National Food Services Week. We held a celebratory lunch in their honor, with gifts for the department.
At the Brudnick Center for Living, we also celebrated our amazing rehabilitation team. They too were honored the first week of October during National Rehabilitative Services Week. We feel grateful to have such a talented group here on this campus!
As we embark upon the seasonal activities unique to New England, I’d like to remind you about your annual flu shot and updated COVID-19 booster. It’s the beginning of the cold and flu season and these vaccinations will help in keeping us healthy and active. Getting the flu shot and booster is the best prevention strategy of all.
Warmly,
Megin
Megin L. Hemmerling
Regional President, Peabody
Chelsea Jewish Lifecare
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October 12, 2022
Each year, leaders from various industries across the United States including healthcare, manufacturing, service, retail, and finance come together to attend the Northeast Lean Conference, an event created by the non-profit GBMP to provide information and inspiration to Lean practitioners. Lean is a continuous improvement methodology used to improve quality, safety, and efficiency of an organization by empowering staff to make improvements and remove waste from the system. Aptly titled “Amplifying Lean: The Collaboration Effect,” this year’s conference theme focused upon the importance of learning from other industries and the power of teamwork.
As one of the primary speakers at this year’s Northeast Lean Conference, Kae Santos, Regional President of our Chelsea campus, shared Chelsea Jewish Lifecare’s success in using Lean and other continuous improvement strategies to overcome challenges faced during the pandemic.
“It was an honor to represent Chelsea Jewish Lifecare and share our continuous improvement journey and use of lean to tackle difficult issues like staffing, COVID management, and team and family communication,” Santos remarks. “I’ve definitely benefited from attending this conference in previous years and hope that our story inspires others to advance lean in their organization. It is greatly needed in healthcare, especially in the senior care industry.”
Take a look at the photos taken at the conference, including a group of CJL colleagues who also attended the event. Congratulations, Kae. You did a fabulous job!
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October 12, 2022
Staff and residents at Katzman Center, Leonard Florence and Brudnick Center participated in the MassMAP (Mutual Aid Plan) Drill during early October. The exercise features a state led simulation to get people thinking about what to do in an emergency. MassMAP assists healthcare partners to rapidly share information, resources and personnel when preparing for or responding to a local or regional emergency event. Over 180 facilities participated in the Massachusetts region.
“MassMAP is an extremely important program that helps protect our residents and prepare all of us for an emergency,” remarked Amalia Almeida, RN SDC at the Leonard Florence Center. “We tend to underestimate the amount of work and time it takes to execute an evacuation of the entire building. Being prepared for the unexpected gives staff and residents reassurance about their safety at a time of need!”
According to the MassMAP website, the Hospital and Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plans establish a course of action and an agreed commitment among participating hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living residences to assist each other as needed in the time of a disaster event. These exercises are invaluable in preparing for a myriad of emergencies and/or disasters. Being prepared and informed is the best way to ensure operations are run smoothly and effectively in the event of an unforeseen emergency.
This year’s scenario focused upon a storm that forced us to evacuate our residences. An incident command center was set up, which had residents participate during our mock evacuations. “Doing these drills is such an important part of keeping us safe,” explained Tammy Starion, executive director of Brudnick Center for Living. “They remind us that at any minute something can happen. Plus, getting the staff involved can be enlightening, educational and enjoyable — all at the same time.”
“The MassMAP regional disaster drill is a great opportunity to see how prepared we are to deal with real emergency situations,” commented Jill Tura, executive director of Katzman Family Center for Living. “These types of drills are crucial to ensure that our staff is prepared to deal with any unexpected situation. At the same time, we also had a bit of fun with it!”
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October 11, 2022
Members of the Chelsea Jewish Lifecare leadership team presented at the Mass General Brigham annual meeting for Skilled Nursing Facility providers on September 19th. The 2022 meeting marked the first in person meeting held since 2019 due to the pandemic.
Chief Clinical Officer Ron Anglo was introduced by Chief Business Development Officer Terry Halliday. For the meeting, selected members of the collaborative were asked to present on best practices that are used in their daily operations. It is an honor to be asked to present and both Ron and Terry were a credit to the organization.
For the presentation, Ron was joined at the podium by Tony Franchi of Franchi Healthcare. Aptly entitled “On the Road to 5-Star,” the presentation sparked an animated discussion by attendees. The two addressed the importance of the CMS designation and the changes that became effective on July 1, 2022. After the event, Industry leaders noted that the presentation was both collaborative and informative.
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October 10, 2022
Senior Day at Brooksby Farm proved to be a huge hit with residents and staff alike. The group shopped for locally sourced items in the popular Farm Store, listened to catchy tunes and savored delicious BBQ foods.
Over at the Brudnick Center, residents thoroughly enjoyed Tom Sheehan’s musical entertainment. There was a great deal of clapping, singing, dancing and laughter. On the artistic front, residents got creative making festive centerpieces for the dining area as well as bird feeders for the patio. The colors and designs were impressive!
Our annual Fall Harvest Festivals, always a fun event, will be held throughout October. Live entertainment with Bill Sokolow, followed by delicious fall goodies and libations, showcases the flavors of autumn. Another widely attended activity: the Sukkot services at Kaplan Estates. The North Shore campus celebrated Sukkot with live services led by Ellen Gordon, while residents at BCL had access to a live streaming of Sukkot Services from Congregation Shirat Hayam.
Last, but certainly not least, both Kaplan and BCL embarked upon Oktoberfest parties. Oktoberfest, which celebrates the marriage of King Louis I of Bavaria and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, is the annual festival in Munich, German. The original festival, held in 1810, included food, drinks, games, and horse races. We simulated the entire festival with music by Eddie Marando and traditional favorites such as beer, root beer, ginger beer, pretzels with mustard, hot dogs with sauerkraut and flakey strudel. The celebration concluded with our very own version of “races at the horse track!”
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