Top 5 Most-Read Articles - November 17
In case you missed out, here are the articles Ecumen's online visitors found most interesting last week:
Ecumen Employees: Sandy Lia's Career of Caring at Ecumen Detroit Lakes
In her 36 years at Ecumen Detroit Lakes, Sandy Lia has been an activity director, a volunteer coordinator, the founder and manager of the adult day services program, a housing manager and currently the fund development coordinator with additional duties in marketing and event planning. ...
Army Veteran Wanda Nordlie, a Resident of Ecumen Litchfield, Cared for Prisoners Liberated from Nazi Concentration Camp
Ecumen of Litchfield resident Wanda Nordlie, 91, was an Army nurse in World War II who helped care for thousands of ill and malnourished prisoners liberated from a Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee, Austria. “It was a long time ago, but you never forget stuff like that,” she says. ...
How to Become a Professional Caregiver: 5 Steps to Turn Your Passion and Skills Into a New Career as a Professional Caregiver
Gertrude Hii Beimers decided she wanted to be a professional caregiver during years of caring for her husband, who died a few years ago of Lou Gehrig's disease. So she got her certified nursing assistant (CNA) degree and started work for Catalina In-Home Services in Tucson, Arizona, providing home care. "Like a lot of other direct care workers," she said, "I found my way to my career through caring for a member of my own family." Her story is not unusual these days, with these two trends conflating at rapid speed: people living longer and requiring help with chronic illnesses, and boomers like Beimers wanting to make a living doing something meaningful. By Dave Singleton, Caring.com Author; Courtesy of Caring.com.
Policy and a Pint - How Will We Take Care of Mom?
As baby boomers reach retirement and beyond, younger generations need to think about the kinds of care their aging parents will likely need. At the Citizens League and 89.3 The Current's next Policy and a Pint® program - “How will we take care of Mom?” - they will look at how changing demographics are shaping the way we think about aging in the 21st century. ...
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Eldora Clark
Eldora turned 101 on November 12. ...
You can read these articles and learn more about Ecumen at www.ecumen.org.
Army Veteran Wanda Nordlie, a Resident of Ecumen of Litchfield, Cared for Prisoners Liberated From Nazi Concentration Camp
Ecumen of Litchfield resident Wanda Nordlie, 91, was an Army nurse in World War II who helped care for thousands of ill and malnourished prisoners liberated from a Nazi concentration camp in Ebensee, Austria.
“It was a long time ago, but you never forget stuff like that,” she says.
Juliana Thill tells Wanda’s deeply moving story of courage and commitment in the November issue of Zest Magazine, a publication of the Litchfield Independent Review and Hutchinson Leader.
Policy and a Pint - How Will We Take Care of Mom?
As baby boomers reach retirement and beyond, younger generations need to think about the kinds of care their aging parents will likely need. At the Citizens League and 89.3 The Current's next Policy and a Pint® program on Tuesday, Nov. 18, they will look at how changing demographics are shaping the way we think about aging in the 21st century.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 103rd Birthday Orphea Mattsfield
Ecumen honors Orphea Mattsfield, a resident of Ecumen of Litchfield, who is 103.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Mildred Witte
Ecumen honors Mildred Witte, a resident of Ecumen of Litchfield, who is celebrating her 101st birthday.
New York Times: Bracing for the Falls of an Aging Nation
Yesterday's New York Times' Health section story by Katie Hafner painted a vivid picture of the risks of falling seniors encounter while going about their daily routine. The online story shares videos of how stairs, showers and toilets appear to those with the symptoms of aging eyes - yellowing vision, cataracts and glaucoma. Click the link below to read the full story.
Question: How would you balance the risk of falls and a senior's desire for independence? Please share your thoughts in our Comments section below.
Ecumen of Litchfield Resident Don Nordlie’s Eyewitness Account of the Battle of Iwo Jima Memorialized
Don and Wanda Nordlie, residents of Ecumen of Litchfield, were at the battle of Iwo Jima almost 70 years ago. He was a Marine sergeant, and she was a nurse.
Two other Litchfield men, Roger Tipka, U. S. Army, and Stan Mortenson, U.S. Navy, also were there.
Don, Roger and Stan raised the flag during the National Anthem at a Minnesota Twins game a couple of weeks ago, no doubt remembering the famous Iwo Jima flag-raising that happened six days into what would be a bloody 36-day battle leaving almost 30,000 dead.
Litchfield resident Tim Mergen has brought their story to life, turning their battlefield recollections into a presentation honoring their service. Mergen points out that Iwo Jima is “pretty close to the size of Litchfield” and asks his audiences to “imagine going around Litchfield and laying 30,000 bodies across that town.”
How Mergen pieced the story together and continues to bring it home for local residents is the cover story in the September issue of Zest Magazine, a publication of the Litchfield Independent Review.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 101st Birthday Viola Miller
Ecumen honors Viola Miller, a resident of Ecumen of Litchfield, who is 101 today.
You’ve Got To Have Heart To Do This Job: Honoring Ecumen’s Nursing Assistants
It’s an intensely challenging job. It’s a deeply rewarding job. It’s an absolutely critical job that not just anyone can do. But it does not get a lot of recognition.
The Nursing Assistants who take care of the frail elderly are a special breed who give compassionate care all day long to people who are at their most vulnerable.
This week is National Nursing Assistants Week, and Ecumen honors its 1,800 Nursing Assistants for their dedicated care and commitment. (Nursing Assistant is a 
general job category with many more specific job titles such as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), Resident Assistants, Home Health Assistants, Personal Care Attendants, Adult Day Services Assistants and Trained Medical Assistants.)
“This is an extremely important job,” says Anne Diekmann, Director of Nursing at Ecumen of Litchfield. “It is a noble calling and a career to be proud of.” Nursing Assistants do tasks like making sure residents get their meals, medication, therapy and personal care when they are supposed to, and they are always on call for any immediate needs residents have.
Diekmann says the 72 Nursing Assistants she supervises “are the eyes and ears of the Nursing Department. They are the people closest to the residents every day. They are the first line of everything. They notice when things aren’t right. They are keyed into every little detail. Without them, the nurses can’t do their jobs.”
Three Nursing Assistants at Ecumen of Litchfield gathered this week to talk about their jobs.
Jody Dilley, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) for eight years, says, “It’s rewarding to help someone who cannot help themselves without expecting something in return.” She chose this career after taking care of her own mother, who was dying of cancer. “I knew I had found my calling,” she said.
And many Nursing Assistants refer to their jobs as a “calling.” Kelly Peipus has been a CNA for 30 years at Ecumen of Litchfield. She describes herself as an easy-going and patient person who finds that caregiving “just comes naturally.”
Missy Kielty, a CNA for 13 years, says she feels like she is “making a difference” as a caregiver. “I love interacting with the residents, hearing their stories and experiences,” she says. “The residents thank us all the time for what we do. They apologize for needing help, but we just tell them that’s exactly what we are here for.”
To be a Nursing Assistant, the group agreed, you need to be patient, sympathetic, compassionate and caring. And Anne Diekmann added a fifth qualification: integrity. “Nursing Assistants must be unconditionally trustworthy,” she says.
To honor the Nursing Assistants she supervises, Diekmann handed out “Survival Kits” with the following items and explanations:
Lifesavers: Because you are a REAL lifesaver!
Tissues: For those times you have to dry tears, even your own.
Snickers: To remind you that laughter really is the best medicine.
Sucker: To help you lick every problem.
Starburst Candy: For those times when you need a burst of energy.
Laffy Taffy: To remind you to laugh at times when you fell like crying.
Stick of gum: To help you stick with it and accomplish anything.
Mint: Because your compassion is worth a mint!
Rubber Band: For when you need to stretch beyond your limits.
And in big type at the end: NURSING ASSISTANTS ARE ALL HEART.
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Ecumen thanks and honors its Nursing Assistants — and all Nursing Assistants — for your compassionate care and selfless service to others.
Last Week's Top 5 Blog Posts - May 12
In case you missed one, here are the blog posts our online visitors found most interesting last week:
On National Nurses Day: Honoring Anne Diekmann, Exemplary Ecumen Nurse
What It's Like to be 100 Years Old, in 10 Charts
The Minnesota Boychoir Brings Early Mother's Day Joy to the Residents at Ecumen Lakeview Commons
Changing Aging Video: Ashley, LPN at Ecumen Bethany Community
Young Man's 89-Year-Old Prom Date Gets a Standing Ovation
To read more Changing Aging blog posts or to learn more about Ecumen, please visit www.Ecumen.org.