Meet "Imajean Resident"

Once a year, Kirkhaven is required by regulations to provide staff sensitivity training on resident rights. It is always a challenge to come up with yet another innovative and interesting way to present this important material, but our social work department seems to be up to the task every time.

This year, Paula Henry (Director of Social Work) introduced us all to Imajean Resident (but everyone calls her Ima). Ima Resident spoke directly to the staff and shared her unique perspective on being a resident at Kirkhaven. Her message was a great reminder to us all about how important it is to be respectful of every resident's rights, dignity and individuality.

To follow is some of the message that Ima shared:

Hi Folks..........my name is Imajean Resident, but everyone calls me Ima for short, Ima Resident. I have been living here at Kirkhaven for about 5 years now. I moved here from Pennsylvania to be closer to my family. I didn't want to move, but it turned out okay and I have met some great people and have made some good friends. Maybe you know some of my friends. Do you know Alice, who lives on the 2nd floor? Alice is a wonderful woman and I just love her room. Speaking of rooms, I do wish mine was larger and more private. Don't get me wrong, the staff is very good at knocking before they enter and pulling what they call the privacy curtain, and I do like my roommate. It's just her TV volume that gets to me. Sometimes staff has to remind her to wear her head phones, it's a constant battle and yet we manage. Still a private room would be nice.

Do any of you know Lula who lives on the 5th floor. She moved here from Florida and did you know she was the first woman cab driver in the state of Florida. One of my best friends from the 4th floor is Lillian. Lillian is on Hospice and failing, but you know, she still has a great attitude and whenever I see her she is as friendly as ever. Lillian's friendliness smiles through her eyes. Then of course there is Bill on the 5th floor, the former Mayor of Avon who also spent over 50 years volunteering for the ambulance and fire departments in Avon. It makes a huge difference when people take the time to know how you lived your life before moving to Kirkhaven so we can continue to pursue our life-long interests. One of the staff the other day asked me what my favorite book was because she knew I loved to read. We had a great conversation.

Ok, enough about me and my friends. I want to take a few minutes to talk to you about this Pathway you all are on. There seems to be a lot of good things happening here to move away from an institutional feel to more of a feeling of home. Of course, going "bibless" was fun and we elders gave our input. I was one of the elders who voiced a concern that even though I liked the linen napkins, I missed the good old-fashioned paper napkins. The linen napkins do look nicer than the old "bibs", but thank you for listening to us and also giving us back our paper napkins to wipe our mouths on. Those linen ones were just too slippery. I also know that I can refuse a linen napkin if I want, just as I can refuse other things if I want. Did you know I refused to give up the shoes I am wearing. Some staff thought I would be safer in flat heeled shoes. I said Baloney! This is what I have always worn and will continue to wear and I am willing to risk a fall. They listened and you can see I am still wearing my favorite heels. Occasionally, I will still meet someone who thinks they know better than I do about what is best for me and they want to treat me like a child. They act like they are the boss over me, but I must say this seems to be happening less and less, and that's a good thing. I don't need "bosses" and I am certainly not a child, so I don't need anyone to act like my parent.

The best part of this changing the institutional culture is that I understand it really put us elders in the center of thinking and more importantly, includes us in the thinking. Nursing homes have always historically kind of done things to and for elders, so seeking more and more input from us and asking us what is best for us only makes sense. When I was in my own home, I made decisions every day and no one told me where to go, or when to sit down, or when to go to bed, or when to get up, or what to eat, or what activity to attend.

You know, there are a lot of fun activities here and it is nice to see more people helping us get to things. I am lucky I can still walk and get there myself, but I fear one day this may change, so I especially like that more and more people seem to be getting involved to help. I didn't get to attend any of the Celebrity Chef programs on the 5th floor, but I heard it was a lot of fun and I love the people volunteering to be Celebrity Bartenders for Happy Hour every Friday afternoon.

Lastly, I just want to say that I know that many of you have been working to change the language around here and I like this. I used to hear words like feeder more than I do now. I never want to be known as a "feeder". I just want to be known as Ima, the nice woman who had a wonderful family, was a great teacher and likes to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every evening. I also used to hear the phrase, "that's not my resident", but I don't hear that so much anymore. That speaks to great teamwork and resident-centered care. Also, I like the word community. I much prefer living in a community and being part of a neighborhood, instead of living in a "facility".

Change is rarely easy, and I know that things will never be perfect. Perfection does not exist. However, the Kirkhaven way has always been great and it keeps on getting better and better. So, stay on the Pathway, continue to work together to build relationships with us elders and with each other. Celebrate the Kirkhaven Way and please know that we residents so appreciate all that you do to ensure our wellness, dignity, individuality and rights.

God bless you all.....................Ima Resident.