An overflow of gems

by Melanie Jongsma, Director of Communications

Well, Torchlight is a week away. Our annual celebration of ministry accomplished by the Providence family is a tradition-rich event, as I wrote in an earlier post.

This year our theme is "Gems of Providence," a reference to the beautiful, multi-faceted people who serve and are served as part of this ministry. One of the highlights of the evening will be a couple of short videos that play out this theme.

In the Communications Department, we've been working on these videos for months — brainstorming, scripting, interviewing, taping, editing, reworking, finalizing, and producing. Throughout the process, over and over, the "Gems" theme was confirmed in ways that, unfortunately, most people will never realize.

For example, we taped interviews with half a dozen Providence employees, representing a range of departments, and every single interview was solid gold. I was impressed with not only the skill and expertise of our staff in Nursing, Environmental Services, Spiritual Development, Dining Services, and Life Enrichment, but also with their sincerity, their sense of mission, their humility. I count it an honor to serve with these people.

But the final videos we'll show to the Torchlight crowd next Friday night are only 3 minutes and 5 minutes long — not nearly enough time to display all the gems from all the interviews.

Rather than leave this overflow of gems "on the cutting room floor," we plan to post plenty of video clips to our website over the coming weeks. In the meantime, I want to post one of my favorites here. It's just a minute or two of our interview with Thomas Travaglio, our Environmental Services Director at Providence of Palos Heights. Watching it, I think you'll catch a glimpse of what makes Thomas one of the "Gems of Providence."

What about you? Do you know any "Gems of Providence"? I know there is a treasure trove out there, and each of us sees only a small part of it. Why not share the wealth? Submit a comment below, and let us know which Providence residents, employees, donors, or volunteers have enriched your life!

Cancer, Hockey, and Providence

by Melanie Jongsma, Director of Communications

"Your world stops," says Rick Molenhouse. "You hear the word 'leukemia,' and all you know is, it's bad."

Rick (pictured here with his family, in a photo by Advocate) is the Community Manager at Victorian Village, the Providence retirement and assisted living community in Homer Glen, Illinois. He and his family have traveled a 10-year cancer journey that started when son Logan was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two. His experiences with the healthcare system, with life-and-death decisions, with kindnesses that go a long way to relieve fears — all this has made him a sensitive and sympathetic leader. "I never asked for this trial," he says about Logan's illness, "but I like to think I'm using it to become a better person. God can bring good things out of dark circumstances."

Some of these "good things" recently took the family completely by surprise. Logan's story was featured in the Fall 2009 issue of Powerful Medicine, Compassionate Care, the newsletter of Advocate Hope Children's Hospital, where Logan receives treatments. "Since the article was published" says Rick, "we have had lots of people comment on this in a very positive way. People have been encouraged and inspired. It's heartwarming."

As it turns out, the Advocate article, which highlighted Logan's interest in hockey and his love of the Chicago Blackhawks, made its way all the way to the front office of the Chicago Blackhawks. Rick explains:

"The National Hockey League has a 'Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night' going on at this Saturday’s home game. Well, when the Hawks read the article about Logan, they recognized he is a true fan! They invited Logan to the game as their honored guest. They also provided him with a suite and tickets for his family and friends. As awesome as that is, it’s still not the best part —they also asked him to do the ceremonial puck drop! Normally this is reserved for celebrities, former prominent Hawk players, VIPs, etc. Logan will get to walk out on the ice just before the game starts in front of probably around 21-22,000 fans and meet the captains of both teams, do a ceremonial puck drop with these two professional hockey players, and shake their hands!"

Yesterday the Blackhawks issued a news release about Logan's involvement with Hockey Fights Cancer, and Rick shared the exciting news with Providence staff. It's clear he's proud of his son, and thrilled that the whole family will have an opportunity to celebrate their victory over cancer.

Want to catch the action? The game airs on Chicago's WGN TV this Saturday, October 24, at 7:30pm. Whether you're able to watch the game or not, feel free to email the Molenhouse family your best wishes at molenhouse@provlife.com!

Are you ready to help your parents choose a retirement community?

by Melanie Jongsma, Director of Communications

Emily M. Butler-Morton is a marketer with a heart. She spent 25 years in various marketing positions with various senior living communities. During that time, she helped hundreds of seniors and their families through the process of first accepting the idea of moving into a retirement community, and then finding the perfect community to move to. She has distilled her experience into a small, helpful paperback titled Care Enough to Know—Keep Your Parents Safe.

I just finished reading this book, and I think it's a valuable resource. Emily's experience as a former "insider" in the senior living industry gives her a unique perspective. As a marketer, her job was to attract people to whatever senior community she was working for, and to present them with the information she felt would persuade them to move in. Her integrity and sincere desire to help people are the motivation behind her book. As she writes in her Foreword:

"My role as Marketing/Community Relations Director in various communities...has included encouraging members of a somewhat vulnerable age group (56 and up) to make a major life change by moving into some type of congregate living for seniors. I moved these people in with a clear conscience, thinking that I was helping them and believing that they would receive the services as promised. ...In many cases this turned out to be true, but in other instances I found myself cringing in the face of reality as I observed the poor quality of service provided to folks I had promised a better life to, folks who trusted me. This has bothered me to the point of knowing I must speak out. ...That is my sole purpose for writing this book."

The 115-page paperback includes chapters such as:

• Know How to Begin
• Who Should Live in a Senior Living Community?
• Know the Choices
• Know the Obstacles
• Know How Care Levels are Determined

Emily's "Care Enough to Ask, Look, and Do" chapter is particularly helpful. It is made up of a series of questions that people should ask of any retirement community they are considering. The questions are divided into categories such as Food, Financial, Safety, and Comfort, and the author gives some action steps on the best way to gather the information. "Visit at odd times," she says, for example, "late at night and on weekends. How many staff members are working?" She also suggests interviewing current residents to find out what they like and don't like about the community.

Throughout the book, Emily includes stories from her own experiences to illustrate her points. The stories help readers to visualize the outcomes of applying Emily's tips, and, in some cases, they serve as examples of what can happen when wrong decisions are made. All the stories are true, though the names have been changed.

Care Enough to Know is a self-published book, and it could benefit from the services of a qualified editor and designer, but the content is solid. If you anticipate needing to find a senior living community for yourself or your parents, I recommend reading Care Enough to Know before you begin. The book is available at the author's website, www.theparentcare.net, or from Amazon.com.

After you've read it, I'd love to hear your own review of it! Post a comment below.