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The Wesley Community Connection

JUNE 2015

Cindy Canzeri-Labish and her husband, Isaac.
Wesley Health Care Center Employee Receives State Award
 

Longtime Wesley Health Care Center employee Cindy Canzeri-Labish has received the 2015 Professional of the Year Award from LeadingAge New York, which represents not-for-profit, mission-driven and public continuing care providers in New York State, including nursing homes, senior housing, adult care facilities, continuing care retirement communities, assisted living and community service providers.
 
Canzeri-Labish oversees 400 employees as the Wesley Health Care Center Director of Nursing, a position she has held since 1999.  Read the full press release here.
 
The Wesley Foundation Gala a Great Success
 
Thank you to everyone who supported and attended this event, which was a sell-out with 325 attending. Together we raised more than $73,000 for the Springs renovation!

A full event recap is here:
http://www.thesaratogasocial.com/toga-tattlers/2015/6/1/a-black-and-white-affair-gatsby-style-to-benefit-the-wesley-foundation

Photos from the event are here:
http://www.thewesleycommunity.org/wesley-foundation/special-events/photo-gallery/2015-black-and-white-affairgatsby-style/
Wesley Employee of the Year

Wesley Health Care Center's 2015 Employee of the Year from the combined housekeeping, laundry, and floor care departments is Scott Johnson, pictured at left. Scott's positive attitude, motivation and dedication to customer service earned him the winning votes from employees in all departments at Wesley. Associate Administrator Jessica Fretto, pictured on the right, presented him with the award.
Stars and Stripes Forever Theme Draws a Crowd

A capacity crowd enjoyed Stars and Stripes Forever, a fun evening of good food and entertainment that took place in the Embury Cafe on June 5th. Joy Sullivan, above, leads the group in The Star Spangled Banner. This and other pictures and stories from events at The Wesley Community can be found on our Facebook page. Like us and stay in touch! 

View our Facebook page by clicking here.

 

The Wesley Community is Your Resource for Senior Care
 

When Should You Push For a Geriatric Assessment?

Taking a team approach can net the best results for your parents

 
By Eileen Beal, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, for Next Avenue
 

 
Navigating the maze of eldercare options can be challenging. A geriatric assessment can help you figure out the level of care your loved one needs.
 
“The phrase geriatric assessment is a bit confusing,” says Norbert “Bert” Rahl, director of mental health services at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging.
 
Sometimes an assessment looks at just one issue that’s causing problems for a loved one. For instance:
●If you are concerned about your mother’s physical status, the medications she is taking or how she is (or isn’t) managing a chronic condition, a physical assessment may be in order.
●If your father has mobility issues and you’re worried about how well he is (or isn’t ) getting around on his own, he may need a functional assessment.
●If you are worried about the psychological and emotional well-being of your loved one, a mental health assessment could be helpful.
●If your aging relative is displaying issues with memory, decision making and financial management skills, a cognitive assessment should be scheduled.
 
Or, to get the whole-person “picture” of what’s going on, Rahl suggests a comprehensive assessment, which looks at all those things and how they are interacting and overlapping in your older loved one’s life.
 
A comprehensive assessment could be coordinated by your loved one’s primary care physician. However, since these assessments require the skills and expertise of a team of specialists, they are best coordinated by a geriatrician: a physician who has trained and specialized in the care and treatment of older adults. Ask for a referral from the primary care physician or click here to find a geriatrician in your area.
 
Who’s On Your Team?
 
The composition of the team will vary depending on need, location and budget or health insurance. In addition to the physician who is doing the physical exam and coordinating the assessment, the team might include these professionals:
●nurse practitioner
●physical therapist
●psychologist or psychiatrist
●neurologist
●occupational therapist
●speech therapist
●dietitian
●audiologist
●optometrist
●dentist
●podiatrist
●artificial limb specialist (i.e. orthotist or prosthetist)
●social worker
●spiritual care advisor
 
“The setting for an assessment depends on what triggers the decision to get one in the first place,” notes Rahl.
 
Avoid Crisis Management
 
When the trigger is a crisis — for instance a fall, stroke or car crash — the assessment is usually done in the hospital.
 
“In a crisis situation, the patient is often disoriented, exhausted and in pain,” says Rahl. “The assessment might be rushed and not as thorough as it could be. Making things worse, the patient may be in denial that they even need an assessment.”
 
The better alternative is to schedule an assessment when you and your loved one decide it’s needed because of physical or behavioral changes.
          
There are many benefits to an office-based assessment.
 
For one, it’s not done in a crisis situation, so the lab work, physical exam, mobility tests, mental and cognitive screens and other evaluations can be spread out over days, or even weeks. Your loved one has chosen to get it, not had the decision made for him or her. The assessment may also evaluate your needs as a caregiver.
 
For another, because the office-based assessment is done proactively, rather than reactively, it will provide results, insights, options and suggestions that can be used to plan for future needs and care.
 
Dealing with the growing list of caregiving concerns can be overwhelming. Next month, we’ll look at when to involve family members or other caregiving helpers.
 
Copyright© 2014 Next Avenue, a division of Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
 
 
  
 
 
Thank you for your interest in The Wesley Community! 

To learn more, visit www.TheWesleyCommunity.org or use one of these links:

Embury Apartments
Evergreen Adult Day Services
Outpatient Therapies
Wesley Health Care Center
Woodlawn Commons
Ways To Give To Wesley

Like us on Facebook!  www.Facebook.com/TheWesleyCommunity
Employment Opportunities: www.thewesleycommunity.org/employment/
Copyright © 2015 The Wesley Community, All rights reserved.


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