Madrid Home Communities Newsletter

MADRID HOME HIGHLIGHTS are found in the Madrid Register News Written by Roberta Runneberg, AD Madrid Home

Playground a Success

  Residents gather at the windows and sit on the sidewalks to watch the Tiger Tots play on their new playground.  Colorful and bold, the equipment is enticing.  The black and white photos on this page don’t do it justice.  Even some adults have been heard to say that they’d like to go down the large fluorescent orange fish slide (called the Big Kahuna) or swing on the swings.

  The playground has changed the exterior face of the Madrid Home.  It is surrounded by a white picket-like fence and makes the edifice of the Home more inviting.  The large oak tree continues to offer welcome shade as it has for more than 100 years, and the playground is bounded by sidewalks for easy access for the residents.  There also are benches and some picnic tables as added amenities.

  Deb Wibe, director of Tiger Tots Preschool and Daycare, led the successful community-wide fundraising effort.  The goal was to have a safe, appealing place for the children to play that would also involved residents.  Mission accomplished!  When the project was in its planning stages there were some naysayers who bemoaned the loss of the lawn or who thought it would look too much like a school.  Those objections are gone now that the playground is completed. An added bonus for everyone is that residents can enjoy watching their grandchildren and great-grandchildren play when families come to visit.

  The next time you come to the Madrid Home campus, take a look at the newest addition.  You may want to take a run down the Big Kahuna yourself!

The next phase of the project was a white vinyl picket fence to be installed. The playground is available to Tiget Tots, staff's members children & children visiting the residents but only with adult supervision.

Message from the President by Keith Kudej

  This has been a busy “small project” kind of summer for Madrid Home Communities.  Personally, I don’t feel the same sense of accomplishment with several small projects that I do when we are doing one “big” brick and mortar type project.  I enjoy the systematic progress of a major building project. The site is prepared; the foundation is poured; the building is framed; the roof is shingled…until finally, we celebrate with a grand opening.  Several small projects are too fragmented.   I have to force myself to stand back and look at the entire list of small projects to truly appreciate the contribution toward our mission.  I think my lack of appreciation for small projects is due to the fact that there are always so many small projects that need to be done and I never get to experience that “grand opening” upon completion. 
Our largest project this last summer was assisting Tiger Tots Community Child Care Center with building a new playground.  Jim Bennett and the maintenance staff put in several long days assisting Tiger Tot volunteers with the playground construction.  Tiger Tots has served the Madrid community by operating a children’s day care and preschool on the Madrid Home campus for over thirty years.  The old playground had several safety concerns and the location was a bit distant from the daycare.  Moving the playground to our front yard allows easy access for the children and allows Madrid Home residents to observe the kids at play.  The new playground also provides a great opportunity for visiting grandchildren and great-grandchildren to play during visits.  I congratulate Tiger Tots’ director, Deb Wibe, her staff and the many volunteers who worked hard to build the playground and to raise over $40,000 for the purchase of equipment and supplies. 
Some of our other projects this year include new carpeting in the main lobby at Ballard Creek and the Madrid Home; new fire doors for the central stairwell at the Madrid Home; new roofs and windows for Golden Terrace independent living apartments; new sidewalks at the Madrid Home; major plumbing repairs at the Madrid Home; painting the decks on 2nd Floor; painting the Sandhouse Clinic building and several other projects too numerous to mention. 
Not all of our “small projects” involve building and grounds maintenance.  Staff members at Madrid Home Communities continue to progress with creating a more homelike environment at each of our facilities.  Cedars and Ballard Creek staff members are working hard to create more extensive activities programs to reduce boredom and encourage social interaction.  Madrid Home staff members continue to work on the neighborhood concept so they can improve personal relationships with residents. 
Again, we have accomplished many “small” projects, but they help us make “big” progress toward our mission to serve.
Thank you again for supporting our mission and our ministry.      

Keith J. Kudej, President / CEO

Ballard Creek Resident Receives National Notice

Cap Torkelson with products of some of his labors.

It started with an article in the Ames Tribune which was picked up by the Associated Press and subsequently appeared in the Rochester (MN) Post Bulletin.  Cap Torkelson has had his fifteen minutes of media fame.  The article follows:

  HUXLEY, Iowa -- He may be 96 years old with knee troubles, but one resident of the Ballard Creek Community assisted-living facility doesn't let that curb his passion for gardening.  Cane in hand, Cap Torkelson still tends to his daylilies. With the help of a couple volunteers, he continues to fertilize, water and weed the plants, and he doesn't intend to give up the hobby.
"I enjoy getting new varieties and testing them for this climate and bringing some of them into the apartment," he said. "Showing them to visitors is always fun."
In fact, the back door of his apartment opens directly out to the flower beds, one of which sports an engraved "Dad's Garden" stone, a gift from his daughter, Karen.
Torkelson started hybridizing, or crossbreeding, daylilies about 25 years ago when he lived in Ames. They're named for their one-day blooms.
"We had a couple other folks in Ames who were doing a lot of the hybridizing and studying genetics," he said.
The hybridization process creates variances in width and height of the plants and allows for color patterns as opposed to the traditional solid color of the daylily flower.
As a member of the Central Iowa Daylily Society in Marshalltown, Torkelson developed a plant variety of his own in 1996, which he named after society member Kempton Designer.  Although he says he doesn't make it to society meetings any longer, Torkelson hasn't forgotten the tricks of the trade.
To hybridize a plant, he said, pollen from a good parent is placed on the stigma of the seed parent's flower. Seeds from grown plants are collected in the fall and placed in a refrigerator for safekeeping through the winter months.
"(Daylilies) like high nitrogen fertilizers and alfalfa meal," he added.
While most of the daylilies Torkelson has planted at Ballard Creek have grown without hybridization, his beds are still a sight to be seen.
The flower aficionado has also planted hollyhocks and columbines, and small white flowers have sprouted up spontaneously among them.
But flowers aren't the only living things in the garden. Not long ago, Torkelson discovered a gray tree frog nestled inside a daylily flower. He said the frog stuck around for about three days before disappearing.
Other have been particularly impressed with this year's daylilies, Torkelson said. "They tell me that they enjoy them and they are better than last year," he said.
He said rains earlier in the season allowed for tall bloom stalks before "dry weather helped spot the more vigorous and stronger-rooted seedlings."
Torkelson doesn't limit his love for gardening to himself.   His daughter, who he calls "an orchid buff," lives in Florida, but when she stops in Huxley for a visit Torkelson said he puts her to work weeding and watering his plants.
But he doesn't limit his love to his personal garden, either.   After showing his daylily garden recently, Torkelson aptly began preparing for an afternoon trip to Iowa State University's Reiman Gardens.

Kudos and Thanks

From a family member:

  I saw my dad in your care for the first time last Saturday.  I must tell you that I am impressed with the care I see my dad getting.  Everything from the attitude of the staff to the cleanliness to organization and safety to activities and friendships my dad is already forming.  I quizzed one of the residents pretty deeply on what she thought of staying with your home.  She was so pleased that she is trying to get her disabled son to come live with her at your home!

  I am a management consultant and work with very large companies—and I am not easily impressed.

  My family led a hymn sing for your residents last night, and we couldn’t have been more pleased with the attitude of your staff.  Organizations always boil down to people, and the people I have met at the Madrid Home seem to genuinely care about the quality of life of the residents.  Not only do they care, but they seem quite competent—if not downright excellent.

  I am sure you hear mostly about the complaints and problems, so I wanted to point out some of the good things.  The Madrid Home has greatly blessed my heart—I know that my dad is in good hands.

  Regards, Tom Ingram

From a former resident:

To Everyone—

  Thanks so much for the care I received after my stroke.  I hope you can read this.  My writing hasn’t “returned” yet.  The meals were very good (especially the meat loaf and ham loaf).  Everyone treated me so well, the therapists helped me so much, and the room was so nice.  What a nice facility we have in Madrid.  It’s great!

  Thanks again, Doris Hite

From Iowa Foundation for Medical Care:

  We wanted to take this opportunity to thank your nursing home for participating in the national nursing home time study, known as Staff Time and Resource Intensity Verification (STRIVE) and sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  We appreciate all the time and effort you and your staff members devoted to this study.  We will be able to successfully complete our study because of the cooperation we received from you and the staff at your facility.

  Thanks to your help, the study has collected information on how staff time is used in relation to patient health status, medical conditions, services received, and other facility resources used to provide care. 

  Again, thank you and your staff for your participation in STRIVE.

  Kathy Langenberg, STRIVE Operations Manager, Iowa Foundation for Medical Care

Comments from residents and families on Cedars and Ballard Creek Community assisted living satisfaction surveys:

• We are lucky to have a place like this.
• The cooks in the kitchen should be commended.
• The staff is safety conscious and courteous.
• I’m very happy here.
• They’ve been especially good to me.
• We are very happy with all aspects of Mother’s care.
• Your staff is easily accessible and pleasant.  I always enjoy coming to your facility to see by folks.  Thanks for your good care.
• The Cedars is a wonderful environment with a fantastic caring staff.
• Mom has adjusted so well at the Cedars!  Thank you.
• My parents are very content living at Cedars.  I have never heard them complain.  I appreciate all that you do for them.
• We are pleased with the appearance both inside and outside with the Cedars.  Everyone who has been with us to visit comments on how nice the home is.  The residents and staff appear to be happy and congenial.  We are unaware of any problems.  We feel the staff does an extra good job of caring for our father and going above the required to keep him content and in good health.  We highly recommend the Cedars to all who ask us about the facility.
• I could not be happier with the care my mother is receiving.  I appreciate the encouragement from the entire staff to involve her in activities even though her abilities greatly limit her participation.

  ---

Ice Cream Social Fundraiser a Sweet Success

  A hot summer day, a plethora of yummy pies and ice cream—these are the ingredients for a successful fundraiser at the Madrid Home and Ballard Creek Community.  Member churches furnished well over 60 pies of almost every kind imaginable.  Some were cut into delectable slices; others were sold whole.

  The total raised was $603.  Many thanks to those who baked, cut and served.   And thank you to those who generously gave.   The project this year is purchase of 2 more ramped scales so each floor will have its own.

Maxine administers a pie to Pastor Carla’s face

State Fair Comes to the Madrid Home

This year, instead of residents going to the State Fair in Des Moines, the State Fair came to them.  Although some residents enjoyed going to the fair, there were many others who couldn’t attend and felt left out.  This year it was decided to bring the fair to the Madrid Home so all could participate.

  The main dining room became the food court, offering sticky buns, caramel apples, nachos, funnel cakes, corn dogs and beef burgers, along with state fair lemonade and soda.    Of course, there was popcorn, cotton candy and ice cream to fill up anyone who didn’t eat their limit at the food court. 

  The  Peterson Lobby was turned into the midway with all kinds of games like ring toss and duck pond.  The highlight was the pie in the face booth.  Residents and staff had the opportunity to put a pie in the face of supervisory persons.

  Staff really put forth a lot of effort to see that all residents could enjoy the fun.   It was a blast!!

60’s Songster Serenades Seniors

  Frankie Valens and his wife, Phyllis, entertained an appreciative crowd at the Cedars on a June afternoon.  They then did an outdoor concert sponsored by St. John’s Lutheran Church.

  In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Valens had a successful career as lead singer in a band.  He did many nightclub shows and recorded covers of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight, “ “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” and “She Cried.”

  Today, he and his wife, an accomplished concert pianist, have a ministry in Christian music.  They still perform some of the “oldies,” but their main focus is to glorify God through word and music.  They travel across the country giving concerts.

Senior Housing Added

  On September 1 Madrid Home Communities added another senior living option to its array when it took possession of the Golden Terrace Apartments.  The 22 units of low-income senior housing are adjacent to the Madrid Home and will now be known as Golden Terrace, A Madrid Home Community.

  The Madrid Senior Housing board, governing body for Golden Terrace Apartments, had approached the Madrid Home some months ago about the possibility of the Madrid Home acquiring the property.  Madrid Home Communities Board of Directors felt this would enhance ministry to seniors by offering a lower cost option for those on limited budgets, and a resolution to approve purchase of the land and buildings was approved on March 16, 2006.

  An independent living advisory committee will be appointed to “assist and advise the Madrid Home Board of Directors with making decisions concerning the operation of the project to help assure that the project remains solvent and stays true to the intent to serve low-income individuals.”

(from the Delegate Resolution)

  Welcome, Golden Terrace, to Madrid Home Communities!

The Cedars Activity Calendars for May Ballard Creek Activity Calendars for April

 For more than a year the Choices Our Way (COW) committee has been meeting to study how residents’ needs can be best met.  The move from an institutional/medical model to a social model is an important facet of culture change for the Madrid Home.  A social model is based on relationships and knowing the residents well.  The residents become part of a neighborhood with all of the benefits, social, psychological, emotional, that go along with belonging.

  The first move in the MH culture change was to offer 24 hour breakfast items for residents (see below).  The second step  takes place on July 3rd, when the MH  goes to a five-meal-a-day plan.  The dining plan is:

      7 a.m.-9 a.m.  Continental breakfast served in residents’ rooms if they’re awake.  This might include coffee, juices, milk, sweet rolls and Danish, yogurts, fruits.

      10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.  Brunch  served in the main dining areas.  Sample items include beverages, hot and cold cereals, fresh fruit, eggs, waffles, pancakes, breakfast meats, a hearty soup and/or casserole.

      1:30 p.m.  Afternoon snack may be connected with an activity and will be served wherever the resident is located.   This could be ice cream, popcorn, other high calorie desserts, chips along with a beverage.

      4 p.m.-5 p.m.  Dinner served in the main dining areas.  This is the main meal of the day, equivalent to the previous noon meal.  There will be choice of entrée and vegetable, a salad, bread and dessert.

      7:00 p.m.  Evening snack  will be served to all residents in their neighborhoods.  Sample items include a meat or cheese sandwich and beverage.

24 Hour Food Choices available at the food carts on each floor, just tell a staff member what you would like.

Pancakes/syrup, Bacon, Sausage, Doughnuts/pastries, Cheese slices (for cold or grilled sandwiches), Crackers, Eggs (which may be served fried, scrambled or in sandwiches) Yogurt, Oranges/apples, Oatmeal, Cold cereal, Peanut butter, Jelly, Bread/margarine, Graham crackers, Cookies and Beverages: coffee, tea, milk, hot cocoa, juices

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