This month we celebrate Deaf Awareness Week from September 18-26th. Deaf Awareness Week is a national week of celebrating deafness. It is observed annually.
The week focuses on promoting the positive aspects of deafness, encouraging social inclusion, and raising awareness of the organizations that support those who are deaf.
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A Message from our CEO/Executive Director |
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Hello Friends and NEHD Family:
Most new residents that move into NEHD are long term residents and we are their home and family for a long period of time. Some residents who come to NEHD come for a short period of rehab before returning to their homes in the community.
We become a temporary family and we are honored to be part of their lives for as long as they need the care and support, we provide. Many rehab stays are based around therapy. Often after surgery residents will come and receive Physical, Occupational or Swallowing therapy from our therapy partner Preferred Therapies. Other individuals come for Nursing care often post-surgery. An example of this would be a person who has hip replacement and comes and receives therapy to strengthen and nursing care around the incision.
While here our Deaf, Deaf Blind, and hard of hearing short term residents are immersed in our community and culture. Recently I was playing a card game with the Men’s group and was so happy to see on this third day one of our short-term residents joining the card game. Our staff are so happy and honored when someone can return to their home and our care has played a part in their recovery and healing. We have many success stories about helping our residents’ transition back to their homes. When possible, we have our nursing and therapy teams visit the home and make recommendations to assist in the transition.
We are happy that they were part of our community for a period of time, and they had the opportunity to share in our inclusive environment. I am so proud of the fact that in addition to ensuring our culture is inclusive to all we serve we provide excellent clinical care in Nursing and Rehab Services. This is another way we serve our community. We are here when our deaf, deaf/blind, and hard of hearing seniors need us for however long they need our help. It is an honor to be part of this wonderful community.
Chuck
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Short-Term Rehab: Mason Crawford |
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Mason Crawford was born and raised in Everett, and currently resides in Worcester, Massachusetts. Mason was recently a short-term rehab resident here at NEHD. Through a network between two agencies based in Massachusetts: Advocates and North Suffolk Mental Health Association, he heard about NEHD. At first, Mason thought that NEHD was just a nursing home. Later, he realized that NEHD offered a variety of services such as short-term rehab, deaf respite, supportive care for assistance in the rest home, independent living and more.
Mason chose NEHD out of many rehab facilities because of NEHD’s rich deaf culture and communication access that were the key to his unique needs.
Mason liked NEHD the best for its friendly staff, residents, and cozy environment. He was impressed with NEHD staff on all floors for being attentive, friendly, and respectful; as well as the building being kept neat and clean at all the times.
Mason’s positive experiences were that he enjoyed socializing and chatting with residents, especially “Butter” and Steve Ross. He was surprised by the good social life here at NEHD. Despite being homesick, he truly appreciated the activities department staff who kept him busy doing arts and crafts and puzzles with residents. He enjoyed the interesting findings around the building such as old photos, drawings, eventful schedules, and activities.
His experiences with rehabilitation were satisfying. He learned a lot of things he could do independently at home without assistance, to prepare him for discharge from NEHD. He was grateful for the therapists who allowed him to access bicycling exercises often, when he was not in session with therapists.
His experiences with nursing care were positive! He said he was able to communicate with nurses effectively for the most part, without interpreter there. He also said he noticed when staff worked with him, they were very considerate, caring, and responsive.
Mason would recommend short-term rehab at NEHD for Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing people who need rehabilitation services specifically for after surgery or discharge from the hospital because of our unique attention to equal access to communication for everyone within the Deaf community.
Mason has successfully discharged to his home, as planned. Thank you to Mason for sharing his story with Monique Bailey, Business Office staff at NEHD.
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Point of Care Dining Service |
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Long term care is changing, and we are the Change Agents |
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New England Homes for the Deaf has adopted a “point of care service” to replace the institutionalized tray service.
We began our journey several years ago, by starting with steam table service in one dining room. Recently we have expanded to bring a new rolling steam table to the skilled nursing and short-term rehab unit.
Our goal was to provide increased preferences, hot foods hot and cold foods cold, along with increased delicious smells and improved presentation.
Through a donation from North Shore Savings Bank, NEHD was able to purchase specialized equipment that provides more room for choices, where people can have what they want on demand, rather than waiting for items to come to the second floor from the kitchen.
Some of the benefits include less waiting time from time of order to point of service, no wait times between calls to the kitchen seeking items, and more interaction between dietary services and residents. Dietary services and nursing have worked closely and created a team effort. Customer satisfaction skyrocketed and residents have more options!
The aromas travel through the floor and appetites have shown improvement. Success! We are happy when our residents our happy.
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The New England Homes for the Deaf held its 17th annual golf tournament at the Beverly Golf & Tennis Club on August 9. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time on the course and at the banquet and silent auction following the tournament. 75 golfers enjoyed the beautiful golf course and several fun contests, then we had almost 100 at the luncheon and exciting silent auction later in the afternoon. Three NEHD residents spent the morning testing their putting skills and some Thompson House residents joined us later on for the banquet. Our new Executive Director, Chuck Crush, several members of the NEHD staff and some board members volunteered their time and helped to ensure that everyone had a good time all day.
Shelley Silverman, NEHD’s former Executive Director and currently our Director of Development, did a wonderful job of organizing the silent auction and decorating the function room with a theme to honor NEHD’s 120th anniversary.
Of course, the biggest winners of the day were the residents of NEHD. The golf tournament and silent auction raised $30,500! Those funds will be used to help with the costs of special programming and capital needs to benefit all NEHD residents.
A big THANK YOU to all of the sponsors, golfers, volunteers and donors who made this such a successful event. Watch for 2021 Golf Tournament pics coming soon to our website: www.nehd.org
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6 Smart Ways to Improve Your Memory as You Get Older
If you’d like to stave off the effects of memory loss, follow these six tips:
1. Keep learning new things
Learning new things keeps people in the habit of using their minds and may translate into higher levels of mental challenge and development with age. It has been shown to help promote neuro-generative activity in the brain and improve the brain’s ability to make new connections and keep existing connections healthy.
2. Don’t buy into the myths about aging and memory loss
The mind-body connection is one that’s often underestimated in our society. When it comes to memory loss, people who believe that aging and memory loss go hand-in-hand may actually experience increased memory loss. In fact, Harvard Health Publications reports that seniors exposed to repeated, negative stereotypes about memory loss and aging do worse on memory tests than their counterparts who avoid the stereotypes.
3. Engage all your various senses
The mind is a “use it or lose it” thing and engaging all your senses helps keep each of them stronger. Memory works best when all our senses are engaged, and, because of this, it’s typically recommended that seniors pick up new hobbies that engage the senses.
4. Focus your memory to where it’s needed most
The mind takes in thousands of tiny bits of information each day, and, with age, this can quickly become overwhelming. Because of this, professionals recommend that seniors learn to economize their brainpower. For example, instead of clogging your head up with the 15 things you need to do next Tuesday, write it down in a planner.
By getting it out of your head and onto a sheet of paper, where it’s easy to remember, you free your brainpower up for more important things, like learning new skills, building new relationships, and more.
5. Reinforce your memories with repetition
Repetition is a powerful tool for solidifying memories and making short-term information long-term. Use repetition in your daily life to boost your memory as you age. When you meet someone new at a gathering, repeat their name to yourself verbally. When you’re learning a new skill, repeat it several times until you feel like you have it down pat.
6. Take care of yourself physically
Inadequate hydration can have a devastating impact on memory, and studies have found that people who eat brain-boosting foods, such as fish, once each week have a massive 60% lower risk of developing dementia as they age.
Fortify your diet with plenty of clean, fresh water, foods rich in omega-3s, and healthy fats. Your brain will thank you for it!
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New England Homes for the Deaf, founded in 1901, is a life plan community that offers a continuum of care to Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing seniors, including independent living, rest home, skilled nursing community, Deaf senior centers, short-term rehabilitation services, respite care services and hospice care.
The New England Homes for the Deaf mission is to provide long term healthcare, housing, recreational activities and social support for Deaf, Deafblind and hard of hearing individuals in an accessible, barrier-free and culturally-sensitive environment with optimal communication and architectural resources.
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