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| Palm Garden of Ocala: Supporting Seniors |
| Long Term Care | |||
| Written by Meghan Flynn | |||
| Sunday, 01 November 2009 | |||
 There are many ways this long term care facility is improving care for Florida seniors, but it needs support from the state and federal governments to secure adequate funding.
“Our job is not just to ensure our community members are healthy, but also that they are engaged and enjoying life,” she said. “We want to improve the quality of life and transform the perceived image of the dreaded nursing home into a rewarding and fun place to live and work.”  Jennifer Mikula, administrator Mikula explained that in 2007, the state increased the required nursing assistant staffing ratio for long term care facilities from 2.6 to 2.9. Instead of just adding more CNAs to the floor, Mikula and her team decided to create a quality of life aide position that would help to build and operate innovative programs. The concept includes three pioneering programs and a new philosophy of care driving a significant culture shift that Mikula hopes will become the standard for the state and beyond. The first new program, Spa Venture, is part of how Palm Garden of Ocala has become more like a fine hotel than a nursing home and exemplifies the idea of ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen, the motto Mikula and her team work by. The program includes three areas, the Venetian, Serenity, and Garden spas, each with a walk-in Safety Tub bathing unit with hydrotherapy features and a whirlpool massage system. The spas, in addition to having a distinct look and feel, also have relaxing music, aromatherapy, heated towel racks, and manicure/pedicure stations. Community members make their own appointment at a time convenient for them, and Mikula said the spas are usually fully booked every day. A second program, Dining by Design, also has three new dining areas: the completely independent Café Ocala, and the Bistro and Veranda for community members who require greater assistance. All three have an elegant, restaurant-style feel with table linens, charger plates, linen napkins, and seasonal centerpieces. When guests arrive, they are greeted and escorted to their seat of choice, and then they are offered beverage, soup, or salad. They select their entrée of choice from the daily menu and whatever they like from the dessert cart. “My staff and I talk about how our community members don’t live in our facility, we work in their homes,” Mikula said “We took that attitude in developing our culture change programs to create a comforting, welcoming environment that our community members can be proud of and enjoy.” The third new program is Palm Garden of Ocala’s Comfort Zones, three areas designed for specific activities that augment each community member’s day to give them fun and interesting diversions. One of the rooms, Mikula’s admitted favorite, is known as the Quiet zone, where community members enjoy gentle massages and aromatherapy while relaxing in recliners. They can also sit in rocker-gliders overlooking a butterfly garden, listen to soft music, and maybe take a long nap. Mikula said that this environment has helped community members to reduce use of pain medications and lessen unwanted behaviors. The Fun zone is open 24 hours a day and has games, puzzles, a flat screen TV with DVD player, movies, Internet access, a Wii video game system, three slot machines, a cotton candy machine, a bread maker, and a popcorn machine. Last but not least is the Pamper zone, where community members go for hot lather shaves, a haircut, paraffin dips, and manicures. Mikula said this area has proven to be a huge self-esteem booster for all. “The old standard of skilled nursing care was to take care of a resident’s illness according to our schedule, but today we empower our members, and they make their choices. They direct their care by choosing their get-up time, bedtime, bath time, meal time and activity time. Just because someone is older or sick doesn’t mean that person wants to completely surrender to institutionalization,” Mikula said. National recognition Palm Garden of Ocala has been acclaimed for all its efforts in improving care, but it’s also making headlines. Several local and industry magazines have covered its programs, and a few government leaders have dropped by to see the facility for themselves. The organization’s most recent visitor was US Congressman Cliff Stearns, who came down from Washington, DC for a town hall-style meeting with the community members and a tour of the facility. Mikula said several residents voiced concern about healthcare reform and what it could mean for nursing homes like Palm Garden of Ocala. “The state of Florida intends to cut more than $3.5 billion from our budgets in the next 10 years; that will put more than 4,000 jobs at risk in the first year alone,” Mikula explained. “At the national level, cuts to Medicare are putting an unfair burden on the long term care industry, and it isn’t right to reduce resources and limit the quality of care for our seniors, who have already given so much for this country.” Mikula herself recently visited with several community members to gain signatures for a petition against HR Bill 3200 currently under review in Congress, which threatens to cut more than $50 billion from nursing homes over the next decade. She said Congressman Stearns told the community members and staff that he had never seen a nursing home like Palm Garden and was thankful for the opportunity to speak with them, but Mikula added that such high praise hasn’t inflated anyone’s ego. “We are thankful for all of the recognition we’ve received for our hard work, but that’s not why we do this: we come to work every day to bring a smile to someone’s face and to do the right thing,” she said. “I consider myself blessed to be able to come here and help people every day.” |
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