The Hearts and Soles of Healthcare

It’s Nurse’s Week, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to honor the heartfelt contributions we see every day from the caring hands of our nurses! They offer our amazing residents kindness, compassion, and healing every day while putting miles of steps beneath their feet. Saying that we’re grateful is an understatement. In truth, we couldn’t do it without them!

We’re using Nurse’s Week 2024 to praise our fantastic staff and highlight the opportunities available for nurses who choose to work in senior living with us at Edgewood. There continues to be a strong need for nurses, and that trend is rising each day.

To help meet the rising need for more nurses, Edgewood offers incentives from time to time, such as educational reimbursement programs that can help personal care staff and nurses further their education. This opportunity allows the staff to continue to become more specialized while Edgewood helps with the costs associated with those courses.

 

Find Senior Living Services Near Me

 

A Journey into Healthcare

 

Some folks choose nursing because it’s their true calling, or for some, it’s a family affair. For Monica Lund, it was both! Monica is one of the nurses who has utilized Edgewood’s employee education grant program to further her education. Before coming to Edgewood, she found great joy in caregiving. For 14 years, Monica worked at her in-home daycare.

She wanted to continue growing as a caregiver, so she started working as a PCA or personal care assistant at Edgewood in Blaine, MN. It didn’t take long before she wanted to make an upward shift.

She took advantage of the opportunity to complete Edgewood’s reimbursable CNA course. Monica took the course and became a CNA with us, and that motivated her to keep going further…

Once grant funding was available to advance her education, she enrolled in the LPN program at Anoka Technical College. With the available reimbursement opportunity from Edgewood and state and federal resources, Monica earned her LPN degree without incurring any out-of-pocket costs!

 

“Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses… we must be learning all of our lives.” –Florence Nightingale

Monica has continued utilizing Edgewood’s educational grant funding opportunity to advance her education and career—she’s studying to become a registered nurse as we speak!

Helping others and growing as a caregiver and professional nurse was a total win for Monica, and that comes as no surprise because nursing runs in her blood. Her mom has been a nurse her whole career and is currently the director of nursing at a healthcare facility. When Monica was young, she accompanied her mom to work, where she enjoyed playing board games and cards with the residents.

 

There’s Always Room for More!

The need for nurses continues to grow, and we hope that programs like reimbursement and educational grants will continue to fill these important roles. It’s our honor to help staff reach their goals while they continue to support the residents who call Edgewood home.

We hope you will join us in celebrating the contributions of the folks you know this Nurse’s Week. If you or someone you know is an excellent candidate to work in a fantastic environment with opportunities for advancement and additional education, check out our open positions by clicking here.  Happy Nurse’s Week to all of our heroes in scrubs!

8 Ways to Celebrate Mom

Mother’s Day is fast approaching. Have you made plans yet? If not, here’s your reminder to make those reservations right now for her favorite restaurant or arrange to cook her favorite meal!

Perhaps you are late to the party to get a Mother’s Day gift? Have you decided what to buy?

If your mom is like most, she already has almost everything she needs. In that case, get her what she wants! Don’t have any idea what that is? Don’t sweat it—we’ve got a few ideas to keep you covered.

 

Find Senior Living Near Me

 

The Earth laughs in flowers. —Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

1. Visit Your Local Greenhouse:

Buy Mom a basket of her favorite flowers. With the temperatures acting like a fool this year, buying these too early is not always ideal anyway. Picking up flowers as late as possible is better unless they run out! If that’s the case, or she’d rather choose them herself, grab a gift card and take Mom there.

 

2. Get Some Grub:

A reservation at mom’s favorite restaurant can be a great way to celebrate her day. If she prefers something more casual or circumstances aren’t the best for enjoying a restaurant, offer to make her favorite meal at your home and come over to enjoy the day.

Holidays and occasions like Mother’s Day are always tricky for those who have moms or family members at memory care. Don’t be afraid to call the memory care community and ask if there’s space to celebrate with your loved ones as a family. This can reduce anxiety for all involved and still make the occasion memorable.

 

3. Go to the Movies:

Find a screening of a matinee that Mom will love, and bring your wallet to enjoy everything when you get there! If she prefers a more comfortable space than a movie theater, or she would enjoy a more private setting, make a movie date at your home. Invite family, visit, and enjoy goodies while you pop on Mom’s favorite movie.

 

4. Buy a Gift Card for an Activity or Experience:

Aim for an activity you can do together, like visiting a local botanical garden, museum, zoo (bring those grandbabies, too), or boutique. By offering to take Mom to where you purchased the card later, you’re giving her another occasion to celebrate!

Not everyone can make the celebration happen on Mother’s Day with work schedules and family obligations. Sometimes honoring her ahead of time if you know you can’t celebrate on the day works better. There may even be fewer crowds, too. If you had plans to take her to her favorite restaurant, and it was booked out, pick up a gift card to visit it on another day when it’s not packed to the gills with families.

 

5. Blood, Sweat, & Tears:

Probably not the concert unless that’s her thing… In seriousness, bake her favorite dessert, cook her favorite meal, or offer to help her with something she needs to do.

Consider crafting a neatly decorated coupon (or asking your creative friends to make you one) that gives her one full day of her choice with some help in whatever chore she chooses.

 

6. Music:

Buy Mom tickets to a concert. Summer is coming, and there will be outdoor music galore. If she’s not one to cut a rug in a crowd, that’s okay, too. Bring the music to her.

There are a number of great soundtracks available by whichever means mom will use them the most, be it a CD or listening app. Go old-school, create a playlist of all her favorite songs, and get her some comfy earbuds to enjoy the experience.

 

7. The Gift of Time:

The most important thing you can do is take the time for Mom. Whether she’s living independently or in a senior living community, it will be a blessing for her to see you and your family. Visits are truly meaningful gifts, even if you bring nothing but a hug!

 

8. Celebrate with a combination of ALL of the ideas above!

Nothing is over the top when it comes to honoring our moms! No matter how you celebrate Mom this Mother’s Day, just be sure you do. Make memories and enjoy the time you have. To all the moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day!!