Touch of Gray - December 2004

Carolina Meadows Staff Members Celebrate a Season of Giving
Myles Walburn to Head CCCR of NC - Again

Carolina Meadows Staff Members Celebrate a Season of Giving
   The sounds of caroling came wafting through the halls. The music was a bit off key and somewhat off tempo, but full of energy and joy that the holiday season brings. As the Carolina Meadows staff members strolled singing down the halls of the health center, residents and their aids would stop to listen and sometimes sing along.

   The carolers ended their session in the health center dining room were numerous residents had gathered to hear them. In between songs, Liz Rossi, Admissions Coordinator for Carolina Meadows nudged me and said, "This is why I work where I work and do what I do." This is not a statement to be taken lightly as Rossi has worked at Carolina Meadows for over 11 years.

   The Holiday season tends to bring out the best in all of us. For those of us lucky enough to enjoy a career in the field of senior living, we are able to see first hand on a daily basis how an act of kindness or compassion can affect someone's life. While the staff and residents at Carolina Meadows volunteer at the Health Center all year long, the holidays are viewed as an especially important time to share ones time and talents.

   The holiday festivities started off November 18th with a family potluck lunch. Staff members from all departments bring in home cooked dishes for residents, resident family members, and staff to enjoy. Martha Haslam, Director of Social Work for Carolina Meadows started this annual event three years ago.

   "To me part of what the holidays are about is the bringing together of friends and family," said Haslam. "While our dining services department is superb, there is something special about a home cooked meal."

   Martha Hutt, Executive Assistant to Carolina Meadows Executive Director, agrees. "I enjoy making a dish for the event because it gives me a chance to sit down with some of the residents in the Health Center and spend some quality time with them and their families."

   Staff members also bring their creative energy together to decorate the Health Center. At the start of the holiday season each resident in the Health Center is adopted by a member of the staff. That staff member is then in charge of decorating the residents door. By the end of the first week in December, each door is beautifully decorated in blue, green, red and gold. In addition, the adoptive staff will come by and visit with the resident sharing stories or reading to them.

   "We created this program to give staff members, who work in departments that are not normally involved with the Health Center, an opportunity to do so," said Kris Snyder Activities Manager. "What better time to do this than over the holidays."

   The festivities don't stop there. The holiday season leading to Hanukkah, Christmas and the New Year, will be marked by holiday parties, several concerts, and a trip to see the Festival of Lights.

   On December 19th there will be a Dessert Party that will not only include Health Center residents and their families, but Health Center staff and their families as well. "This is a chance for the residents to meet the families of the staff that they have heard so much about over the year," says Snyder. "It is an important event for the staff as well as they think of the residents as extended members of their own family and this brings them all together."

   "In addition to enjoying dessert, there will be caroling and of course a visit from Santa Claus," Snyder adds.

   When all is said and done, the critical factor in the quality of life at any retirement community is, of course, the human one. It is not surprising then that many staff members at Carolina Meadows consider the residents as part of their extended family, and the residents tend to return the complement.

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Myles Walburn to Head CCCR of NC - Again
   Carolina Meadows resident Myles Walburn was elected president of the Continuing Care Community Residents of North Carolina at a membership meeting in Greensboro. His new job is a return engagement for Myles, who served as president from 1998 to 2000. Bill Koehnline, another Carolina Meadows resident, headed the CCCR of NC for one year between Myles' two presidencies.

   The organization was founded in 1987 largely through the efforts of Harry E. Groves who was also a resident of Carolina Meadows. As a lawyer, Harry Groves drafted the first legislation passed in North Carolina for the financial protection of residents of retirement communities. Lobbying for the protection of retirees remains a major aim of the organization.

   CCR of NC has grown to a membership of 3547 in 32 of North Carolina's 54 continuing care communities. The statewide organization was recently divided into Eastern, Central and Western regions.

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