Getting to know each other is probably one of the greatest opportunities we have at Beatitudes Campus. This includes discovering the histories of neighbors and learning about the staff who are here to serve you. As we get to know each other, parting becomes more difficult as we grieve and miss some one we grew to appreciate. It affects you and it affects staff as well. The longer someone is with us, the closer we get and the more caring we can become as we uncover what makes them smile, the passions that drive them, the sorrows they may be experiencing and the dreams they are climbing toward.
I have heard a million times how much residents miss a particular staff person when he or she moves on from our Campus. That is one of the major reasons why retaining our staff is a number one priority for us. We hire the best of the best because we know they will serve you caringly and with love and compassion. For the last two years we have concentrated on doing all we can to create an environment where coming to work at Beatitudes Campus is not for just a paycheck, but a chance to be part of a community which will bring joy and a greater quality of life than one could have ever imagined.
Did you know, though, that administratively we have just a small part to play as compared to you the residents? Because we care, we routinely check with all of our employees to see what brings the greatest satisfaction to them as they serve our community. Do you know what the one response that came up over and over again more than any other when asked “What types of things make you feel most valued and appreciated? Their pay check? Their benefits? Their managers? Those do play a part and they are important. But believe it or not – that those only came up two or three times in the comments.
“When people say thank you”, “When the residents tell me and my coworkers how good of a job we do on the carpets”, “Praises for good work”, “Appreciation”, “That smile from a happy resident”, “When people go and eat and say “that food was bomb!”, “Having a resident tell me how much I helped them when they didn’t know what to do or who to ask for help”, “I feel appreciated when people say ‘he did a good job!’”, “When the residents say I do a good job and smile”, “When my hard work and minor details are noticed and not taken for granted”, “Being complimented/praised when doing a good job”, “Getting compliments about work”, “Acknowledgement of work”, “When the residents tell me how much they love me”. Those are just a sampling of the number one responses.
It is you, the residents, who make life so good for our employees. You never know who is having a bad day, suffering a deep loss, on the brink of crying inside, struggling with whether this is the right place for them, and it is your words of appreciation and showing that they are valued that can make all the difference in the world.
This is your community and ultimately the staff that are here, all 450, are here because of you. They might be able to get paid more somewhere else, but they are here because of you and the way you appreciate them and value them. You heard it straight from them.
People leave for all sorts of different reasons, but please know the more you care, recognize, acknowledge and appreciate the people around you, especially the staff, you make a huge difference in their lives and increase the joy they experience when coming to the Beatitudes Community.
That’s a lot of power that each of you have! You can make a difference in who chooses to work here or see their work and themselves as valued, simply by showing that you care about who they are and the work they are doing. The more you do this the more we will have people begging to come to work and to live here, and for longer and longer times.
So now that I have your retention, just know you are an amazing part of this community with the power to transform lives whenever you touch a life with a kind word or smile.*
The word “community” is a tricky term to pin down nowadays. Members of a Facebook group may have never met in real life and consider their digital interactions, wherein they’ve never heard each other’s voice, to have communal components. And residents of a large apartment building might be part of a community, although their only interactions with neighbors are awkward silences in the elevator, or a nod as they pass each other in the hallway. In senior living communities, the term means something very different.
ebruary is National Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Low Vision Awareness Month, and many of the residents at Beatitudes experience low vision in various forms. Macular degeneration causes loss of central vision and is one of the most common low vision diagnoses amongst older adults, but others on campus have glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, and numerous other visual conditions. What many don’t realize, however, is that almost all older adults experience age-related changes in vision. These age-related changes frequently include increased sensitivity to glare, diminished ability to see contrast, increased sensitivity to light changes, decreased depth perception, diminished visual acuity or sharpness, and decreased ability to see in dim light. For example, according to University of Kentucky researchers, an 80 year-old needs four times the amount of light to see things as clearly as they did in their 20s! Thankfully, there are a number of great resources in place to assist residents at Beatitudes Campus to navigate age-related vision changes.
It takes many hands of the staff to bring the campus’ mission alive each day. Some of those hands make beds, some cook meals, some ensure all of our technology systems are up and running. Some lead recreation and fitness classes, some send e-mails, some arrange housekeeping schedules. Some fold laundry, some run meetings, some pass medications. Some answer phones, some pay bills, some serve food. Some bathe residents who need assistance and some are completing work orders to turn an apartment into a home. Some gather us in worship. All contribute to the experience and caring that are hallmarks of Beatitudes Campus.
At the end of our January All-Staff meeting, I was privileged to assist our Spiritual Life team, Rev. Roberts and Chaplain Moore, with a beautiful Campus tradition – Blessing of the Hands. Using water for cleansing and oils for the blessing, we honored the hands – and hearts – of the many who carry out the sacred work of our ministry. For 16 years we have held this service during the week of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. This year was particularly special. As campus leaders washed, dried, and anointed hands, we had residents bless each team member’s hands. With each blessing, a sense of quiet fell over the recipients and an acknowledgment of grace and commitment was evident.
And just last week our senior leadership team held a reflection led by Rev. Roberts on the power of prayer. As Peggy read quotes on prayer, it was deeply moving to hear that they resonated with each of us and we found ourselves sharing ways in which we uplift each of you and our service to the campus in prayer. We also discussed the importance of community and prayer as we reflected on this year’s Blessing of the Hands. As such, we were reminded of the prayer cycle created by Chaplain Moore where each day of the month corresponds to an area of campus life or particular department for prayer intention.
How grateful I am to be a part of a community who work and pray together. On behalf of the entire campus team, thank you for the privilege.
My first call as a minister was as an Associate Pastor at a Presbyterian Church in Sun City. I remember a couple who had recently retired and moved away from their life as it had been, their children were spread far and wide and they came to Sun City and settled into their new home, found our church and became church members. For about six months that was great, they enjoyed the leisure time but the day I came to visit they told me they both were restless, they were getting on each other’s nerves being around the house so much and knew they needed to invest themselves in something else. The best way to describe what they felt was in this intriguing question from salesman Zig Zigler:
