I don’t know what was said that day in the conference room. I know Laverne was the teacher and the surveyors were the students.
Editors Note: This story was submitted by Debbie Van Straten after reading the recently published article The Problem with Rules and Regulations…They Can Kill”, Regulations do kill by supporting the plagues of aging defined by the Eden Alternative—loneliness, helplessness and boredom.
The Story
Andy and Peanuts, Amazon Parrots, were in their cage with the door open. Andy particularly loved people. He would perch on a nurse’s shoulder while she dispensed medication and talk to anyone who would listen. His vocabulary was extensive. This particular morning, Andy was climbing around his cage enjoying the morning while readying his flight plan and checking weather conditions. He was scheduled to depart at 10:37 AM for his daily flight. At that time the elders who loved him, would be down the long corridor in the dining room enjoying some activity. Andy plucked the last of his loose feathers as he went through his take-off checklist. He climbed to the top of the cage and prepared for flight. During take-off he spread his colorful strong wide wings and soared over the heads of sitting elders as he climbed in altitude. His climbing pattern had him rounding the corner and soaring over the nursing station. After he banked to the left, his flight pattern was a straight shot to the dining room. He had a job to do. His mission was to provide companionship.
Turbulence Ahead
This morning, however, there was turbulence ahead. As he reached his cruising altitude and flew over the heads of people in the corridor, he flew over the head of a state surveyor. The surveyor scared the heck out of Andy as she screamed and dove to the floor. Being the experienced pilot he was, he completed the straight stretch of his course, banked to the right and landed on top of the vending machine where he was greeted with cheers and applause.
The elders loved him.
The state surveyor didn’t.
Getting up off the floor, she was thinking, there must be a citation for such nonsense! She gathered herself, collected her clipboard and headed straight for state surveyor conference room headquarters. On the nursing floor, eyes rolled and gasps could be heard. All knew Andy was in serious trouble and would certainly get his wings clipped and be grounded.
The strongest advocates for changing regulations are the residents themselves.
The story quickly spread throughout the building. Laverne Goeltz, a longtime resident at Lakewood, a member of the Eden Alternative Committee and President of Resident Council, simply loved all of the animals. Laverne was feisty. She served in the Korean War and quarterbacked on one of the first female football teams. Laverne was an experienced fighter. No way, no how was Laverne going to stand for Andy or any of the animals being evicted. Pulling her oxygen tank behind her, Laverne went to first floor and put Andy on her shoulder. She boarded the elevator and pushed ground floor. When the doors opened she took an immediate left and headed straight for the conference room. There, three surveyors sat flipping through hundreds of pages of regulations looking for the appropriate one to apply to the incident that had just occurred. Laverne knocked politely, entered the room and asked to be heard. I don’t know what was said that day in the conference room. I know Laverne was the teacher and the surveyors were the students. I know we never received a citation and Andy never got his wings clipped. On behalf of the elders and on behalf of herself, Laverne was heard because it was her home. Debbie If you like this article (or even if you don’t) it would be a great honor to have you subscribe to our mailing list HERE
Great article. Thanks for sharing it Steve!
Thank you Steve for posting and Debbie for great article.
As a former board member of an animal assisted therapy organization for ten years, I have many such successful stories. Our organization used volunteer therapy dogs that were tested and those that passed were providing comfort (and laughs) to older adults in SE Wisconsin.
My late Australian Shepherd Lucy (she died in March at 17 years of age) and I began by visiting Alzheimer daycares many years ago and while the participants could not remember me, they responded very positively to Lucy. I would just walk in the door and hear “dog, bring the dog”. I know many remembered animals from their early years on a farm or as a precious companion. They really didn’t care who I was, not should they have.
My late father, who died of Lewy Body Dementia, expressed great joy when Lucy visited and when I played army music and German polka music. (We’re German, afterall.) I am a strong advocate of the Eden Alternative and recommend it highly.
(Full disclosure: Debbie is a former resident of SE Wisconsin and I’ve known her for quite a number of years. It’s nice to read your article Debbie!)
Veronica Woldt, MA
Corporate Eldercare Solutions, llc
Awe. Thanks Veronica. Lets all just keeping pushing for a better life for the elders we serve.
Brava to Laverne! Every community needs at least one of her. And I would also give a round of applause to the surveyors who had the good sense to listen to her. Thank you so much Debbie for sharing this story.
Early in my career as Ceo of a group of faith based nursing homes which had a practice of saying grace before meals received a deficiency for having staff who were not ministers praying without a license. I do not remember what we used for a plan of correction.
I too, would like to thank Debbie for this article. Laverne was my favorite Aunt and spent many years in Lakewood, the coolest nursing home I have ever been in. I haven’t any knowledge of the business aspect, but I believe that because it was privately owned, there were many accommodations made for the simple humanity and happiness of the residents while working to stay between the regulatory lines. My Aunt spent much of her time on committees and doing advocacy on behalf of the other residents. It was in her heart, and it gave her purpose. Deb was with our family in ICU for a week when my Aunt told us she was done and wanted to go home. She stood by us as we made the arrangements to move my Aunt from ICU and back to her home, Lakewood, to spend her final days. I will never forget the stream of residents and staff who came to say good-bye or how they decorated her room to welcome her back. So many stories they told us of all she had done for others over the years, we learned so much about an Aunt we never really knew. But in those final days as we kept 24 hour vigil in her room; we listened, we laughed, and we cried. She passed early one morning…and as we walked beside her that final day it looked like every resident of the building was lined up on both sides of the hallway as she was slowly wheeled out. It was then I was most acutely aware of a life we missed out on, but whose legacy we will always be proud of.
Another article on how animals help the elderly:
http://newamericamedia.org/2014/07/study-pets-a-prescription-for-health-happiness-among-elders.php
I love this one. Being a pastor myself I always love it when someone thinks you have to have special credentials to pray etc or if they think my prayers are heard and/or answered better than theirs. It is probably the other way around.
Thanks Bill for sharing and giving me a laugh and a smile today!
Now, I had another thought… I love all these comments. I have an RN friend who advocated for a fish tank in the nursing home and it was approved, the organization wasn’t ready for anything more challenging like cats and dogs. Anyhow, she had to write a policy/procedure to remove the fish in case of fire. No kidding! It is tough in this industry where regulations are deep in the culture. Don’t get me wrong, they serve their purpose but certainly, sometimes they are used as a weapon to prohibit ideas. We got to the point where we would say, “Show me the regulation”. That actually helped our team a lot.
What a great testament to the human spirit to be heard and to welcome those into their lives who they thought were left behind (mainly pets). I love the idea of animals being in the nursing homes to comfort and befriend, I love the idea of eating when I want to, getting a snack when I want and being able to make whatever decisions I can still make on my own. It is out of respect that we “allow” people to live until they die, something we all want and know in our heart of hearts that if things don’t change, most of us will wind up living where we don’t want to live with rules we never wanted to live by with those we never wanted to live with. The Grace of God allows us to live until we die, no one should take that away.
Thank you Debbie for another great insight.
Micki Rios
Rev. Rios–Your fierce passion for humanness rings through in your comment like a bell. You are a blessing to the nursing home world. How much you understand. You are truly within the circle of people who want to make a difference and impact the way we support frailty. Thanks for your response.