Happy Birthday to Harry Enzemann Who Turned 101 on February 18th! Harrys family and friends gathered on Saturday to help him celebrate his birthday!

Cake, coffee, and goodies were served. Harry has lived at Cook Carefree Living since September 2011. He is always quick with a joke and enjoys playing his harmonica in the dining room. Harry has some good fishing buddies that come at least once during the summer to take him fishing. If the weather is bad, they bring him fresh fish! He always looks forward to Lutefisk dinners served at the churches. He also enjoys a slice or two of limburger cheese and picked fish.

Cheers to many more birthdays

Harry!

S P E C T R U M H E A L T H C O M P A N I E S

M a r c h 2 0 1 5

Proudly serving the communities of Aurora, Babbitt, Brainerd, Burnsville, Cook, Duluth, Ely, Eveleth, Grand Rapids, Metro/Faribault, Orr, Rochester, St. Cloud, Silver Bay and Willmar

Wash Your Hands! Use a designated hand washing sink. Use soap and hot water, and vigorously rub hands together for 10 to 15 seconds or the time it takes to sing Happy Birth-day twice. Turn off faucets using a paper towel. Dry hands with another paper towel or hand dryer. Before beginning work shift Before returning to work from break After eating, drinking, or smoking After using the restroom After sneezing, coughing, or using a tissue After touching any body part, such as hair or nose Before putting on single-use gloves After any activity which may contami-nate hands

Older adults are especially susceptible to illness and death from foodborne pathogens. It is important that healthcare professionals help prevent foodborne illness of residents living in their facilities. Foodborne illness is a critical issue for older adults who, as a group, are particularly vulnerable and often suffer severe consequences. Older adults are more susceptible to illness and death from foodborne pathogens due to decreased immune function as well as food moving through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract more slowly. This slow movement al-lows for greater formation of toxins and damage to the GI tract.

Temperature and Time Make sure hot foods are held above 135F. Cold foods are kept below 41F. Ingredients for recipes or menu items to be served cold are chilled before preparation. Thawing is done under refrigeration. Temperatures for refrigerators and freezers are taken and recorded daily. End-point cooking temperatures are taken for all hot food items. Ingredients for recipes or menu items to be served cold are chilled before preparation. From:

www.iowahaccp.iastate.edu

Use the following tips to make sure the food you serve is safe!

H o r i z o n s P a g e 2

Merle Sampson

Last month I welcomed Carefree Living,

Aurora. Today we celebrate their suc-

cess, welcoming over 17 residents to our

extended family. It is this success and the

success of our other housing and

homecare operations that help Spectrum

to grow and succeed! Spectrum has been

fortunate to build and maintain services

through many regions in the state, as far South as Roches-

ter and North as Ely, MN.

Are you aware that 10,000 Baby Boomers, born around

1943-1960, will turn 65 today, tomorrow and for every

day for the next 15 years? These figures are significant!

This is good news for us! The bad news however is that

personal incomes and reimbursements from county, state

and federal sources have been reducing, not increasing.

To survive, we seek additional revenue sources (new cus-

tomers) as well as closely manage our expenses.

As an organization, we are continually seeking out ways

to diversify our services to meet the needs of our custom-

ers today and in the future. In order to meet the needs of

our current and future customers, we need to recruit and

retain staff, be the employer (and provider) of choice! If

you know of anyone looking for a rewarding, flexible and

stable career, please encourage them to visit us on-line

and apply today!

We continue to offer a resident and client referral bonus

to employees who refer services to our homecare or hous-

ing entities. We also have a scholarship program and tui-

tion discounts available.

Spectrum will continue to grow and succeed! It is because

of all of you, our dedicated staff, that we have remained

successful. We look forward to warmer days and new op-

portunities on the horizon.

Merle

MESSAGE FROM THE OWNER / CEO

Babbitt CFL Dawn Serena Aurora CFL April Drueen Tyler Richards Christine Flannery John Samuelson Hannah Perkio Stephanie Anderson Jody Burich Malisa Diogo Burnsville CFL Danielle Lopez Safiya Said St. Cloud CFL Idia Ebojie Orr CFL Brooke Cote

Cook CFL Robyn Lindell Brenna Bristol Ely CFL Megan Hauffe Brainerd CFL Michelle Hansen Tiffany Mclellan Leah Thurner Alexis Lattie Silver Bay CFL Thomas Palen Eveleth HC Heather Manninen Willmar HC Shauna Gaddy Brainerd HC Sunni Bell

"Kudos to Diane Von Ruden, RN with Spec-trum Homecare. On Friday, February 6, 2015, I received a physician's order for one of my

residents that an injection of an antibiotic was needed for the next five days. The only options were that the family drive this elderly sweet lady back and forth to Urgent Care in Two Harbors for the next five days, which included a weekend, or she be opened up to Homecare so our Spectrum nurses could perform this injection. This order was received at about 4:00 PM on a Friday. Diane was kind enough to drive through a snowstorm the next day, open our resident up to homecare services, and begin treatment. To me that represents true COMMITMENT to our customers and putting their needs first! Thank you Diane!"

Submitted by Sue Spies, RN Executive Director Carefree Living Silver Bay

H o r i z o n s P a g e 3

Would you like to receive our newsletter via email? Sign up by emailing: humanresources@spectrumchealth.com

Member Online Tools: As a PreferredOne member you have access to a comprehensive range of online tools and information to help simplify and manage your health care coverage, check medical cost information and improve your health.

Your EAP: Your employee assistance program (EAP) pro-vides you and your family members with tools for confronting and overcoming lifes challenges. Its a profes-sional support service that offers free, confidential assistance. Anytime. Anywhere. A resource that will help you create the life you deserve.

Not a participating member? No problem! You can still use these features listed below!

It Makes $ense to Compare: When selecting a clinic, ask about costs and compare your options before scheduling an appointment or go to PreferredOne.com, register/login as a member and check the Medical Cost Tools section. Compare and Save!

MD Live: Get 24/7/365 access to doctors and pediatri-cians anytime, anywhere.

On Thursday, February 19th, the Carefree Living in Auro-ra, MN had their Grand Opening! Over 150 visitors came to check out the new facility!

Notice: Sams Club will no longer offer a free $10 gift card with the pur-

chase of a club membership. However, Spectrum will contin-ue to reimburse employees $10 if a receipt showing membership purchase is submitted to admin-istration personnel within 30

days of purchase.

Pictured (L to R): Merle Sampson, Owner/CEO; Marilyn Hanson, SVP Operations; Linda Corri-gan, St. Cloud CFL Exec. Director; Mary Hess, Mayor of Aurora; Jon Monacelli, SVP Finance & Planning; Diane Serena, Northeast Regional Exec. Director

On Thursday, February 19th, the Carefree Living in Aurora, MN had their Grand Opening! Over 150 visitors came to check out the new facility and enjoy delicious refreshments.

For more information: Call 763.847.4477 or 1.800.997.1750

or visit PreferredOne.com

A note from Debbie Kampa I love my job. I love my residents. I love my co-workers! Those 3 things were very helpful in my recovery after a recent surgery.

In August of last year something showed up in my routine mammogram that required additional imaging. Although it was not breast cancer, it was diagnosed as a condition that women normally have years before they would be diagnosed with breast cancer. My family has a history of breast cancer afflicting women in their 40's and because of this I decid-ed I must take action. I scheduled surgery for a mastectomy and recon-struction in November, expecting to miss 4 weeks of work, hoping to return part-time at that point. My boss, building manager, and each co-worker I shared this information with was very supportive and wished me the best. Because of the nature of my position, many of the resi-dents were told I would be gone and were also assured of my return. Due to some complications I was actually gone for 8 weeks. During this time I received support from so many people at Carefree! Cards were brought to me from the residents by my daughter who also works at Carefree. My boss delivered a package to the hospital and one resident hand picked a card that was then signed by many residents and staff members and sent to me. When I was finally able to return to work in January of this year, I was met at the front door by one of our residents with a big hug. I then headed to the time clock to punch in where I was greeted by our life enrich-ment coordinator with a gift. One of our home health aides had purchased fleece and the resi-dents made me a tie blanket during activities one day. The residents and staff continue to show their support as I still have some on-going care.

Some of you might wonder why I chose to share such a personal story and here are the reasons. I want to bring attention to how important it is to take care of yourself. People should follow preventive screening recommendations. It saved my life and might save yours. I also want everyone to know what a supportive and caring environment Carefree Living in St. Cloud is, not just for the residents, but for the staff as well. Each day I was at home recovering, all I really wanted was to heal so I could go back to work!!

Debbie is a Socialization Assistant at Carefree Living and HHA for Spectrum

Homecare in St. Cloud.

H o r i z o n s P a g e 4

Period Ending February 28, 2015

Lost Time Accidents. 0 Injury-Related Days Lost this Month..... 0 Injury-Related Days Lost 2015.......... 0 Minor injuries Reported 2015...2

Please work safely! Lost-time injuries drive up our cost of providing quality care.

The (S)Miles Recognition Programs purpose is designed to al-low all employees (or clients) to express appreciation to any Spectrum employee who exhibits performance that goes above and beyond normal expectations.

Each valid Spectrum (S)Mile is accompanied by ten Spectrum points. Employees can use their accumulated points to pur-chase Spectrum branded merchandise thru Spectrums Recogni-tion Catalog. Please see your supervisor or administrative staff for more information on how to give or receive Spectrum S(Miles).

This months Spectrum (S)Miles were awarded to: Taylor Bakk, Kathy Celley, Nikki Field, Debbie Len-zen, Mo McGee, Ashley Penoncello, Mary Scofield, and Alicia Sobyra.

Thousands of (S) Miles have been given to deserving Spectrum employees since the program began in 2010.

Have you ever felt like taking a nice, cool dip into Lake Vermilion in February? Katie O. from Prior Authorization did! Katie is part of the St.

Louis County Rescue Squad. They were on hand (and in the water) to assist the plungers during the Bayview Blast & Arctic Splash on Lake Vermilion on February 14th! Proceeds from the frigid, but fun event go to support the United Way of Northeastern Minnesotas Buddy Backpack program. Katie also volunteered for the Polar Plunge in Duluth, MN on February 21st. Will you take the plunge next year?

Katie and the St. Louis County Rescue Squad

Client Julie E. writes About Employee

Angie Swenson, Willmar Homecare

Angie, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the work you do. Your kindness and compassion were very evident with my Mom, Mary T., during your visits with her. This last

month before she passed, it was reassuring to me to know that you were stopping in. Thank you!

Thanks for doing a great job Angie!

Spectrums Partnership With

Rasmussen College Tuition Discount Available For All Employees

In partnership with Rasmussen College, new and existing students are now eligible for a 10% discount on tuition just for being an employee. Rasmussen College offers on-campus and online courses, in addition to partnerships with other reputable colleges. Spectrum also continues to offer a scholarship loan program for qualified employees.

For more details, call 855-3-RAS-BENEFIT or visit Rasmussen.edu/rasbenefit

Check out some of these valuable benefits available to you through Rasmussen!

- Reduced Tuition. Up to 10% tuition discount at Rasmussen College

- Accelerated Partner Success Grant. Eligible for our $2,000 Partner Success Grant

- Seamless Transfer Policies. Maximize your credit transfer and minimize your time to graduation.

- Student Support. Take advantage of our comprehensive network of student support services available to you at no cost- customized to help you succeed.

- Flexible Learning Options. Day, evening, and fully-online classes help you balance work, family, and school.