Fund named for long-time employee Sandra King

The Nazareth Homes Foundation announced today a new fund to help support the continuing education of Nazareth Home employees. The Sandra King Education and Excellence Fund is named for Sandra King, who served at Nazareth Home for 26 years and recently retired. 

King received her Bachelor of Arts in Nursing from Spalding University and was an avid learner throughout her career. As the previous Director of Nursing and later the Associate Administrator, King instilled a culture of education at Nazareth Home. 

“My parents taught me at an early age if you have an education, no one can take that away from you. Education opens doors for individuals, ceases generational poverty and offers hope and a future. Education promotes opportunities for individuals to make significant societal contributions,” said King. 

Individuals, community groups and local businesses can make monetary donations to the fund online at nazhome.org. Donors may also mail checks to Nazareth Home, 2000 Newburg Road, Louisville, Ky., 40205. All donations are 100 percent tax-deductible and will directly support the employees who attend college and take advanced certification classes. 

“The focus of this fund is to empower Nazareth Home staff to further their education without the burden of overwhelming tuition,” said Director of Development Roberta Steutermann. “By supporting our team members and giving back to them, we strengthen our facilities and provide our elders with the excellence they deserve.”

Nazareth Homes Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation established in 2018 to receive and administrate gifts to Nazareth Home campuses and their programs.

For more information or questions, contact Roberta Steutermann at 502-473-2375 or RSteutermann@nazhome.org.

Support the Sandra King Education and Excellence Fund

 
Each day the elders of Nazareth Home Highlands and Clifton are loved and cared for by staff members who truly believe in the person-centered focus that drives the healing mission. The staff’s devotion is demonstrated in their 5-star level performance which is greatly influenced by Sandra King. King, who served at Nazareth Home for 26 years before retiring as assistant administrator, believed deeply in the power of education to transform lives. This philosophy of education and excellence has become a trademark of Nazareth Home, and it is our honor to recognize her service through the Sandra King Education and Excellence Fund.

The focus of this fund is to empower Nazareth Home staff to further their education without the burden of overwhelming tuition. By supporting our team members and giving back to them, we strengthen our facilities and provide our elders with the excellence they deserve.

From now until Thursday, September 17, you can help support this fund and our staff. The Community Foundation of Louisville will be hosting its Give for Good Louisville campaign to benefit nonprofit organizations doing great work in our community.

Nazareth Home is excited to be a part of this 24-hour online giving event, which creates an incredible opportunity for your gifts to have a greater impact through match dollars and prize money contributed by the Community Foundation of Louisville and their generous supporting sponsors.

Help Nazareth Home reach our goal of $10,000 by donating through Give for Good. On September 17th, starting at 12 a.m. through 11:59 p.m., visit our Give for Good Louisville donation page and make a donation.

For more information or questions contact our Director of Development, Roberta Steutermann at 502-473-2375 or RSteutermann@nazhome.org.

Nazareth Home elders and family members report happiness with their care, exceeding the national average, according to the 2020 customer satisfaction report by Pinnacle Quality Insight. 

The survey is designed to measure residents’ satisfaction with regard to their quality of care and quality of life. Nazareth Home is making its mark on the national scale by providing exceptional long-term care to elders.

“Our number one priority is keeping elders healthy, engaged, and safe,” Nazareth Home President and CEO Mary Haynes said. “We are thankful this data supports the fact that we are providing an environment that engages employees to provide high-quality care where elders can thrive and that families can feel good about.”

With the scale being 1 to 5 and 5 being the highest, Nazareth Home Highlands ranked over 4 in every category. Here are a few highlights from the results:

• • • Nazareth Home’s response to problems received 5 out of 5. 
    • The cleanliness of the campus is ranked at 4.94.
    • Willingness to recommend Nazareth Home to others, personal care and overall resident satisfaction earned a score of 4.88.

Nazareth Home Clifton received superb results as well.

• • • Communication to elders and family members, safety and security and willingness to recommend to others, received the highest score of 5.
    • Cleanliness of the campus ranked at 4.80
    • Personal care earned a score of 4.75

“While we are always looking to improve our services to exceed customer expectations, the consistent above-average scores represent our dedication to compassionate person-centered care,” said Haynes. “I am pleased that our hard work is appreciated by the elders and their loved ones.”

Kahlil Gibran once said, “For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” Angelo Volandes, a physician, writer and patients’ rights advocate, has a lot in common with Gibran’s thought on life and death being one. In his book, The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End-of-Life Care, Dr. Volandes speaks to the importance of improving not how we die, but more importantly, how we live through the end of our life.

His book shares how people can empower themselves to get the right medical care on their terms at the end of life. Good quality care requires that treatments are consistent with the patients’ values, preferences and priorities, and communication is vital in knowing those. Caregivers and doctors can make a world of difference in hard situations by having these conversations.

In The Conversation, Dr. Volandes offers a “how-to” guide for having tough discussions when facing serious illness. He recommends talking about these four questions.

1. 1. What is important to you, and what makes you happy?
   2. What fears do you have about sickness and medical care?
   3. Are there any treatments that you believe would be too much for you?
   4. Do you have any beliefs that guide your ideas about medical care?

According to Dr. Volandes, these are just the start of what should be an ongoing conversation with doctors and loved ones about your wishes. He also suggests discussing:

• • Would you rather live longer no matter what, or is quality of life more important to you?
  • Are there any significant events you have to see before you die (e.g., graduations, weddings or birthdays)?
  • How much pain you are willing to go through, and are you willing to tolerate some pain if it means you can still interact with other people?
  • Do you want to be at home or in a hospital when you die?

Rather than waiting for these conversations to come up organically, Dr. Volandes suggests his readers initiate them. His goal is to build strong patient/clinician relationships based on shared knowledge and open communication, creating high-quality medical care that is person-centered, respecting patients’ preferences.

“When patients have honest exchanges and have the tools necessary to understand their choices at the end of life, then they—not the health care system—remain in charge of decisions about how they want to live.” – Dr. Volandes, The Conversation

How a person wants to live is just as important as how a person wants to die. Providing people with compassionate and person-centered care in life and death is care everyone should receive. Begin “the conversation” today to ensure respect and choice.

For additional information on how to live well through the end of your life, check out The Gift of Five Wishes.