Daily Egyptian Spring 04
Spring '04 Edition
Day-by-Day
Jessica Yorama
Daily Egyptian
Although the dim, well-organized space has served as Lois Savitz's room for the past five years, the 85-year-old still has some difficulty finding it. Robin Leehy, who is in charge of social services at Oak Grove Rehabilitation and Skilled Care, comes to her aid.
"You're going the wrong way, hon," she tells Savitz while leading her in the opposite direction to her room.
"This is how I've always worked," Savitz explains while laughing slightly. "I go backwards."
Savitz, by her own definition, is a mess, but is quick to explain this is not necessarily a negative description.
"I am a mess," she admits. "But I'm a good mess. The preacher says there are good messes and there are bad messes."
Savitz pauses slightly but seems confident in her statement.
"I think I'm a good mess, though."
Leehy agrees. During the past five years, she has gotten to know Savitz well and knows she can rely on the resident to take on the more extroverted tasks, such as afternoon singing and even a recent appearance in a graduate student's film. She also realizes, however, that not everyone is as outgoing as Savitz.
Keeping in mind the contrasting personalities of residents is just one responsibility that Leehy and other staff members encounter while working at Oak Grove. Oak Grove serves as the home to approximately 70 residents, ranging from their late 60s to mid-90s. The nursing home, which was established in 1954, offers therapeutic options, as well as dialysis and other forms of rehabilitation.
Employees at the center also realize social activity is a very important part of resident health. For this reason, an entire board is dedicated to the daily activities of residents.
The large board lays out the plans for the month. The plans, which are written in magic marker, outline the activities for each day, which include trivia, dancing and social time, among other activities.
As activities coordinator, Mary Cook organizes and decides upon the activities scheduled for the residents. Cook, who was appointed to the position last October, is in charge of the calendar and the daily activities that are placed on the dry-erase board. Although workers must take into consideration any difficulties that occur on a day-by-day basis, working in such an environment does require some planning.
Cook, who was appointed to the position in October, has been working with rehabilitation since 1993 and said her previous work with exercise and cognitive therapy carried over somewhat. She said she bases the activities, including bingo, visiting bands and happy hour, on suggestions from residents. She said they receive the assistance of local groups, including church groups, which come in from the community to visit with residents.
Cook said only about 50 percent of the residents have regular visitors, with only about 25 percent of them being daily visitors. Due to this lack of contact with those outside Oak Grove, Cook said they try to take residents into the community as much as possible. Unfortunately, the vans Oak Grove uses for transportation only allow enough space for a few residents, one of whom is in a wheelchair. Cook said she is hoping to take residents on more trips into the community to places such as Denny's and Turley Park.
Cook, who has been working at Oak Grove for the past 12 years, said the key to working in a nursing home setting is remembering to treat the residents in the same manner one would want their family to be treated. She said helping them to live their older years with respect and dignity is an important part of working in such a setting.
"One rule of thumb is to be empathetic but not sympathetic, because in the end it's going to happen to everybody," said Cook, who believes dying and getting sicker to be the biggest fear of residents. "It's very hard for newcomers, but I've been in the business a long time and I realize that you have to treat people with the same respect and dignity you would your own family.
"Everybody deserves to die with respect and dignity. You have to be respectful. Everybody is a history book and they have their own story."
Savitz is one of these residents with a history.
Savitz, who has lived in Oak Grove since 1999, is one of 70 residents who reside in the home. Although the home houses a variety of residents, from low-level to high-level social ability, the staff seems to agree that Savitz is the most outgoing.
Savitz said a typical day for her consists of walking, spending time with her sister, Uba Gay, who visits Oak Grove daily, and socializing with friends.
"I have lots of girlfriends and I'm thankful for that," Savitz said. "When you move to a new area you can get lonely, and it's important to have good friends."
According to staff, Savitz is more extroverted than other residents and willing to sing at a moment's notice with little prodding.
However, while different from other residents in many ways, she is still affected by some of the same issues that most Oak Grove residents are. Savitz, like 85 percent of the residents, has Alzheimer's. According to Leehy, this large number is taken into account in even the design of Oak Grove.
"We try to have a more of a family look, not institutionalized. The pictures help with the dementia that comes with Alzheimer's," Leehy said. "We have home-style meals, a more family-oriented environment. We try to have that home touch by allowing the family to stay for meals."
Pictures make up a significant part of Savitz's room. Her small area is decorated with stuffed animals and photos of friends and family, including her sister. An entire wall is devoted to her time as queen for a day, photos of her in a purple suit and crown, smiling as she poses with the appointed king.
Savitz was recently crowned queen of the Apple Festival in her hometown of Murphysboro. She said she was initially reluctant about taking on the position, for which she received a crown that sits atop her dresser. But overall, she said she enjoyed the experience.
The pictures on her wall and on various frames seem to show that Savitz has enjoyed her years at Oak Grove, which she referred to as a pretty place, "but still not home."
Cook said the nursing home does its best to make residents feel comfortable by encouraging family visits and a general respect and courtesy for those who live there. Despite the challenges of planning daily activities for residents, Cook said she loves her job.
"I've been doing this job for so long," Cook said. "I don't think I could do anything differently."
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