nurses

MassHealth an Incredible Program for Many of Our Residents

May 30, 2019 by Steven Tyer

MassHealth is a safety net for many of our residents. The state agency oversees Medicaid, the federal program that provides health coverage for low-income individuals. That includes nursing homes, assisting individuals with the monthly cost of their care that they would not have otherwise been able to afford.

However, there has been an alarming trend in MassHealth funding lately. Perhaps you’ve heard that the rates paid to nursing homes are based on 2007 costs. That means despite rising costs, all nursing homes caring for MassHealth residents still receive payments calculated on costs that they’ve incurred over 12 years ago. Copley has the same cost increases in labor, utilities, and food that you have in your own home – just on a much larger scale.

Tara Gregorio, the president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, and Naomi Prendergast, president and CEO of D’Youville Life and Wellness Community in Lowell have “sounded the alarm” about rates being too low. “This is a severely underfunded system,” Gregorio told CommonWealth Magazine’s The Codcast. They are calling for a restructuring of the program and funding based on more current costs. You can listen to the whole podcast and read an article based on their conversation here.

Copley at Stoughton fully supports this initiative. We see the tremendous impact MassHealth has for our residents and their families. But many nursing homes in Massachusetts are on the verge of bankruptcy, which will have an impact on many more residents and the industry as a whole.

Thankfully, that’s not the case for Copley at Stoughton. I credit our staff 100% for the great job they do ensuring our residents receive the care they need. In a previous blog post, I talked about how our staff routinely goes above and beyond budgets to provide outstanding care. This is part of the reason why we are consistently ranked one of the “Best Nursing Homes in the United States.”

We believe in a strong skilled nursing home industry. We are optimistic that MassHealth will adjust their payment structure soon, thanks to the hard work of people like Tara Gregorio and Naomi Prendergast. But no matter what the outcome, Copley will remain a strong community partner providing care that goes above and beyond.

You can find out more about applying for MassHealth for your skilled nursing care home needs HERE.

Caring for Older Adults Means Keeping Everyone Active and Engaged

February 27, 2019 by Steven Tyer

I asked our activities director, Cheryl Woodward, to assist me in writing the blog this month. Getting older doesn’t have to mean getting less active! In fact it’s quite the opposite. Older adults who are less physically and socially active are at higher risk of losing the ability to do everyday routines. That includes everything from walking and dressing to dialing a telephone.

Exercise affects the mental well-being of older adults, too. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that lack of physical activity can lead to a greater risk of dementia-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. A good fitness program, on the other hand, can help delay or even avoid symptoms of these diseases. Yet at least one study found that older adults in long-term facilities spend up to 65% of their time alone in their rooms.

I can tell you, that is not the case at Copley at Stoughton!

We do everything possible to help our residents stay fit and active for their physical, mental, and social well-being. Our Activities team, led Ms. Woodward, developed the “Fitness Fun” program with activities designed to keep our residents active and engaged. These include group calisthenics, guided walks in and around Copley, gardening, dancing, and other activities. Even simple things like encouraging residents to walk to the cafeteria at mealtimes rather than take a wheelchair can go a long way to increasing quality of life.

Regular outings are big social events here which usually have some sort of physical element such as walking. Other activities at Copley include cooking, arts and crafts, and cognitive games and puzzles. These are great ways of keeping the mind active as well.

The most important thing is that we do these activities together. Copley is a little community, and we encourage everyone to participate and interact socially. I like to think of our community as that neighborly house we all envision retiring in, but with all the comfort and convenience Copley offers.

Activities are important for our short-stay residents, too. Getting rehab after surgery or an injury can be difficult physically, mentally, and emotionally. This is especially true when you are away from home. Our professional Activities staff at Copley helps the time pass a lot faster.

If you have any questions about our Fitness Fun program or any of our lifestyle programming, please feel free to contact me anytime. We can even arrange for a tour so you can see for yourself how Copley keeps residents active and engaged.

Visits Keep Loved Ones Young

January 16, 2019 by Steven Tyer

The families of our residents often ask me what they can do to help their loved ones. It’s one of the easiest questions because it’s simple: visit as much as possible.

We do our best to provide a family atmosphere here at Copley. We offer engaging activities to encourage socialization among our residents. But nothing replaces family, and that’s why visits are so important. This is particularly important if your loved one has lost a spouse. The grieving process is intensified with the stress of life changes and particularly moving into a new “home.” Visits from familiar faces help alleviate the feeling of loneliness.

Visits also keep residents engaged with the world around them. This includes emotionally engaged as well as mentally engaged – it’s all interconnected. Planning future visits gives them another activity to look forward to. Try to plan for outings if possible; not just visits at Copley. It may take some extra arranging depending on a medical condition, but I can tell you from personal experience that it is well worth it.

When you do visit, make a point to bring something to show: a grandchild’s artwork from school or pictures from a recent vacation. You can also bring family photos on visits from when they were younger, or old letters and cards to help them remember earlier days.

Bringing a pet is a great idea, especially if he or she used to have one themselves. You’ll often see dogs walking the grounds at Copley with residents, or simply sitting up on their bed. We are learning more and more about the therapeutic value of pets for long-term care residents and our short-term guests recovering at Copley.

Visits from family members – and pets – help keep loved ones young and the family bonds strong. If you have any questions about planned visits to Copley at Stoughton, ideas for activities, or our pet policies, please feel free to contact me directly. I’d be happy to discuss!

Making Copley Home for the Holidays

December 21, 2018 by Steven Tyer

You can always tell the holidays are coming at Copley. We’ve finished putting up the decorations, and nine of our talented artist residents have put together the finishing touches on our annual Winter Mural. The unveiling, which has become a Copley tradition, was held on December 12th this year.

December is a special time; the decorations, the festivities, the endless comings and goings of family. We go to extra lengths to recreate that holiday feeling for our residents and short-term rehab guests. Cheryl Woodward, our Activities Director, amazes us every year with her decorating and in addition, she spends an incredible amount of time making every holiday a unique celebration by arranging a variety of events. This month’s activities included a visit to the Enchanted Village, several sing-along events, Christmas socials, a gathering with Rabbi Foust, bilingual services, and other religious observances and festivities.

We know it is not easy being separated from family and loved ones during the holidays. So we do what we can to ensure that Copley is our residents’ home away from home.

From all of us at Copley – Happy Holidays to you and yours, and our best wishes for a healthy, peaceful 2019.

Helping Others Find a Career Path

January 25, 2018 by Steven Tyer

Setting out to find a career is an exciting, yet terrifying time in everyone’s life. It’s easy to wonder – am I choosing the right path? What if I end up not liking the job? Am I wasting my time? All of these questions are completely legitimate, but having a mentor to turn to for advice and guidance can make the journey less terrifying.

When we look back on when we first embarked on our career paths, there is usually a special someone who helped shape our careers by sharing their knowledge and past experiences. While it is said that struggles prove to be one of life’s greatest teachers, a mentor can help guide you through those struggles.

We’ve always taken mentoring very seriously. In fact, we encourage our staffs’ children and close family friends to shadow our employees if they show an interest in nursing, physical or occupational therapy or administration. As a locally-owned and managed facility, we can offer an exceptional learning environment with hands-on experience. We have employees that started as CNAs that are now RNs, nursing station secretaries that have gone on to nursing school and students from Blue Hills Technical School who have finished their technical hours at our facility.

Jill Owens is the MDS Coordinator here at Copley. As an MDS Coordinator, Jill’s daily tasks consist of assessing the quality of the emotional, mental and physical care that is given to long-term patients. She started as a CNA back in 1995 and has since worked her way through nursing school and up to a management position that is very important for the everyday function of our facility, staff, and patients.

We open our doors and not only welcome but encourage younger generations to use our facility and our well-trained staff as a source of knowledge for their future. Know someone looking for hands-on experience in nursing or any part of the skilled nursing field? We would love to hear from them and learn how we can work together to start them on their way to a rewarding career. Whether it is through volunteering, interning or finishing up technical hours, there are many opportunities to learn and grow in any field if you put yourself out there!