We are excited to share the news with everyone that Odd Fellows Home has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission’s national standards for health care quality and safety in long term care.

  The accreditation award recognizes Odd Fellows Home’s dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission’s state of the art standards.

Here is the letter sent out by our Administrator, James V. Divver to all our staff informing them of our accredited status and congratulating them on their team effort and hard work.

More details to follow after we receive the press release information from the Joint Commission.

To: All Staff

 October 7, 2011

 Re: Joint Commission Survey

 On behalf of the Board members and the Director of Nursing, I want to extend my appreciation for all your efforts in making the Joint Commission survey we had yesterday, a tremendous success.

 This Accreditation process is an important step in proving to the outside world that we can deliver a high level of quality care (something we already knew).

 What I was especially pleased with was how everyone “stepped up” for the event. You worked as a team, patients looked great and the building was pristine.

 Thanks so much for all your combined hard work.

 Sincerely,

 James V. Divver, FACHE, FACHCA

Administrator

We had a great time welcoming “the dog days of summer” this afternoon. Some of our canine friends paid us a visit to spend the afternoon with our residents. Our talented activities team put together a fun little skit called “Old Dogs and New Tricks”. Later, our residents sang along with some old ‘dog’ and ‘summer’ themed classic songs like “Lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer”, “How much is that doggie in the window” and “Hound Dog”. Our doggie visitors were presented with home-made treats and doggie bandanas. The residents enjoyed hot-dogs prepared in our kitchen and fresh watermelons.

Here are some pictures from the party:

There are many different hearing, language, and speech problems that affect the senior community. By understanding the symptoms, seniors can seek the treatment they need and identify the problem as early as possible. At  Odd Fellows Home we provide audiology services which involve an Otoscopic evaluation and a hearing screening. A licensed speech therapist also provides treatments to residents who have speech difficulties. A holistic treatment plan is created involving the physician and different departments like nursing, activities, rehabilitation, etc.

SeniorsList.com has listed below some common communication difficulties experienced by the senior population:

Hearing difficulties affect over 10 million seniors in the United States and the most common cause of this is presbycusis which is age-related hearing loss. This loss of hearing happens slowly, and first results in the difficulty to hear high-frequency sounds as someone talking. As this condition gets worse, lower-frequency sounds can become difficult to hear as well. Some of the symptoms include: difficulty hearing in noisy places, ringing in the ears, and voices sounding slurred or mumbled. It will also be easier to understand a man’s voice than a woman’s. While there is no cure for this condition, there are some treatments available with the most common being hearing aids. Of course any purchase of a hearing aid should be completed by licensed audiologist.

Aphasia is a condition where seniors experience impairment in language ability. Symptoms may include the inability to understand language, inability to form words or pronounce words, and inability to read or write. The major causes of aphasia are strokes and head injuries. And because of the complex nature of aphasia there is no universal treatment method. It presents itself differently in patients and, therefore, requires a team effort in providing a treatment plan. This may include a doctor, social worker, speech pathologist, psychologist, and occupational therapist. Overall treatment has been known to create positive outcomes when learning to adjust to these limitations in communication.

Dysarthria is a disorder that interferes with the normal production of speech. People who have dysarthria often have challenges with vocal quality, range, tone, strength in speech, and timing. Causes of dysarthria include degenerative disease (Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, and ALS), embolic stroke, and traumatic brain injury. Treatment is typically done by speech pathologists and includes a variety of techniques.

If you notice a change in speech, memory, organization, or communication in general than it should be reported to your physician or the senior’s physician immediately. These problems can often occur when there is an underlying problem, so it’s important to address this as soon as possible.

Hearty Congratulations to Clarence Plant on being recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow on July 21st 2011 by the Rotary International.

Mr. Douglas Detweiler, Rotary International presented this prestigious award to Clarence Plant, the Secretary and Board of Trustees of the Odd Fellows Home of Massachusetts. This award was presented to Clarence in recognition of his donations and his dedication to the Foundation.

Clarence has received many such recognitions for his charitable work and involvement with community issues such as  his work with the City Manager’s Neighborhood Cabinet, the Inter-agency Council on Housing and Homelessness Leadership Council, and community organizations through the years, including Girls, Inc. of Worcester and YMCA of Central Massachusetts.

Clarence Plant, the Secretary, Board of Trustees for The Odd Fellows Home along with other board members and Odd Fellows Home staff, barbecued delicious food for our guests. The Black Sheep Band provided live entertainment and Uncle Sam was also present to entertain the guests and the kids with face painting and balloon figures.

Here are some pictures from the evening: