“Look for the helpers”. It is a phrase that lingers in our community that was placed here by Mister Rogers. At LB Homes we’ve seen significance in looking for the helpers, those who are supporting us in powerful ways.
A little over a week ago LB Homes made a plea. We started to understand that we would receive recommendation from the Center for Disease Control and the Minnesota Department of Health to have every employee in a cloth mask to manage source control. That is a daunting task.
There are approximately 250 employees at LB Homes, and an estimation of the number of masks topped 400. There would need to be a thorough infection control cleaning process for the masks daily, and every employee, from the CEO to the maintenance team would be required to wear them.
LB Homes mad a plea to the Fergus Falls community. In little over 5 days we had enough masks to outfit our staff at our care sites. After a little over a week we had enough masks to outfit our residents. Masks were delivered to our hospice and home care services. We stood 10 days from making the initial plea with over 600 masks in hand, outfitting us to protect our residents, tenants, and clients as we provide compassionate care and support.
Last week another significant boost came to our campus. We understood that inside our care facilities we would need a place for residents to transition in from the community. Some residents receive care off-site, so we created a “step-down” unit in one of the wings at the Broen Home.
There was a challenge to the location of the wing. If a resident transitioned from the community they would need to transport through the building to the wing. This created potential contact with surfaces, staff, and other residents. The LB Homes maintenance team tackled the issue.
Lakes Area Dock and Lift quickly provided a safe ramp option to transport residents from the community into a wing of the Broen Home that is separate from other resident rooms. This wing allows residents to hold for a quarantine period to ensure they are not ill and bringing any sickness into the resident living area. The quick work from Lakes Area Dock and Lift allowed us to continue providing exceptional quality care while also serving the needs of our community.
These two simple occurrences were reflected on after a resident’s family bought all employees working the Friday shift a pizza meal. The morning, afternoon, evening, and over-night crews received a pizza lunch, dinner, or late night snack courtesy of a thankful family.
During these times it is easy to become distracted with the brokenness of systems. However, at LB Homes we are blessed to have so many helpers orienting our vision to restoration. It is an incredible opportunity to serve loved ones at LB Homes, and it is inspiring to receive strong encouragement from our community as we continue to provide Christ-like care and support.
