Foundational Principles of Wellness, Part 1

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by an approved senior care provider on the answers for elders radio network. And welcome to everyone to answer for others radio network. And, believe it or not, we are coming to you from Morning Star senior living in Silver Lake Washington, also known as Everett Washington. We are self thrilled to be here in this beautiful community and working with morning star is probably one of my favorite things. One of the things that I’ve had the privilege of is I live very close to this community, so I’ve had the opportunity to visit for so many things and do so many activities and, most importantly, my dog would be for so many of you know that I have a therapy dog and she and her friends come to visit here quite often. Hasn’t been lately because of all the construction, but we’re very glad to be here and I’m going to introduce to you one of the absolute treasures that I have come to know and thrilled on, Elna Quavis, and you’re the vice president of the West Coast Region. Is that correct? That’s correct. So I work with morning star up been with mornings are just about a year now and I oversee eight different properties or community homes in the western region. So Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, and that’s about it. As we continue about you were telling me yesterday that you were home four days last night. I was home four days last month. As I I’m very involved in all of our homes. I like to be on site visiting with our residents. I’ve been doing this for over twenty one years and you cannot keep me away. Can’t keep me away. I love being able to enjoy our residents, have lunch with them, you know, come first with all the happenings that are going on in their lives and within the community as well. So will I started I as a concierential receptionist twenty one years ago. Twenty one years ago. Again, you have you can’t keep me out. Just kind of grew my way into senior living and I’m here now and it’s been a blessing and I don’t want it any other way. Yes, and you know, the thing that’s so impressive about morning starts in your living and of course, you guys just recently came into the Pacific northwest region, because that’s correct, you were actually a it used to be what was called Garden Court years ago, are you know, before then last year morning start acquired the property and there’s all these approvements happening. Oh, incredible. You know, I am so impressed with all of the new construction that was that is happening here. For those of you that are in the area, if you if you think you’ve been to garden court and you’ve into a quote unquote, this community, you have it. Yeah, there’s been some incredible grades made that are just so amazing and the staff here is incredible and you know, I am getting to know you so much and I love so many things. And one of the things that Alida and I are going to talk about first this week we’re going to go through four of the eight foundational principles of wellness. And Wellness is kind of a kitchy term at any times. People will say that, but they don’t really understand what is true wellness, and especially in our industry right where we have scenarios where, you know, we use that word, what does that really mean? And I think one of the things that we all is families. We want wellness for our once we but we don’t necessarily know how that’s created or how that’s made up, to take a holistic appost to wellness rights, to say yes and and there’s so much more that goes into him. So yes, we’re going to talk about the eight various dimensions of wellness that that incompass a holistic approach to making someone survival. Yeah, that much more realistic. Yeah, yeah, and I think that’s what’s really important too, because obviously this isn’t just a just a coin phrase with you guys. You guys having foundational right, I guess, Prince Bull, and it’s almost for takes me to the when we were all in school, we learn maslow’s hierarchy of needs and write. All of you that are watching on camera on Youtube, you’re going to see remember that little triangle that we all studied and I think the bottom of safety and security, and then it went up in the very top with self actual zation. Correct as individuals prossy, but I think there was for categories. There’s four categories that go up into that and you know, one one thing that we’re not going to talk about in this segment, but you know, when we look at safe here, maybe we are. It’s going to be just that necessity to eat well, yeah, to survive, you know, just to have the basic yeah, the praise of principles of survival, of making sure that we have that security in our overall wellness. Right. So, but is that? That is that absolute foundation? We all need a roof over our head, we all need close on our backs and we all need food on our sens. so I’m going to ask you. You’ve been in this industry for twenty one years. Ye, anyway, twenty one years. Yeah, so, being in this industry for twenty one years, you came to morning star in the last year correct. Tell me what struck you and this this is a big move for somebody’s been in the industry for as long as you have. I mean tell me about your thoughts about Morning Star when we came here. So, as you mentioned before, Sustan it is. We we just acquired the western region. We actually started in Colorado, DENVER, Colorado. Ken yeager is our founder and our C for the company and you know, he started with wanting to have a better location, better place for our resins, for our parents. His Mom and dad actually live and lived in both of our communities down in Colorado, which was amazing. So he really wanted to start a company that has what we call different our principles and values and beliefs, right, so from trust, fairness, honesty, love, compact. So these are some of our founding principles as a company, while we’re a Christian based company, it’s what makes us human, and I think that’s really what truly attracted me to this company. Is, as a human myself, I was attracted to those principles, to those basic necessities, the basic needs that makes as a better person. Well, I think the impression that I always get, which I love, when I come here, it’s all the stuff. They treat all the residents like their family, right. I mean there’s this feeling of connection, right, that you guys instantly built with the residents that are here, and you could see it on a basis. They all have smiles, they’re all laughing their you know, getting involved in things. It’s our main corps value, with the love, yea, love doesn’t happen without family. With that, that’s security, without respect, without that honesty and for each other. And so that’s really what attracted me originally to morning star. Is Our founding principles and beliefs. Again, just because it’s something I’ve always practiced and it’s never been put into words, just like it has with morning star. And we are new to the West. The other thing I love about morning stars we’re actively building these beautiful new communities. Yes, Silver Lake is an acquired building, meaning that we bought it over, but, as you can see, we are transforming it into a morning star building. Right, uniforn you know what’s interesting too, is like you have this brand and beautiful community at Kirkland. Correct, it’s very different. Yes, because the communities are different. Right, Kirkland is a very different, quote unquote, demographic right. Then, at the effort silver lake, Rus area is and it’s funny because when I talk to people, it’s like every single senior has a different value system. Yea, and and what’s most important. And you know a lot of people they like coming into this building. What I love about Morning Star here Silver Lake is this it’s like it’s just a branch of like you’re at home. Right. It’s not. It’s not necessarily something that you’re going to see a fancy fountain in a lobby. That’s a nice place to go see it does it, but a lot of people they don’t want that in there. Everyday life. They want to put their sweat pants on and go down and have lunch. They don’t have to feel like they have to get dressed up. If they want to get dressed up, they certainly ran. But it’s a different culture where, I know other communities you you get dressed up right for every meal and this might be so important to some people. And again, what’s most important to your loved one is kind of helps you think about, you know what how to make those choices or the best way that most fits your loved one. And I think one of the things that I’m going to say is when I go back and you shared with me these founded copings principles by I think this explains a lot of why you are who we are and it is really cons we can see it absolutely say and it’s like what you said originally. It’s being well what is wellness? Is Not just a word, it’s a fundamental concept and of practice that we do every single day in all of our communities and we strive to make sure that we enhance the wellness of our residence and our family members at the same time, because it is a family, it’s not just four walls. Everyone can have those four walls. I have four walls at home, but I’m never at home, but if I was it what makes a home a home is a people inside of it and that they’re well and they’re well taking care of. So we’ll go into those eight dimensions of wellness, which I’m excited to do because it’s so important to the foundational core of us being human. Yes, yes, well, I’m excited to get into the meet all of this and I think to our listeners that we have here today, I think it’s really an important time as to take a look while you’re here, during these and we’re going to share all eight next month. Will do the last four and we and we will make sure that we put something an announcement out that we’re going to be continuing. But maybe the created little social media inflographic on Oh, that’d be great. So one of the things that I’d love to do is how each one did you think about when we go through these principles? What’s most important to be a week right and and think about does no matter where you go and where you are in the United States, one morning start is in how many states in the US right now? So we’re in over twelve different states right now. Mostly we’re not currently we’re not in the east coast, so that’s the only area that we’re not in, but we’re in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Texas I mentioned, I think, all about of California communities something like we have thirty four communities and actively growing, as you mentioned, with Kirkland. That’s our latest and greatest from the ground up. Hills borrow lower hers is coming. We have one in Vegas that we’re building actively right now too, and San Jose, San Antonio Texas, was built and open not too long ago. So we are an actively growing company this, yeah, in the purpose of serving our seniors. So I’m just so excited to be again. Another another key point of what brought me to morning start is the growth that mornings are presents and and these beautiful, beat brand new communities from the ground dot. To be able to be the on the ground level of starting something new. Yes, and we’re going to be right back right after this with our first founding workers. We at answers for elders. Thank you for listening. Did you know that you can discover hundreds of podcasts in our library on senior care? So visit our website and discover our decision guides that will help you also navigate decision making. Find US AT ANSWERS FOR ELDERS DOCUMENT