Move over moms, there’s another celebration starting this weekend that is just a little bit more core to McKnight’s readers.
Sunday, May 12, will mark the start of National Skilled Nursing Week (formerly known as National Nursing Home Week). The event gives providers the chance to recognize those frontline caregivers who make the operation tick, but maybe don’t get quite enough of the corresponding street cred.
This year’s theme is “Live Soulfully,” according to the American Health Care Association. With that, the nation’s largest skilled nursing facility advocacy organization is urging SNFs and their staffers to showcase how they are working to keep their minds happy and souls healthy. What keeps you content during a hard day at work? And how are you spreading that joyfulness to others at your nursing home?
“Each and every person in our profession makes an impact on the lives of our residents,” President and CEO Mark Parkinson said in a November announcement about this year’s theme. “National Skilled Nursing Care Week celebrates our centers and caregivers for their tireless everyday work caring for others.”
AHCA is encouraging providers to share their stories on social media using the hashtag #NSNCW. It’s also released several other goodies to help nursing facilities celebrate next week, including a planning guide, graphics, and sample press releases and social media posts. There’s a Facebook page set up for the celebration, too, which has already shared our story from last week about one Wichita nurse’s heroics aboard a flight out of Dallas.
There are already lots of lovely little tidbits bubbling up on Twitter and tasty food seems to be a running theme. Saint Therese, for one, served breakfast to its employees on Monday and handed out 100 Grand candy bars affixed with the note “You’re worth so much more than $100 grand.” (The Minnesota operator said it wanted to celebrate NSNCW a week early to coincide with National Nurses Day yesterday.)
This all dovetails nicely with McKnight’s ongoing #BrightenUpLTC campaign to unearth some of the wonderful things you and your institution are doing to brighten up the lives of residents, employees and members of the community. We continue to look for these lighter stories and will keep featuring them every Wednesday in our “The Brighter Side” column.
So, why not take a moment away from your busy mom’s day to think about how you might spread the word about all of the good your skilled nursing center has done over the past year? Just please don’t tell my mother about this blog, or any of this writer’s suggestions about the shared spotlight.
Follow Staff Writer Marty Stempniak @MStempniak.
