Date: August 7, 2008
Contact: Barbara Schoof Conant
barbara.conant@aging.ks.gov
Director of Communications
(785) 296-6154
Secretary of Aging to visit Brewster Place
Secretary of the Kansas Department on Aging Kathy Greenlee will visit Brewster Health Center, 1001 SW 29th St., Topeka, on Wednesday, August 13, to recognize it as one of this year’s PEAK Award winners. The awards were presented at the Governor’s Conference on Aging Services in May to 10 Kansas adult care facilities for their efforts to provide resident-centered care. PEAK stands for Promoting Excellent Alternatives in Kansas nursing homes.
Greenlee will tour the facility at 9 a.m., followed by a celebration at 9:30 a.m.
“This is the second year Brewster Health Center has earned a PEAK Award,” Greenlee said. “This home and the other PEAK winners are leading the way in adopting and promoting resident-directed care. The result is a more satisfying and rewarding experience for both residents and staff. Such enthusiastic and progressive leadership is one of the reasons Kansas has been recognized nationally as a leader in this change.”
Here are some of the characteristics that make Brewster Health Center a winner:
Residents get up when they want to, eat when and what they want and bathe when they want to. They help select menus based on residents’ choices and recommendations. The universal worker concept has improved the ratio between staff and residents from 1:9 to 1:4. Three distinct neighborhoods with varying levels of care all have consistent staffing. Staff members assist the resident in completing their interests. Examples are going on a cruise, being admitted to a motorcycle club and going boating.
Other PEAK winners are: Atchison Senior Village, Atchison; Brandon Woods Retirement Community, Lawrence; Brookside Retirement Community, Overbrook; Cheney Golden Age Home, Cheney; Greeley County Long-Term Care Unit, Tribune; Johnson County Nursing Center, Olathe; Minneapolis Good Samaritan Center, Minneapolis; Parkside Homes, Hillsboro; and Village Shalom, Overland Park.
KDOA began recognizing adult care homes through the PEAK Awards in 2002. Facilities must submit an application for consideration for the honor. Finalists are visited by a panel of professionals before awards are determined.