I am writing this long overdue letter to express my family's gratitude to Oakwood Common for your wonderful facility and the care and concern your staff demonstrates to every Oakwood resident. From our initial meeting to move-in day, to baths in assisted living, to trips to the ER, to the memorial service for residents, your work and professionalism have been exceptional. My father had seen enough facilities to know that Oakwood Common was the place he would move to if he ever needed to leave his home. From my perspective, the greatest gift you provide your residents is your genuine desire to assist each of them in living their lives, to the degree possible and reasonable, the way they would like. This is highly unusual, I think. Most places make the client fit the program rather than trying to adapt the program to the client's needs. We will be continually grateful for your flexibility in allowing our father to remain in his independent living apartment during his last months. It made a huge difference to him that he had a say in his care and surroundings. As he often said to us, he wanted to be the decision maker, and since he was capable of that, it's what we wanted too.
Our father never wanted to leave his home of 62 years but told 3 of his 6 children he thought it was time. When he moved to Oakwood Common my dad was depressed, cranky, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes intoxicated and generally pretty unpleasant to be around. Your experienced staff was generally upbeat and pleasant to him, and in some cases actually enjoyed him, which surprised us. I believe his behavior was his way of dealing with the pain and anger he felt due to his deteriorating body, diminished social circle, and decreasing sphere of influence. We all loved him but were embarrassed by his behavior, and all our efforts to influence his behavior were to no avail. Your willingness to allow him to return to his independent living apartment following a stay in the nursing unit was a gift to him and us. At that point, he was grateful to be back in his apartment and his behavior mellowed.
We are grateful that you allowed his voice to be heard in regard to his care. If my dad fell you would bandage the wound, if appropriate, and not ship him off to the ER. If needed ER attention, you allowed him to return to his apartment, if appropriate, rather than requiring an overnight stay in the hospital. When we needed assistance, you allowed him to stay in his apartment with private care rather than insisting he move to assisted living or nursing care. Those decisions made my dad's life so much happier, thank you.
We are grateful for Karen Miller. She may be the busiest, most work focused person we have encountered at Oakwood Common. She has a very difficult job but performs it with great professionalism. Karen quickly understood our dad's medical and emotional needs and directed his care accordingly. We are thankful for her guidance and assistance. She really makes things happen for patients.
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Thank you, Karen, for always supporting me, trusting me, assuring me and always being there for me on both a professional and personal level. You always encourage me and always seem to know when I need it, sometimes before I do. I value how you listen to me too and you give me valuable constructive criticism which I appreciate. Even when you don't say anything, you are so supportive. I know they say sometimes when you are a supervisor, you can't be a friend, I know for a fact that you are both to me and always at the appropriate time. You are a very caring and compassionate nurse and you show it in your work.
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I would like to thank my nurse and share my story of why this nurse is so special:
I have been working with Karen Miller, at Oakwood Common since March. In that time, I have watched Ms. Miller devote herself to all of our residents. Yes, it is her job to be responsible for the care of the Assisted Living residents, Terrace residents and on occasion the Independent residents for emergency purposes. However, she goes above and beyond her job description standards on a daily basis.
Ms. Miller is quick to respond and reach out to family members with any concerns she may have for their family member. She is constantly advocating for their care and for their best potential. She comes in early and stays late and even on off shifts when she is needed. She uses all her resources to provide what each resident requires. She has a great working relationship with skilled nursing, hospital and hospice staff. She makes sure the dots are connected so that the resident does not get lost in the gap with services such as physical therapy, podiatry, home care and pharmacy.
She has an open-door policy for staff, residents, and family. She is out on the floor daily and all over providing assessments and progress checks. She makes a special effort to connect with our residents personally, so they know they have someone watching out for them. She even tells them when she is going on vacation because she knows they would be concerned if they didn't see her. They look forward to seeing her for visits and enjoy her company. I have had the delight to see even our dementia residents light up when they see her and when she stops to talk with them.