
Why I love SHC Service Week at the Revolution!

How can we separate the short-term from the long-term in the middle of a consuming battle of change swirling around us. It is hard to see the different dimensions between the two because the short-term can overwhelm and you can no longer “see the forest from the trees” – (Heywood, 1546)
The unending challenges we face – hard to find staff, overzealous regulators, rising acuity with our elders, ruthless managed care rate compression, shorter stay residents, new shiny competitors, etc. ….these local battles everyone feels daily, combined with our owns struggles the last few years like Legalized Extortion in Kentucky, 3 Different Turnarounds mired in broken promises that were at the bottom of the Nursing Home Compare Listings combined with our own self-inflicted injuries from our “well intended” failures to compound our own problems.
However, I tell you honestly that positive change is starting to happen around us and today WE NEED IT because there are finally some long-term epic wins that bring back justice, fairness, and new certainty to Long Term Care that tell us HELP is finally on the way!
In the last 75 days, we have seen our 5 biggest wins in years –
These five big wins are all seminal in nature and will help start the rebuild of our industry that has been under siege from outside forces for the past few years that should let us all see the “light at the end of tunnel” that is finally coming – let’s stay the course and bring light and hope back to the industry that we love to serve like no one else!
Earlier this month, we had amazing validation that our leaders are pioneering the Eden Alternative Movement where many previously believed it was for “one-off’s” or “not-for-profit” do-gooders only.
Let me tell you a quick, cool story that will show how dreams manifest when we commit, dig deep, and stay the course – the magic always happens!
Nearly a decade ago, I worked with the Pioneer Network (prior to their leadership change), and believed this “mind-set” needed culture change and a holistic caregiver approach for our organization.
We sent a few young revolutionaries up to Columbus, Ohio to attend their conference and assess culture change pathways, review operability, and decide if we could make it a widespread movement.
Since then, our Hometown Team started their Eden Alternative journey. They have “operationalized” culture change like no other mid-size operator ever!
They built custom culture change training, hardwired it into their daily culture and made it a big part of their vernacular. They also developed intergenerational learning through summer camps, enhanced the universal caregiver into the Holistic Caregiver model, and developed an Eden Alternative Milestone cadence, plus hundreds of other programming efforts that make it all work!
This past week, our team humbly accepted some big, meaningful awards that demonstrate we are a part of the change we all want to see.
Here is the list of winners:
In closing, we now have 28 Signature homes who completed Path to Mastery Milestone 1 and another nine who have completed Path to Mastery Milestone 2. This gives us 37 Signature homes who are fully immersed into the Promised Land and are helping us define the Revolution in a very tactical way!
Wave 3 TV, in Louisville, recently did this story about the Steier family and what inspired the decision to bring spirituality into the workplace at Signature HealthCARE.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9jMynazTWA]This week, the Signature Revolution continues to break elder care world records.
We recently helped establish a new Guinness World Record for ‘Longest High-Five Chain’ in the world when SHC of Terre Haute residents and stakeholders joined the community for the United Way’s ‘High Five Campaign for Every Child.’
And last week, the most senior athletes in the world competed in regional Senior Olympics events ranging from Tampa to Tennessee to Louisville, where hundreds and hundreds of elder athletes competed to win team championships and prestigious medals with cheering crowds.
But this week is even bigger.
Rarely in our lifetimes do we get the chance to bring something back to life.
We may ‘add to’ life as we contribute to our divine purpose. Maybe a few times we ‘co-create life,’ as parents. But to bring it back or restore it like Elijah, the great prophet, did in the Old Testament when he resurrected the young boy of the widow, is a miracle to truly celebrate.