Resthave, by dictionary standards, means to shelter and make a calm and tranquil home. This responsibility sits on the shoulders of the women I interviewed, from Executive Director to Supervisor of Dietary, from Social Services to Director of Nursing, to Business Office Manager, and others. Each oversees, directs, and supports both the residents who live in Resthave Home, 408 Maple Avenue, Morrison, IL, and the over 100 staff members who serve them. Each brings a level of expertise and warmth.
Seated left-to-right are Deb Letcher, Business Office Manager; Mary Burgess, Director of Rehabilitation; Marcia Blean, Head of Housekeeping; Karla Burn, Marketing Director; and Jill Smith, Director of Social Services.
Standing left-to-right are Eva Dykstra, Clinical Nursing Supervisor; Donna Ricker, Director of Nursing; Nancy VanZuiden, Activities Director; Tami Tegeler, Executive Director; Kristi Christiansen, Nursing Home Administrator; Tawnya Denning, Head of Dietary.
“Resthave offers the ‘Cadillac’ of services as stated by many workshop leaders throughout the State,” said Blean.
Christiansen believes the uniqueness of Resthave is that local churches saw a need over 54 years ago and had the faith to build this home. “And to make it a Christian home, she added.
“People are the mission of our home,” said VanZuiden.
Giving up one’s home is not easy. Resthave seeks to support and to help the new resident and his/her family. “Because we have a religious affiliation, we can not only sit with them, but also pray and read the Bible to them,” said Burn.
People who enter as a resident in Assisted Living and then move to the Nursing Home wing do not have to leave the building. Staff stays the same with the same care and devotion. “We know them, and they know us,” said Tegeler.
There have been numerous challengers throughout the three year building and remodeling project that has taken Resthave from a population of 69 residents to 110. Many creative ways had to be made to work around the construction and the new programs put in place. Letcher said, “The staff was great about making changes. We all managed and got through it.”
Dykstra, Clinical Nurse Supervisor for Assisted Living, said she and her staff are cleaning and getting the last 17 rooms ready for August occupancy. “In Assisted Living, we want each person to live as independently as possible.”
Great changes have been made to dietary. A big, sparkling new kitchen was added and a new way of serving. “Mealtimes are not a specific time. but are served anytime during that hour,” said Denning, Head of Dietary. She further added, “It is restaurant-style dining with two entrees offered. Breakfast includes a full choice menu! They can have anything they want.”
“We keep looking for new ways to utilize the community,” stated Burn, Marketing Director. “Kiwanis helps us stuff Easter candy into the eggs for the big hunt. They have asked our help in stuffing bags for Paint the Town. All of this makes our residents feel a part of the community and still needed.”
For a week this summer, there will be Summer Camp Resthave. VanZuiden, Activity Director, smiled and explained, “This will be a working partnership with the children of the Morrison Day Care and Resthave. We want to do more inter-generational activities.”
What do these Supervisors and Administrators see in the future for Resthave? The many answers had one theme: keep Resthave resident-centered, homey, and friendly. As Blean so aptly stated, “We are not any different than we were, only more square feet!”
The public will be invited to explore the building, see the changes, and visit with staff and residents at the Open House on Friday, August 7, 2015, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. You, too, will be proud of an idea from the 1950’s that germinated into a facility opened in 1961, and to the growth and modernization of today.