Nursing Home

Fountain Circle Health and Rehabilitation of Winchester was one of three Kentucky nursing home facilities recently added to a list of troubled facilities in the United States according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Fountain Circle was added to the Special Focus Facilities list in July after the facility was cited for two federal deficiencies in March, then on July 19, received a Type A citation, the most serious citation given by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' Office of Inspector General, for a violation of state regulations.

Several former Winchester residents are recovering from Hurricane Irene - but not from as much damage as they expected. Just like a lot of others on the East coast and in the hurricane's path, Lori Tackett Prater, who moved from Winchester to Kill Devil Hills, N.C. in May 2007, said she thought it was going to be terrible. She and her boyfriend, who experienced Hurricane Isabel in 2003, had a generator, ice and water ready just in case. Irene, the first hurricane of its season, was first reported as a Category 3 hurricane but was downgraded to a Category 1 by the time it hit land in North Carolina on Saturday.

Clark County’s supporters of the Salvation Army have hit on a sure-fire way to raise awareness and money for the local service unit. Last year, they got Kentucky country and bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs to perform at the Leeds Center for the Arts to benefit the charity. That worked out so well, that this year, they brought in another Christian musical group: The Isaacs. Although I’m not really a fan of southern gospel, I was surprised when the family group kicked off their show last Saturday at Central Baptist Church with a hand-clapping, foot-stomping bluegrass medley that included such classics as “I’ll Fly Away” and “There is Power in the Blood.” I do like live bluegrass, and I thought: This could be good.

Wesley Village celebrated a new addition to its campus with neighbors in Wilmore, Jessamine County and even some from other parts of the state earlier this month. The new building — the Small Home for Memory Care — will offer 10 residents a place to live where they feel like they’re in the homes they’ve always lived in but will also offer the same care and attention provided in a nursing home. The small home is the first of its kind in Kentucky and joins a team of 75 other small houses in 12 different states.

During a meeting of team leaders at Golden Living Center Friday morning, executive director Jennifer Thompson felt compelled to address a matter that had riled up the staff at the Stanford nursing home. “I told them we were not going to let this distract us from our mission,” Thompson said later. The staff at Golden Living Center was unhappy with an advertisement appearing in this week’s Interior Journal by the law firm Wilkes & McHugh listing 17 deficiencies found during inspections of the nursing home.

I was shocked and grieved to see the full-page advertisement in The Advocate Messenger regarding Danville Centre for Health and Rehabilitation, a local nursing home, on Sunday. Having had several experiences with loved ones in nursing home facilities, I am aware that there are circumstances where litigation may be necessary, but I am also thankful that we have such facilities available for the type of care that is required for some. Sadly, in an effort to garner clients and financial gain, the firm of Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. has adversely affected the service that this home and others do for the community.

Black Friday is only about a week away, and people start agonizing over who to buy for. It is a perfect opportunity to learn a little restraint. Some people are out of jobs and others have less than they did in the past. Take a break, and look at what is important. If your children get more than their friends, will that give them long-term happiness? If they get a bunch of gifts, will they remember tomorrow who gave them? Does Christmas mean stuffing ourselves with food we wish we hadn’t eaten?

Dear Editor, Recently, the Lexington Herald-Leader ran a series of articles that revealed the truly shocking caretaking of the nursing home facilities mentioned. Those things that happened are inexcusable. Those of us who deal with facilities of this nature understand why and how aberrant behavior exists, and in some instances why brutality occurs. To that end, after reading the articles, it seems only right to affirm the fact that this blanket criticism of health care facilities does not extend to Danville.

The Rev. Levi Moore died Oct. 21, but the 69-year-old native of Louisiana left his mark on everyone who knew him in Jessamine County, and he is remembered for his friendliness and his dedication to his ministry. Moore was born in rural Louisiana. As an adult, after spending more than a dozen years dabbling in biology and teaching, Moore's life took a big turn on June 9, 1980, when he got the call to preach. For 16 years, Moore served various small churches in his home state of Louisiana before he first arrived in Jessamine County in 1996 to attend Asbury Theological Seminary.

Dear Editor, This week, Oct. 4-10, is Residents' Rights Week in Kentucky nursing homes, a week when we are reminded to pay particular attention to the rights of those who live in them. Americans enshrine basic guarantees in our national Bill of Rights. We understand we have the right to speak freely, to assemble in groups, to practice our religion. But we may not be as familiar with, nor as respectful of, the rights of those who live in long-term care settings. The focus of Residents' Rights Week is to ensure that we take those rights just as seriously as we take our freedom of speech.