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Hal L. offered our invocation and introduced our Student Guests from M State, Amelia Olson, Ariana Aranda and Kyle Tierney. Kyle spoke first and is a sophomore from Henning involved in choir, band and theatre, with his professional goal to become a choir teacher. Arianda is originally from Hitterdal while Amelia is from Fergus Falls; both are freshman and also members of the choir. Amelia intends to become a nurse. Pictured below, left to right: Amelia, Arianda, Kyle and our fearless President.  The slate of officers and board members published in the prior e-Rounds were elected to office and there was a Rotary Minute Quiz based on last week's program and those Rounds; alas, only one of three questions was answered correctly. Randy K. talked to us about needing volunteers to work the Rotary speech tournament at the high school on Saturday January 27th, reminding President Zack he is to present the trophies at the awards ceremony. Lisa M. let us know volunteering at the United Way won't resume in January but maybe in February as it is advertising for an executive director. Tim H. led off brags and fines to pay a scooter buck and to express his appreciation for the students at M State, as did Hal L (as to the students), describing the school as one of the finest resources in our town. This writer thanked all of those who were willing to be nominated as an officer or board member for the coming Rotary year. Josh B. paid for missing the last two meetings and told us that the Salvation Army came within 10% of its bell ringing fundraising goal. Dean Monke, who serves on PioneerCare's Board of Directors, and Steve Guttormson, its Marketing Director, were our program. Dean (who has been on its Board for seven years) and Steve talked about the entity's new capital campaign. If two million dollars is raised, the State will allow PioneerCare to access a cost reimbursement formula that will result in it receiving one million dollars a year going forward. As a historical reminder, the campaign to construct its new facility started in 2009 and the move-in date was May of 2011; a lobbying effort to qualify for new reimbursement rates from the State was of no avail until it was agreed that PioneerCare would first have to raise two million dollars for additional capital improvements. The co-chairs of the campaign our Dean Monke, Paul Nelson and Patty Lindholm. Currently the skilled nursing facility is licensed for 105 beds but currently only has staffing for 85 to 90 beds and was at one time down to 74 beds. Workforce shortages are a challenge and one thing PioneerCare recently did was to raise the starting hourly rate for certified nursing assistants to $20 an hour. Both classroom and on-line training for that position is now available, including a program offered at our high school. The annual budget for PioneerCare was approximated to be fifteen million dollars. Dean talked about his mother being at PioneerCare for two-and-a-half years during COVID and how she didn't want to be there but due to physical limitations, including being wheelchair bound, it was by far the best place for her. The improvements to be made include a place where friends and family can visit with a resident in a room (with its own entrance) accessible to another room with separate ventilation, heating, etc., to deal with any future pandemic. Eight rooms that are now set up for two occupants will be turned into 16 private rooms with added bathrooms. In addition, what were originally designed as activity spaces that were cannibalized into offices will be returned to activity spaces and a new activity space will be added on the second floor (where most of the residents live) and it will likely be the gathering space for the baking club residents recently organized. There will be a glass wall constructed between the conference room and the waterfall feature to lessen the impact of noise from the latter for those meeting in the former. The plans had to be submitted to the State Health Department so it could verify that all planned improvements will be for the direct benefit of the residents. The architect working on the project is on a national board for new nursing home construction. The campaign will take place over the next six months with pledges to be paid over a three-year time span, with renovations to commence by August of 2024. An SBA loan with a lower interest rate is likely to be sought. A brochure on the project, entitled "Securing the Future" was handed out, with an envelope addressed to the PioneerCare Foundation at 1131 Mabelle Avenue So. You can find the donation form and make a donation on-line at pioneercare.org/foundation. |
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