Photos and article submitted by Lisa Bloomquist, Activities Director for North Shore Health

June 29, 2020

WOW is all I have to say! We don’t have to wonder anymore when things will start to change. We don’t have to wonder when we will be able to see our loved ones. We received great news recently at the Care Center and across Minnesota which has caused excitement for residents and family alike.   We are now able to have outdoor patio visits.

Life still goes on. We have almost Daily Manna’s provided by Bethlehem Lutheran Church for those who would like it. Residents are learning some fun facts. The Perk has interesting facts about each particular day. Did you know there is a National something every day?  Did you know that Sea Turtles can be found in every ocean except for the Artic and cannot tuck into their shells? Lucky for them they have few predators. Did you know pineapple juice is great for tenderizing meat? Supposedly pineapples take almost 3 years to reach maturity and a single plant can only produce one pineapple at a time. I told the residents today there will be a test tomorrow (and they thought their testing days were over!)

Life goes on, but so does death. I think I can speak for most if not all of our staff at North Shore Living that the people living here are not our residents. They are our family. When they pass away a piece of our heart goes with them. There is a hole left in our hearts where the love, care and compassion for them once was. When your heart hurts by losing a family member know that ours hurt too. Recently family members Ed Olson, Ione Jones and Joyce Krueger, who all lived on the same hall, passed away within a few weeks of each other. Can you imagine losing three family members within a month? There is a whole new transition from loving and caring on those who left to those who come in.

Life goes on and so there’s food and fun. We had rocky road ice cream cones on National Rocky Road Ice Cream day and iced tea and lemon bars for our birthday party in June on National Iced Tea day. We celebrated Father’s day with root beer floats and men who were able had a tasty treat of a steak dinner. We have Happy Hour every Friday and Hall Way Bingo twice a week. We have been enjoying sitting out on the patio soaking up the sun and receiving fresh flowers from people’s gardens.

We are thankful for a couple of beauticians who have started coming in to style a few ladies hair. These ladies are fitting us in to their already busy schedules. We are looking for a licensed beautician to help with more residents. If you or someone you know is interested in spending time loving on our elders by styling their hair call the Activity Department.

We still enjoy FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype with our families. Please call the Activity Department at  387-3518 to schedule these appointments.

OUTDOOR PATIO VISITS: A receptionist will help you make an appointment to visit a resident by calling 218-387-3040 ext. 0. You need to call at least a day ahead to schedule a visit. No same day visits. Visits are every day on the hour for 45 minutes. The first visit of the day is at 10 am. Visits continue at 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm, 3 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm. Be aware of the weather as we will not have outdoor visits in the rain. On the day of your visit you need to screen in at the hospital main entrance. You will be given a pass with a map and instructions. Please bring a face mask or one will be provided for you that you will take with you. You must stay six feet away from the resident. No pets at this time. You can schedule two visits per week. Hand sanitizer is provided both at screening and in the outdoor patio area.

I want to thank the staff at North Shore Living for all the help them have been giving me while we look for the right person to help in the Activity Department. It was nursing assistant appreciation week last week, but I appreciate you every day. You don’t go unnoticed. You are very much appreciated!

To our family, friends and volunteers we can’t wait until we can spend time with you again. We hope you have been enjoying your summer. Thank you for all the flowers and mail we have been receiving. Please keep sending cards.

The family patio visits we have had on our first few days were fantastic! You could feel the excitement in the air and we did have an impromptu courtyard music visit from Harris Mills which we so much enjoyed this past Saturday. Thank you Harris.