Nostalgia JohnNostalgia John (281)   Nostalgia John   How Can I Choose a Senior Facility For My Elderly Loved Ones?Posted Saturday, February 24, 2007 (1 year 135 days ago.) Viewed 1,195 times. There are the modern, comfortable sometimes even luxurious spots. Nicest places to live in their entire town or suburb! Then, there are the almost scary places that seem to want to fulfill the caricature. You expect a nurse that looks like an NFL linebacker or Miss Hannegan to emerge down the hallway. All of these places, to hear them tell it [ or to look at the website or brochure ] have the best food, the greatest medicine and the most budget wise fees in the universe. How can you discern the hype from the reality? Here are some hints from a guy who has dealt with over 1000 places, knows the nationwide companies and has observed from an objective point of view, not burdened with the decision at the times of my evaluation. I am going to give you five hints/strategies/tricks. Before I do, a word about the three highest priorities. I have no special insight on these. I recommend the National Association of Caregivers as your source with reference to the quality of medical attention.. The second priority is food. Ask to see the menu, ask to see the kitchen. That should be obvious. For cost I recommend www.newlifestyles.com. The New Lifestyles folks are my friends and they put out more than 40 regional catalogs plus have website listings for just about any geographical area you choose. They were founded by a man who faced his own decision with his Dad 20 some years ago and was distressed at the lack of info available. Bear in mind that they exist selling advertising to facilities... Nevertheless, the geographical set up will help you determine the going rates in the area in question. Now to my suggested strategies, which will put you ahead of the curve. What could be more important after those first three priorities than: Attention to Detail (professionalism) Adequate Staff Integrity TRICK #1 Make a phone call to the facility on the weekend. You will ask the name of the Activity Director and ask to be put into her voice mail. Point A: Was the phone answered in timely fashion ON THE WEEKEND? Point B: Was it answered by a human or a machine? Machines are not out of the question. They might be there to hold your call while humans are assisting previous callers. But, if the machines make it very difficult to navigate your desire for contact, what does that say for the management’s approach to detail? How well-run is a place that an out of town caller can’t make contact on a Saturday. I’m not talking 3 AM!! Point C: If you got a human, did they answer the phone professionally? Did you get a receptionist who knows what goes on or a skeleton crew nurse carrying a portable that can’t connect to a department? Are you ready for my statistics? Less than 30% of Activity Directors have email. Only about 55% have a voice mail. About 20% of the people answering the phone on the weekend don't even know who the Activity Director is. 8-12% of places I end up having to call during the week, JUST TO LEAVE MY WEBSITE OR PHONE NUMBER IN THE RIGHT PLACE!!! We are talking about the professionalism of attention to detail. How into the new century is this outfit? Are they really as modern as they claim to be? Good grief, I’ve had an answer machine at my home since 1989! Trick #2 Ask if the Activity Director drives the bus. One outstanding nationwide chain has the Activity Director drive the bus for outings, because they want their best person to be with the residents when away from the facility. BUT most such outfits are simply understaffed. So, if that strategy leaves you in a quandary ask when the residents will be playing Bingo. Show up for the Bingo. If the Activity Director is calling the Bingo numbers, she/he may be using that time to identify with residents and establish relationships. If the A/D is merely calling the numbers without turning it into such an opportunity, it’s because they are understaffed or unimaginative in the deployment of personnel. Trick #3 Look at the Activity Calendar. What outside entertainment is being brought in? The folks in the age demographic of these places grew up in the day of LIVE entertainment. Any live entertainment? Any national guys/gals like me? Anyone doing Nostalgia of any kind? The best facilities actually-really-do what they call Nostalgia Therapy. They recognize that memories are at least as important as the present for these folks whose future is well, you know. That sounds like I am biassed and overrate the importance of what I do. But even if the budget is such that it’s all volunteer entertainment…what are the volunteers doing? Their own thing? Throwing a movie into the VCR? Or genuninely connecting wiht the age group? Trick #4 Go to an entertainment session that is not in-house. Is the Activity Director there? If she can’t be, has it been delegated to some other evaluator? OR, do they just use the time when an outsider comes in to take a coffee break? I come from 1000 miles away, I bug ‘em to have me back, I charge prices that are not high but take into account travel expenses. HALF, that’s right, HALF do not have anyone there to evaluate me. If you want to talk about my weekend performances, it’s 4 out of 5 that don’t rearrange schedules [with 4-8 months advance notice] to have someone there to get a feel for what I give the residents. Trick #5 Integrity? Believe it or not, I get stiffed about ten times a year. I also have several cases each year where the Activity Director who booked me has left without passing along info for the successor, not even to the manager. I showed up at one place on a Sunday, having driven an hour and a half to my only gig that day. They had no idea what I was doing there. They had none of the paperwork I had sent. Didn’t care I had made a final confirmation call less than 30 days earlier. Didn’t let me perform. If you don’t want you deal with people like that or those who don’t pay their bills, go to my website at www.ijklmnopq.com and send me an email with the names of the facilities you are considering. I don’t give out a list of those who have cheated me, but I’ll clue you in if you are considering that place. On a more positive note, I know most of the National Companies or if you are searching in a geographical location I’ve travelled, I’d be happy to give you recommendations. At Your Service Nostalgia John 
Permalink Comments (1) Is There Competitive Imbalance In Major League Baseball Because of Money?Posted Wednesday, February 07, 2007 (1 year 152 days ago.) Viewed 119 times. In most controversies, ignorance rules the day. 3-divisional set-ups have resulted in expanded playoffs since 1995. The Yankees won a trifecta from 1998-2000, outspending rivals by huge margins. Prior to the second season of that triple victory a Philadelphia sportswriter wrote that 7 "smaller market teams had no chance of playoff hopes." So runs the surface argument. Here are the facts. In 1998, the winning Yankees were NOT the highest spending team, even in their division. Yes, thery were second, but 5 other ML teams were within 20% of them and the leading [and losing] Orioles. In 1999, they outspent the O’s by 7 million. It was another year when 7 teams at the top were within 20% of each other. Those 7 "smaller market teams" identified by the sportswriter would, over the next 4 seasons, win one World Series, have two others combine for 6 playoffs and two more compete in the last weeks of the regular for a playoff spot. The other two have not, to date, been winning teams. To not be competitive for 8 seasons, while others in the same circumstances, pass them up (Like the Tigers and Twins) is NOT caused by the big spenders. In 2000, the Yanks outspent everybody but now there were 8 teams within 20%. That year set an historical record for parity. Never before had every team finished above a 400 winning percentage while no team finished above 599. NEVER. In the American League, the margin was even narrower 586-426. The huge spending Yankees were World Series winners but 5 th in the AL in victories during the regular season. From 2001-2006 there have been 6 different World Series Winners, one that had never been in a series before, and Two that hadn’t won since World War One. Another team that hadn’t ever been to the fall classic got there and lost. AND that review does not even count the Diamondbacks of 2001 who had only been in existence 3 previous seasons. Three of the winners were wild cards and three other wild cards were in the final round. While it is impossible to compare formats, it still can be said that Baseball has never seen –NEVER-such an even playing field and a more democratic spread. Those six World Series winners have come, in order, from the NL West, AL West, NL East, AL East, AL Central, NL Central. Every division has taken a turn. Yet, this is in the face of the Yankees’ spending margin going off the charts. Only one team now spends within 30% of the Bronx bombers. They have only two World Series losing appearances to show for it. After the 2001 season, the MLB top brass complained that player compensation had increased 113%. They did not mention that revenues had increased 134% in the same six year period. CONCLUSION: The only competitive imbalance that there is ANY evidence for is in the American League East where the Yankees and Red Sox can spend and spend. At that: The Bluejays broke the string of 1-2 finishes for those two clubs in 2006, meaning that the wild card is plausible for them in the next few years. One team is managed in a fashion that would have them finishing last in any division. Yes, the Orioles are to be pitied Otherwise, there is more threat that mediocrity has too easy a time in unprecedented parity than that a dominator can crush hopes in April. I am indebted to the Doug Pappas article in the 2004 Baseball Prospectus for the impetus and all of the content through the 2003 season for this research.
Permalink Comments (0) What Do I Do If My Anniversary and Valentine's Are Close On The CalendarPosted Monday, February 05, 2007 (1 year 154 days ago.) Viewed 53 times. My wife loves to open packages. No, not corrugated boxes full of styrofoam. Pretty little packages..gifts. Her birthday is only 6 days from Christmas. So, here's an idea I once assembled. Those of you who have February anniversaries can adapt this to the dilemma of Valentine's Day being nearby. It was her 30th birthday. So I wrapped 30 presents and gave her a schedule of 5 per day 3 hours apart over the 6 days between the birthday and Christmas. No, each one was not a Diamond or a Cadillac or a trip to Bermuda. I didn't spend more than I would otherwise have for a milestone birthday. I won't mention all of them to you but there was a breakfast one day, a lunch another, a dinner another. There was a series of gift certificates to a favorite shopping haunt. They started at $5 but got progressivlely higher until she really had some buying power. I didn't do foods or treats other than the restaurants but for Valentine's you could do that. The core idea is to be progressive. You don't want 30 same-same experiences. To build anticipation, each category gets better each time. For Valentine's you could even do something that wasn't in my repertoire. That would be the mingling of cards/heartfelt messages. I also would encourage you to use your sense of humor in some of the selections, because your wife will get to tell the whole story to her Aunt and her sister! But the bottom line will always be that you put a lot of thought into it. That will distinguish you from the standard husband who buys the standard gift. Wives, the cutesy part and the repeated openings doesn't apply to you and I would never presume to give specific advice to a gal on gifts for a husband: but the core idea is the same. Spread out the presentations Make it progressive and anticipatory Make a big deal out of it because that makes a big deal out of your spouse.
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