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St. John’s Lutheran Community is showing appreciation to its dedicated staff by holding special events throughout the week for National Skilled Nursing Care Week.
Christina Farris, St. John’s life enrichment director, said this is a yearly event that people have come to look forward to.

St. John’s has many workers in the skilled nursing care branch, she said. These include nurses, nurse managers and certified nursing assistants. However, she also wants to show appreciation to other staff members, such as housekeeping, cooks, maintenance workers, caregiver assistants, social workers and more.

It takes a lot of positions to make the world go round, she said.

Kathy Woodside, director of marketing and public relations, said because St. John’s is people’s home, they need to provide everything a person would need from meals to personal care and other necessities.

“It’s a huge thing for families to put trust in other people to care for their loved ones,” Farris said. “Appreciating that the staff is providing that care and making the connections and not just here to do a job. It would not run well if people were here to just check things off a list, but we have so many staff who care a lot about the residents and tenants in each area.”

Farris said St. John’s has a week packed with fun themed days and activities for both staff and residents at both campuses.

The week kicked off Sunday with dress in florals day in honor of Mother’s Day. This continued Monday with bright colors day.

On Tuesday, staff were invited to dress up as their favorite character, and there was a happy hour with mocktails for them to enjoy.

It’s a great bonding activity between staff and residents, Farris said.

Today there will be a cheesecake bar and entertainment. Thursday will be sports day, and the week will close Friday as residents and staff wear tie-dye and eat bomb pops together.

This gives staff a chance to get out of wearing their typical scrubs, said Farris.

“When people see you dressed up, it just makes them smile,” she said.

In addition to the themed days, residents and staff are also invited to stop at the letter writing station set up in the hallway at the Fountain Lake campus and write to a friend or loved one. There is also a timeline set up in the hall for people to write down and commemorate special dates in their lives.

“It’s a good way for residents and staff to interact and have fun together,” said Woodside. “They work really hard, and I think they don’t sometimes get the credit they deserve and so this is a good reason to showcase them and to celebrate them together with the residents.”

Woodside added she would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who works in the skilled nursing care field, not just those who work at St. John’s. It can be a thankless job, she said, so she wants people to know that they are seen and appreciated.