S P E C T R U M H E A L T H C O M P A N I E S

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Proudly serving the communities of Aurora, Babbitt, Brainerd, Burnsville, Cook, Duluth, Ely, Eveleth, Grand Rapids, Metro/Faribault, Orr, Rochester, St. Cloud, Silver Bay and Willmar

Every needlestick and sharps injury car-ries a risk of infection from bloodborne pathogens. Yet, these exposures often have been considered “part of the job.” Health care workers primarily are ex-posed to these pathogens via contami-nated needlestick and sharps injuries. It is important that we fully understand these risks.

We can reduce preventable exposures by identifying, as a starting point, the high-est-risk procedures and devices and im-plementing the most effective control measures.

This list demonstrates how to apply the hierarchy of controls to bloodborne path-ogen hazards.

Elimination of Hazard: Substitute injec-tions by administering medications through another route, such as a tablet, inhaler or transdermal patches. Remove sharps and needles and eliminate all un-necessary injections. Other examples in-clude the elimination of unnecessary sharps like towel clips and using needle-less intravenous (IV) systems.

Engineering Controls: Use needles that retract, sheathe or blunt immediately after use.

Administrative Controls: Adopt policies aimed to limit exposure to the hazard. Examples include allocation of resources demonstrating a commitment to health care worker safety, a needlestick preven-tion committee, an exposure control plan, removing all unsafe devices and con-sistent training on the use of safe devices.

Work Practice Controls: Examples include no recapping, placing sharps containers at eye-level and at arm’s reach (remembering that most nurses are women, and some of the place-ment practices of disposal containers have not taken that into considera-tion), emptying sharps containers be-fore they’re full and establishing the means for safe handling and disposing of sharps devices before beginning a procedure.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Barriers and filters between the work-er and the hazard.

Examples include eye goggles, face shields, gloves, masks and gowns.

“Sharps Safety”, Unitedheartland.com

Submitted by Jeanne Innis, Ely CFL Assistant Executive Director

Amy Consoer, CFL-Ely’s Activity Director moved to Ely from the cities in April of 2011 and has been with Carefree since May of 2011. Many wonderful things have happened since then. Amy brings cheer with a positive encouraging attitude wherever she goes.

She has started many new things here as well as continuing the old, such as bowl-ing, frequent live music, brain games, trivia, and of course the all time favorite Bingo. One of the new things is exploring your senses. Amy uses essential oils, as well as other fragrant substances to have the residents smell and identify. Coming soon will be exploring hearing, touch, and taste. These things are so much fun as staff we want to join in too!

The different holidays and seasons bring special activities, such as hot chocolate socials on those bit-ter cold winter days, to Easter egg dying this spring.

And it doesn’t end here! She has now taken her talents to Lakeside where she has started “Amy’s Corner”. A favorite activity there is short stories. Amy reads a short story from the 20’s through the 40’s and clients share their memories from that time. Her next plan is to make fresh brown molasses bread from scratch with the residents at Lakeside. I can smell it now.

Amy frequently expresses her thankfulness to have the privilege of working for Carefree, and as her coworkers we believe it is a privilege to work with her.

Thank you for your hard work and dedication, Amy!

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MESSAGE FROM THE OWNER / CEO

Over the years, Spectrum has been committed to providing benefits that meet our current and future workforce needs. I am pleased to announce as of April 1, 2015 we will reinstate a 401k company match. For those who contribute 2% or more, Spectrum will contribute 1%.

For those not currently participating in the 401k, the following are excerpts from an article on 401k plans:

When people talk about 401(k) plans, you often hear about advantages like:

* Free money from your employer

* Lower taxable income

* The opportunity to retire and not have to worry about money anymore

Does this sound too good to be true? It isn't. It's what you can gain from investing in your company's 401(k) plan.

If retirement planning is the farthest thing from your mind, think about how much of a difference 10 years can make in the investing world. If your employer offers a 401(k) plan, it makes a lot of sense to participate in it as soon as possible. If you start early, maybe when you're 25 or so, you can very likely have a million or two (or more) in your account by the time you retire (depending on risk level). Here’s an example of a possible contribution: an employee earns $500 every two weeks. That employee participates in the 401K and has 2% of his or her salary tak-en out every two weeks (pretax). That amounts to $10. The company will then match that 2% with a 1% contribution of $5. This $15 then goes into the employee’s individual account tax free.

Free money? Let's talk about that free money from your employer. Although they aren't required to, many employers match a percentage of what their employees contribute to their 401(k) accounts. If you aren't participating in the program, you're basically leaving money lying around for someone else to pick up. It's like finding a $20 bill at the amusement park and leaving it lying on the ground.

Borrowing From Your Account - Hardship You may be thinking that you really can't afford to put 5 percent (or whatever amount) of your salary into an account you won't be able to touch until you retire. But in some 401(k) plans, you can borrow from your account in the event of an emergency. You'll pay interest, but you are paying it to yourself. (See plan documents for further details.)

Changing jobs What if you change jobs? Does that mean you have to pay the tax and penalty in order to keep your money? No. You can either:

* Keep your money in your former employer's plan

* Roll the money over into a new 401(k) plan or IRA. You do have the option of cashing out, but unless you are 59.5 you will have to pay the tax and the 10-percent penalty to the IRS.

For those who currently participate in the 401k, the 1% match will be applied automatically to those currently contributing 2%. If you are not currently participating or wish to enroll, please see administrative personnel for details. If you have investment questions, Spectrum also offers free advisory services: Scott Lichter, Christensen Group Insur-ance 952-653-1077 or slichter@christensengroup.com.

If all goes well, it is my goal to continue increasing this match. Thank you for all you do!

Merle Sampson

Merle

PreferredOne Members: Your employee assistance program (EAP) provides you and your family members with tools for confronting and overcoming life’s challenges. It’s a professional support service that offers free, confidential assistance.. They can help you by providing insights and solutions to help you: Resolve marital and relationship troubles Relieve depression, stress, and anxiety Solve parenting and child concerns Recover from drug and alcohol abuse Cope with anger, grief, and loss Overcome legal and financial problems Eliminate employee conflicts

Your EAP is included in your Preferred One health coverage, so there is no cost to you to use these services. They are available 24/7. Call

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On Thursday, February 19th, the Carefree Living in Auro-ra, MN had their Grand Opening! Over 150 visitors came to check out the new facility!

On March 13, 2015 Carefree Living Silver Bay wel-comed Dr. Jennifer Brenner and her staff from Patient Cen-tered Eye Care for a community eye care clinic. Dr. Bren-ner is a Licensed, Board-Certified and Residency Trained Geriatric Optometrist. She and her staff conducted on-site eye care for 16 of our residents which included compre-hensive exams and visual acuity and refraction evaluations with her state-of-the-art mobile equipment. They also had eyeglasses available for residents to choose from. Mobile eye care services provided by Patient Centered Eye Care cost no more than traditional eye care appointments. This was a tremendous convenience for many of our residents who are less mobile or those with family out of town. All comprehensive exam results were mailed back to us to share with our residents and their families. Dr. Brenner will be making another visit in approximately six months to continue care of our residents. We are hoping she will be able to visit other Carefree Living sites as we feel this is a wonderful benefit to our residents!

Submitted by Sue Spies, Silver Bay CFL Executive Director

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and progressive movement disor-der, meaning that symptoms continue and worsen over time. Near-ly one million people in the US are living with Parkinson’s disease. The cause is unknown, and although there is presently no cure, there are treatment options such as medication and surgery to manage its symptoms.

The specific group of symptoms that an individual experiences var-ies from person to person. Primary motor signs of Parkinson’s dis-ease include the following:

tremor of the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face bradykinesia or slowness of movement rigidity or stiffness of the limbs and trunk postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

You can help raise awareness for Parkinson’s by joining PDF Cham-pions, a group of inspiring individuals dedicated to the Parkinson's cause, educating yourself and others about the disease, donating to Parkinson’s research, and many other ways.

www.parkinsons.org

In late 1999, Michael J. Fox made the startling an-nouncement that he had been battling Parkinson's disease since 1991. In May 2000, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the devel-opment of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today." Today, the foundation is credit-ed as the world's largest nonprofit funder of drug development for Parkinson's disease.

MOVING DAY® is the National Parkinson’s Foundation Minnesota’s annual fundraising

event that unites families, friends and commu-nities in the fight against Parkinson’s Disease.

Event Information:

Saturday, May 2, 2015 Hilde Center & Park– Plymouth, MN

Registration at 9:00 am

For more details, log on to www.parkinsons.org

Aurora CFL Becky Maki Kalee Hawkings Ashley Erickson Breanna Dahl Babbitt CFL April Laulunen Burnsville CFL Inez Howard Ivory King Barnabas Getanda Cheryl Strand Charlotte Daniels Robyn Martinez Peter Nyachwaya Ely CFL Nadine Owens Emma Thompson Michael Sanchez Jessica Pikala Corporate Ashley Laurila Kayla Peterson Eveleth HC Barbara Saliski

Brainerd CFL Mercedes Doyle Becky Laflex Marcie Knotz Orr CFL Ericka Cote St. Cloud CFL Sarah Chavers Nancy Schneider Natasha Karbedeh Breanna Leary Nancy Sadlowsky Kristin Marek Rochester CFL Sean Jackson Silver Bay CFL Trisha Harrison Sylvia Dubbin Kala Maleski CFL Cook Jeanine Rutchasky Kimberly Marwick Ivette Reing

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Period Ending March 31st, 2015

Lost Time Accidents…………………………………. 0 Injury-Related Days Lost this Month……………..... 0 Injury-Related Days Lost 2015……………...…....... 0 Minor injuries Reported 2015………………..……….1

Please work safely! Lost-time injuries drive up our cost of providing quality care.

The (S)Miles Recognition Program’s purpose is designed to allow all employ-ees (or clients) to express appreciation to any Spectrum employee who exhibits performance that goes above and beyond normal expectations.

Each valid Spectrum (S)Mile is accompanied by ten Spectrum points. Employees can use their accumulated points to purchase Spectrum branded merchandise thru Spectrum’s Recognition Catalog. Please see your supervisor or administra-tive staff for more information on how to give or receive Spectrum S(Miles). This month’s Spectrum (S)Miles were awarded to: Lois Archibald, Sheila Bergman, Breanna Bristol, Yvonne Broten, Monika Brown, Nancy Carter, Shelby Claude, Ericka Cote, Brook Cote, Jan Dick-son, Christina Dirks, Debra Fremling, Kathleen Gabrielson, Danee Haen-ke, Melanie Hangartner, and Connie Harju, Julie Hogan, Kathy Jarve,

Cindy Johnson, Chelsie Kennedy, Emily Koch, Michelle Kos-nitch, Kaylee Lakoskey, Debbie Lenzen, Pam Leppanen, Jan Mahoney, Debbie Maki, Heather Manninen, Diane Moots, Jan Neuman, Bobbi O’Brien, Kris Ott, Nadine Owens, Ash-ley Penoncello, Tim Rowell, Kristy Rutchasky, Brittany Schwarz, Mary Scofield, Nicole Shusta, Harley Tuomala, Leah Undeland, Karena Weber, Carol Wenstad, Jacki Wil-sey, and Debbie Zillmer.

Thousands of (S) Miles have been given to deserving Spectrum employees since the program began in 2010.

By Linda C., St. Cloud CFL

Do you have any old wood furniture that could use a polish?

Give this a try!

3/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup vinegar

Mix well and apply with soft cloth - may need more than one application.

Linda says that this mixture is amazing! The difference on their 30

year old furniture is startling!

1 can (20 oz.) unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained 1 lb. fresh strawberries, quartered 2 cups fresh blueberries 2 cups fresh raspberries 2 medium navel oranges, peeled and sectioned 2 medium kiwis, peeled , halved, and sliced Dressing: 2 to 4Tbsp. Honey 1/2 tsp. grated lime peel 2 Tbsp. lime juice 2 tsp. poppy seeds (optional)

Our newest safety program has been a lot of fun! Our March winners are: GiGi Littler (CFL - Silver Bay), Shelly Gustafson (CFL - Burnsville), Nancy Carter (Spectrum Com-munity Health, Inc. - Eveleth), and Emily Koch (CFL - Orr)! Each winner receives $50.00 next payroll as part of our quarterly drawing. Congratulations winners!

Remember: -All employees receive one new BINGO card at the beginning of each month. Print your name on your card when you receive it.

-If a lost-time injury occurs, no numbers are posted for five days.

-In order to participate, you must be actively working. You may not mark any num-bers during absences greater than 5 days, regardless of reason.

Good Luck!

Orr Carefree Living hosted an open house March 17th. An accordion player provided enter-tainment and music for dancing. Visitors from neighboring Cook Carefree Living, also joined in! Catching up amongst the residents and fun was had by all!

Orr also recently held a BINGO luncheon on March 25th which was open to the community. Due to the positive response, they will be having another on April 23rd!