News of Barclay Friends' Residents and Staff

Applying Horticulture to Healing—Pathway to Wellness

Paula Swearingen, HTR, Horticultural Therapist at Barclay Friends, joined her colleagues from the Mid-Atlantic region to educate the public about her profession at the 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show.  In keeping with this year's theme, "Passport to the World", the Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network is demonstrating how horticultural therapy is delivered across the world, to promote health and well-being in a variety of settings and with a variety of people.  The horticultural therapy program at Barclay Friends was featured, along with dozens of other programs from across the world, in a media presentation within the display.The Mid-Atlantic Horticultural Therapy Network received an Award of Distinction in the Non-academic Educational category for their display which included vertical garden beds, raised planters, and adaptive tools used to make gardening easier for people who have had a stroke or those who have arthritis.

2009 CREATIVE ART AWARD PRESENTED TO WOOLMAN RESIDENT

Barclay Friends' employees Vaughn, Recreation and Arts Associate, and Carol, Executive Director, recently presented the 2009 Creative Arts Award of the Pennsylvania Activity Professional Association to Jack, a Woolman resident at Barclay Friends, who is shown holding his plague in the photo. Submissions from residents of the 260 member communities were judged for this top honor which was announced at the Pennsylvania Activity Professional Association awards ceremony in State College in October.

CERTIFIED WOUND CARE SPECIALIST

Barclay Friends is one of the few facilities in this area to have a Registered Nurse who is a Certified Wound Care Specialist on staff. The National Alliance of Wound Care® (NAWC®) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the advancement and promotion of excellence in wound care through the certification of wound care practitioners. Certification provides an added credential beyond licensure and demonstrates by examination that the practitioner has acquired a core body of specialized knowledge. In addition, certification promotes consumer protection and confers peer and public recognition to those individuals who prove proficient in their practice.

WOOLMAN RESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN "GOING GREEN" ART EXHIBIT

Jack, a Woolman resident, and Karen examine Jack’s WWII tank made to scale of all recycled materials and exhibited for the Exton Square Mall’s “Going Green” theme at the Chester County Art Association’s Exton Square Studio where Karen is the Exhibit Coordinator.

NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY

Sponsored by the Wellness Program, Barclay Friends employees and families wore red on National Wear Red Day to help spread the message, "Heart Disease Doesn't Care What You Wear---It's the #1 Killer of Women."

KENDAL OUTREACH RECEIVES TWO GRANTS TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM CARE PROGRAMS

Kendal Outreach, LLC (Kennett Square, Pennsylvania) has received two grants to improve nurse leadership and reduce restraint use in Pennsylvania long-term care facilities. The first grant, a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration, supports a leadership training program for directors of nursing and registered nurse leaders at Delaware Valley-area, Pennsylvania, nursing homes, according to an August 14, 2009 press release. The training program will be provided in collaboration with Widener University (Chester, Pennsylvania). Barclay Friends’ Director of Nursing and our Certified Wound Care Specialist will be attending this training program. 

The second grant, from the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare, will extend the Pennsylvania Restraint Reduction Initiative (PRRI) through June 30, 2010, according to an August 5, 2009 press release. PRRI, initiated in 1996, has resulted in a 90% reduction in restraint use among Pennsylvania long-term care facilities from 1996 to 2008.

BARCLAY FRIENDS TO STUDY IMPROVING HOME BASED SERVICES IN THE GREATER WEST CHESTER AREA

Kendal Charitable Funds approved a grant in the amount of $9,000 for Barclay Friends to conduct a feasibility study regarding home and community based services provision in greater West Chester. Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) can reduce older adults’ concern about changes as they age. HCBS allows older adults to remain in the security of their own homes with the support of new technology. Rapidly changing technology is creating tools to make HCBS more practical in today’s society.

The Chester County Department of Aging Services recognizes personal care as a key service for homebound seniors. Their survey results have concluded there is only a 60% adequacy. This grant will provide some of the necessary funds for the feasibility study to determine a role for Barclay Friends in solving the current shortage. Barclay Friends is experienced in providing senior health care services and is approved to handle respite waivers through the Pennsylvania Department of Aging for skilled nursing. "Barclay Friends is committed to a contemporary approach incorporating current and future trends in the senior healthcare provider field,” states Carol Hanson, Executive Director of Barclay Friends. “The aging process can be more comfortably handled in a home environment that has been adapted to individual care by means of home-friendly equipment and visiting personnel.” Hanson adds, "Needs have been identified in our area and there is a lack of sufficient service providers to address these needs. Because Barclay Friends has 116 years of experience and current licensing we are poised to meet these needs in our community."
Barclay Friends, an affiliate of The Kendal Corporation, provides residential, assisted living, skilled and long term nursing care in a state-of-the-art community. The longevity and experience of Barclay Friends brings confidence and trust to the relationship between care provider and the community.

Kendal Charitable Funds was established in 1989 to raise and expend funds in support of the charitable purposes of The Kendal Corporation and its affiliates, including many outreach efforts. Those served by Kendal organizations and their boards and staffs, together with the wider constituency, support various funds for resident and member financial assistance, reaching out into the wider world, and enhancing diversity of those served.