"Helping Hands" Grant Provides Music and Relaxation to Dementia Patients

The Elsberry Healthcare Center recently received the prestigious “Helping Hands” award from HealthCap.

“The award is only given to four facilities each year nationwide,” said Linda Haake, Administrator of the Elsberry Healthcare Center. “It was quite an honor for our little facility.”

HealthCap is the organization that provides the facility with professional and liability insurance.

“They’re the ones that nominated us for the award,” said Haake. “They have risk managers who come out to the facility on a regular basis and when our risk manager, Joy Schultz, Nursing Home Administrator, was here last year, she nominated us for the award.”

Haake and her staff were presented with the award during a luncheon ceremony at the Missouri Healthcare Association Convention.

“We went knowing that we were going to receive some type of award, but not really knowing what it was all about,” said Haake.

Also present at the convention were LPN Kelly Millikan, the facility’s Assistant Director of Nursing, and RN Christy Kuntz, the Director of Nursing. Along with the award came a $3,000 grant that Haake said will be used for the music program that the facility has set up for its dementia patients.

“We will now be able to provide their favorite music via iPods and headphones, which we’ve learned is very relaxing for them,” said Haake.

Next Steps