They usually leave empty-handed. Schmidt isn't sure. Some of it has to do with being in a small town where most people know each other. And because of Schowalter Villa's ties to the Mennonite Church, many of its employees consider caring for the elderly to be an extension of their Christian mission. Instead of working with a different set of residents every day, they stay with the same group.
Workers get to know the residents, and vice versa.
And instead of nursing assistants only being told what to do, they're included in the meetings in which residents' health-care issues are discussed. Nurses coordinate health-care services affecting residents. Nursing assistants handle the daily chores of helping residents bathe, dress, eat and exercise. Bedsworth and Schmidt were reluctant to talk about Schowalter Villa's success because they haven't spent much time in other nursing homes, making it difficult to know what they do that the others don't. The nursing home will always be there for those who need it, Schmidt said, but the future lies with helping people stay healthy longer.