Larsen Pavilion Resident Council Meeting, Notes from January 8, 2009

SHELL POINT RESIDENTSÕ COUNCIL
Regular Meeting - Social Center
February 4, 2009

ATTENDANCE BY COURT:

ArborEarl Mallick
CameoRussel Peters
CellanaBob Foote, Alternate for Gayle Richardson - Send Minutes to Bob Foote
CoquinaGene Loughran
Eagles PreserveJerry Ingalls
Harbor CourtJoan Perry
JunoniaHarriet Reese
KingÕs CrownAbsent
LakewoodBill Davis
LucinaWarren Goodell
MacomaPat Straup
NautilusMike Klein
OakmontBill Lanpher
Palm AcresTed Rodgers
ParkwoodDonald Miltner
PavilionMary Fountain, Alternate for William Staple - Send Minutes to William Staples
PeriwinkleGrayce Gore
RosemontRichard Maas
Royal BonnetSylvia Chamberlin, Alternate for Carol Palermo - Send Minutes to Carol Palermo
Sand DollarMargaret Richmond
SundialJoyce Crone - Alternate for Chris Gooden - Send Minutes to Chris Gooden
TellidoraNancy McDowell
TurbanDick Rockstroh


 

CALL TO ORDER AND OPENING PRAYER

 

Chairman Dick Rockstroh called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m. and Bill Lanpher offered the opening prayer.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Chairman Rockstroh announced that Teri Kollath, Manager of the Academy and Volunteer Services, reminded Volunteers to turn in their ÒVolunteer HoursÓ for service by the end of this week at either Service Desk in the Woodlands or the Island.  If additional forms are needed, they may also be obtained by either Service Desk.

 

ROLL CALL OF COURT REPRESENTATIVES

 

The roll was called with those present listed above.

 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JANUARY 7, 2009, RESIDENTSÕ COUNCIL MEETING AND APPROVAL OF AGENDA FOR TODAY

 

On motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously passed, the Minutes of January 7, 2009, were approved as submitted.  The Proposed Agenda for the ResidentsÕ Council for February 4, 2009, was distributed to each Court Representative present, and on motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously passed was approved.

 

STAFF REMARKS

 

TIM FICKER

 

Peter Dys, is out of town and sends his regrets for his inability to attend this meeting.

 

Mr. Ficker announced that as of this date the amount of $6,945 has been collected by United Way.  The campaign runs through March 1.

 

Notification from CARF-CCAC regarding the recent Assessment of Shell Point has been received.  Mr. Ficker read, in part, a letter Shell Point received from the President of that Association:  ÒSHELL POINT RETIREMENT COMMUNITY HAS ACHIEVED ACCREDITATION FROM CARF-CCAC AS A CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY, PERSON CENTERED LONG-TERM CARE COMMUNITY: DEMENTIA CARE SPECIALTY PROGRAM, AND PERSON CENTERED  LONG-TERM  CARE: STROKE SPECIALTY PROGRAM.Ó  All requested certifications were received. This accreditation is for a 5-year term through January 2014 with annual demonstration of conformance to the standards and the policies and procedures required to retain accreditation.  

 

Mr. Ficker thanked all those who contributed to and were involved in this almost 9-month long process.  The Assessors looked at 1,389 standards while they were here.  Shell Point is the FIRST retirement facility in the country to receive the Stroke Specialty accreditation. 

 

It is important to note that Shell Point received EXEMPLARY results in numerous areas, including (1) faith-based philosophy; (2) well-organized corporate compliance program;  (3) established employees incentive program; (4) medical office well-staffed by multiple physicians, a nurse practitioner, as well as on-site pharmacy services and weekly specialty physicians on site; also supported by the Hospice Program and a variety of medical services on site here;  (5) Chaplain with health-care background adds a special depth to the overall dementia program;  (6) Hurricane Shelter for nursing home population as well as for all residents of Shell Point, and is unique for this area.

 

These are the ones officially recognized as exemplary, but there are additional areas recommended as exemplary and Shell Point awaits explanation on those.

 

Shell Point should take pride in this accreditation.  CARF-CCAC will recognize this accomplishment in its listing of accredited organizations.  Shell Point will make this accomplishment known throughout the community as it will promote and distinguish Shell Point. Lynn Schneider, Assistant VP of Marketing and Communications and her team have already begun a multi-faceted program to communicate within our organization and throughout the community and throughout the association countrywide.

 

There are an additional 15 very detailed recommendations to which we have 90 days to respond.  The Accreditation is not hinged on these recommendations, but CARF-CCAC wants some efforts which are very detail oriented to be addressed.  When that action plan is in place, it will be communicated to the Shell Point community.

 

The Chair congratulated all the employees of Shell Point – staff and management, as well as all of the resident volunteers who contributed to all that being done. 

 

Mr. Ficker stated CARF-CCAC was very impressed with the Auxiliary at Shell Point.

 

CARF-CACC indicated that its national marketing office would be in touch with Shell Point since it is the FIRST IN THE COUNTRY to achieve the Stroke Care Accreditation and it wants to use materials and use Shell Point as an example to encourage others to pursue the same thing.  We are the FIRST IN THE COUNTRY to receive all four certifications. 

 

Tim Lochridge, VP of Finance CFO asked Mr. Ficker to present the following information:

 

1.             Attached to the February 2009 Statement will be the information regarding the Medical Deduction for 2008.  The amount is 33.6% of the maintenance fees.

 

2.             The March 2009 Statement will contain AD VALOREM notification.  In all cases, there will be decreases from last yearÕs figure of between 1% - 7%.

 

On February 19 - 20 there will be a Shell Point Board Meeting.  The Quarterly Resident Meeting will be held on February 20th at 2:45 p.m. in the Village Church.  The Board of Directors will be present at this Quarterly Meeting and one of the Directors will speak at this meeting.

 

There have been numerous occasions where residents have taken it upon themselves to make enhancements to their buildings and/or apartment exteriors.  There are very specific guidelines about this.  It is strictly forbidden.  In the event Court Representatives see or hear of these activities or anything that is questionable, please advise the resident to stop activities and then inform Scott Moore. These actions could negate a warranty, Hurricane Code, and so forth; could be very costly; and could cause problems down the road.  There is a process in place to review and evaluate changes.  If there is something that management can approve, it will work with the resident, subcontractors, and vendors.  There is an up-charge because after the change, Shell Point is responsible for maintaining, replacing, removing the changes and dealing with the vendors, including warranty issues.  In most cases, because of managementÕs expertise in negotiating transactions, it is able to obtain a lesser cost to the resident before adding the up-charge. 

 

The Dining Services Group, under Al SlickersÕ direction, has been initiating quite a few changes in the past year, including a greater variety, different type of food and menu items; different types of services; speed of delivery, etc.  We are trying to accommodate as much as possible because it is hoped that as many residents as possible will participate at some level in Shell PointÕs dining program.  Most of the recent changes have occurred at the Crystal Dining Room:  Sunday - Brunch from 10 – 2; Monday – Baked Potato Bar, includes a variety of toppings, salad bar, soup; Tuesday – Carved Turkey Special; Wednesday – Pasta Bar, 4 – 7 P.M.; Thursday – Lite and Healthy, 4 – 7 – indicates nutritional content of foods including calories, etc.; Friday – Seafood Buffet, 4 – 7;  Saturday – Pizza, 11 A.M. – 2 P.M. which includes salad bar, soup.   The Passport Plans can be used in all these programs.                   The Promenade CafŽ at the Woodlands is now open until 7p.m. and serves after-dinner desserts, including ice cream and pies.   Questions regarding dining services should be directed to Al Slickers. 

 

Mr. Ficker reported that this week Shell Point is conducting its first Employee Satisfaction Survey.  An outside firm has been contracted to come in to conduct the survey.  There will be 33 sessions for all three shifts.  Results should be received within the next 4-6 weeks.  

 

STEVE MINNIEAR

 

Mr. Minniear stated that he is incredibly proud of all the work Sherry Brown and her team and Rita Southern and her team did and all of those involved in Health Care and also the Auxiliary who were part of that whole project regarding the CARF-CCAC survey which required thousands of hours of time that went into preparing for the regular and special accreditations.   

 

Health Care is booming!  The Arbor is full and has no openings.  KingÕs Crown has two units available; Larsen Pavilion has 182 residents which is near the highest census in the last 6 years.  There are currently 15-18 beds available in the Pavilion.  Of those 182, there are presently 42 Medicare residents and we actually had budgeted for 24 Medicare.  We are seeing the results of that first 5 Star rating and now when this accreditation is publicized, we expect even more interest in the Pavilion.  There are 40 beds on the first floor rehab unit; and we are taking care of some Medicare residents on other floors which works fine as the entire building is certified for this purpose.  Fifteen of those 42 residents are not Shell Point folks and they are bringing in approximately $200,000 in gross revenue per month.  This helps offset costs that might have had to be passed on to Shell Point residents.  There will consistently be available beds for Shell Point residents in the Pavilion.   The current staff has been stretched about as far as it can, but we have 16 new staff members starting today.      

 

We have eliminated most of the agency personnel via an initiative which started in July.  There are very minimal agency hours this past month in KingÕs Crown; all others have been agency free for several months.  Significant dollars have been saved in this area.  Although approximately half a million dollars was budgeted for this, actual expenditure should be under $25,000 for the fiscal year.  Mr. Minniear again praised the members of the Auxiliary for their invaluable help on a daily basis. 

 

The KingÕs Crown had their biennial survey several weeks ago and did very well.  There were a few minor deficiencies related to labeling issues and pharmacy issues, but nothing related to patient care.  Re-survey will occur in approximately 2 weeks to 30 days.  The Arbor and Pavilion are still in the survey window and could be having their surveys sometime soon.      

 

A Pet Policy meeting for pet owners and anyone else interested in hearing what is discussed is scheduled on February 13th from 10-11a.m. at the Village Church.   A pet Policy synopsis was distributed to all present.  Vendors of pet carriers will be present to display items available to pet owners for convenience in carrying their pets. 

 

The Court Representatives received a notice about prescriptions for the Pavilion and assisted living facilities.  It was not intended for bulletin board posting.  Several suggestions were made to make the notice easier to read: identify the sender, and perhaps send to all residents.    

 

LYNN SCHNEIDER

 

Lynn Schneider reported on the Communications Update, including: 

 

Internet and E-Communication

 

Lynn commented on Sales efforts regarding folks who would like to move to Shell Point, but the real estate market is a problem.  Shell Point is trying to stay in touch with folks who have expressed a high degree of interest in learning more about Shell Point and Shell Point has instituted an email newsletter of approximately 1,000 per month to people who have asked for them.  The newsletter contains information about Sales matters, contracts, concert series, upcoming speakers, and activities that people from outside Shell Point can attend.  It is brief and informative and they have had good success with it so far. 

 

Sales Website – www.shellpoint.org

 

In January 2009 there were 6,042 visits to the .org site.  There were also 50,000 impressions with Google ad words and 2009 clicks and 32,317 impressions with Yahoo ads and 221 clicks.  Folks searching for ÒRetirement Communities in Southwest FloridaÓ, for example, will find Shell Point listed as the feature in the top box at the list of responses to that query.  The dollar amount spent on this program is very low and it is resulting in a large number of leads.         The Sales website is currently being redesigned and the new design will be posted in early March at the latest.   The Website contains Sales information, pricing information, resident testimonials, the 5 Star rating, and concert series and things of that nature.  

 

 

 

Resident Website  - www.shellpoint.net

 

In January 2009 there were 6,178 visits to the .net site.  The Resident Website requires more work because it requires daily updates.  There is information about Shell Point changes every day; menus changes, concert and activities information. 

 

In the hopes of enhancing resident satisfaction, several months ago the Resident library searchable database, which is user friendly was added which required a lot of work on the part of the librarians –  thank Marilyn and her crew; and Jason Powers, Webmaster, spent many, many hours getting this website up. Responding to the many requests of residents a Poetry and Prose Section has been added to this website which also includes musings and memoirs.  Residents are encouraged to utilize this section. 

 

Concert Series information and dining information are also on this Website.  All monthly issues of Shell Point Life are included.  When you are out of town, you can go to this website and see Shell Point Life. 

 

We are currently exploring ideas for inter-active sections such as crossword puzzles, ask the doctor, blogging, etc. and would love to hear from residents regarding ideas for this section. 

 

Shell Point Television – SPTV

 

We are currently fully staffed:  Jared Pike, Dan Philgreen and Zachary Speights are totally committed to what we are doing.  Many improvements have been implemented since the August 2008 hiatus, including sets, some equipment, rotation of hosts, improved performance, better technical and improved story content.  Residents are encouraged to tune in to Shell Point Television. 

 

Shell Point has 4 television channels:

                 

                  --Channel 10 – Low Vision: Reading the Shell Point Life Magazine

                  --Channel 11 – Shell Point Today

                  --Channel 12 – The Village Church Services

                  --Channel 13 – Upcoming Message and Information Channel;

 

Currently we are considering what should be added and what is not currently in use. Closed Captioning is not possible at this time; the cost is prohibitive. ACCESS TO SHELL POINT TELEVISION IS NOW AVAILABLE TO EVERY RESIDENT ON-LINE.  GO TO:  www.shellpoint.net/shellpointtoday.  USER ID:  spcommunity    PASSWORD: sptoday.  This is available to every Shell Point resident and can be accessed on the computer.  It will contain ÒCurrent ShowÓ (todayÕs show) and ÒPrevious ShowÓ (previous dayÕs show); and the Resident Quarterly Meeting which is on until it is replaced by the next meeting.

 

 

 

Shell Point Life Magazine 

 

Shell Point Life continues to be well received and all input from residents is greatly appreciated.   Three thousand five hundred copies are printed each month and go to all residents.  Approximately 800+ are currently being distributed by mail to people who have requested them as well as key influencers throughout our region, including wait list; depositors who have not moved in as yet; doctors; politicians in the area; business leaders, etc.  Back issues are currently available for residents to mail to family and/or friends who might be interested in moving to Shell Point.  Recently resident submitted names of about 30 people who wanted to receive Shell Point Life and two of them have already contacted Shell Point for Sales material.  Please contact your Sales Counselor at the Welcome Center and provide name and address and Shell Point will mail it for you.

 

Additional Newsletters to KingÕs Crown, Arbor, and Pavilion

 

If you are highly active in any of those buildings, if you have story ideas, photographs, or content, contact the person in your building who coordinates that and let them know.  We would love to make improvements there as well.

 

Miscellaneous Items

 

We will try to add Prescription Drug information you received in this monthÕs magazine and recap the Pet Policy information in an article in Shell Point Life.

 

The history of Shell Point has not been published in book form in an effort to conserve budget; however, there are a number of things that could be done:

 

                                    --Provide History as a PDF document that people could print;

                                    --Email it as a document

                                    --Post it on shellpoint.net for people who want to access it, but donÕt want                                                          an actual book.

                                   

No consideration has been given at this time to doing a book reprint because of the expense.  Ms. Schneider said that she was open to suggestions if people want that as a document, how we might be able to do it in a very cost effective way.  If there were really a lot of people who wanted it to pre-order, we could consider doing a reprint of the entire history – old and new information.  They are currently writing an expanded version for archival purposes, taking all the chapters and adding more detail so that in the future it is all written and it will be maintained every year and updated.  Please contact Lynn Schneider with any suggestions.

                 

A discussion followed regarding Shell Point Television availability to Palm Acres residents, including certain programs that are not available to those residents.    The Quarterly Meeting is online so Palm Acres residents can access that program.  Again, please submit suggestions to Lynn Schneider.  By the end of this month, weekend broadcasts will be available for one-hour shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday which will recap the highlights of the week.

 

There will be no Open House this year.  Sales seminars of approximately 30 people are being held twice each week for the next 3-4 months rather than 1,000+ people on one day.  These folks are given a specific tour of the community.  Get your friends and acquaintances to attend one of these seminars.  It is part of the Sales process this season.  Depending on the economy next year, perhaps there will be an Open House. 

 

SCOTT MOORE

 

Mr. Moore distributed to those present Òbullet pointsÓ regarding the highlights of Direct TV.  This memorandum is not for posting.  It is for Court RepresentativesÕ information only and to prepare them to discuss this matter once the word is out about it. If any resident has an interest in upgrading their service, they should call 454-2190, and a representative at the Call Center will arrange for the resident to talk to the representative at Direct TV.   Some residents have already contacted a representative of Direct TV. 

 

There will be a one time charge of $475 which goes towards Shell Point infrastructure.  This will follow residents around Shell Point so if you transfer, for example, to assisted living, you will not be required to pay this fee again. 

 

The satellite dish will be installed on those buildings in which residents have requested Direct TV.  There will be one per building, identified as ÒCommunity DishÓ, to be installed by a commercial installer.  Shell Point will be taking the Dish down during storms and Hurricane evacuation. This information is in the February 2009 Shell Point Life.

 

Mr. Moore next discussed the Resident Manual.  The latest version, the most recent publication of which is June 2006, is part of the residentÕs Contract which mentions the Resident Manual.  It is a significant piece of information.  Mr. Moore asked the Court Representatives to review the Resident Manual and if there are any ambiguities, contact Scott Moore or Paul Yacovitch, Facility Operations Manager, who will try to clarify that.  It is 40 years of working with residents to come up with a way to promote harmony, caring, serving, and satisfying; it is a good document full of really good information. It would be a big help and great service if everyone would refresh that information by looking at your manual and then ahead of us going on some campaign to be the police, folks could identify things on their own.

 

In order to maintain fire safety in the buildings, items in the hallways will have to be removed.  Decorations on the doors are permitted.  It was suggested that since the Resident Manual is a loose-leaf binder, it would be possible to reprint a page with a better description, better understanding, being not a change in policy, but a better understanding.  This would make people remember there is a Policy Manual if it is updated every so often, it would be available and resident would understand that it is tied to the Contract. 

 

To request another copy of the Manual call 454-2190. In lieu of telephone calls to 454-2190, requests can also be made by email. It was suggested that no notification to the sender that the email was received could be implemented.

 

A question was raised regarding ÒdigitalÓ, if portable ÒHurricane TVÕsÓ can accept UHF and VHF.  VHF will probably not work, and Mr. Moore will get the answer regarding VHF.

 

REPORTS OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF COURTS, KINGÕS CROWN, ARBOR AND PAVILION

 

Mary Fountain submitted a copy of the Larsen Pavilion Resident Council Meeting, Notes from January 8, 2009, to the Recording Secretary.

 

OLD BUSINESS

 

Bank of America has posted a reduction of hours effective February 18, 2009.  Mr. Ficker has no update on this situation.  The new hours will be in effect until a resolution has been made regarding whether Bank of America will be staying or whether a new bank will be coming in.  Peter Dys and Tim Lochridge are working on this matter. 

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

A discussion ensued regarding furnishing information to the Court Representatives and the Welcome Committee for each building relative to new residents moving into Shell Point.  It was suggested that instead of each Welcome Committee receiving the various and numerous information concerning move-in dates, changes in move-in dates, etc., only the Court Representatives would receive the information.  The Welcome Committee would be notified a few weeks before the resident is actually expected to move in.  This would result in less paperwork, and less confusion, to each Welcome Committee.  Lou Ann Ehlers, Executive Secretary of Sales & Marketing will review the procedure of notifying each Welcome Committee of the move-in dates of new residents and try to determine a more efficient procedure. 

 

The Court Representatives will continue to receive all communications regarding new residents and move-in dates so that members of the various Welcome Committees may continue to write notes or make telephone calls to each prospective resident prior to the actual move in date. This early notice system is a very valuable way of encouraging residents to make their moves into Shell Point and the notes and telephone calls are much appreciated by new residents. Please notify the Jill Barry in the Sales Office whenever there are any changes in the Welcome Committee.

 

Notification to each Court Representative of the departure and vacancy of an apartment would be helpful.  Because of confidentiality reasons, this information may not be disseminated prior to the residentÕs departure.  Rita Southern, Director ALF/Resident Support Services indicated that notices of departure/vacancy would be sent to appropriate Court Representatives.  This procedure is currently in effect.  Currently McKenzie Boren, Secretary, Resident Support Services is responsible for circulating departure/vacancy notices.  Mr. Minniear will contact Ms. Boren regarding this matter.

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE GOOD OF SHELL POINT

 

Distribution of Notices of activities, Academy programs, etc.

 

 The Court Representatives for Eagles Preserve and Palm Acres require and have requested additional copies of information be distributed in order to effectively disseminate information to their residents.  Mr. Ficker indicated that he will take care of advising the appropriate departments to comply with these requests.

 

***FOR ALL PERSONS GENERATING ANY NOTICE OF ACTIVITIES, EVENTS, ETC. TO BE PLACED ON BULLETIN BOARDS, PLEASE INCORPORATE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: 

 

                  --FROM WHOM THE NOTICE HAS BEEN GENERATED

 

                  --A CLEAR AND CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF THE EVENT/ACTIVITY/ETC.

                 

                  --NOTICES MAY NOT EXCEED DIMENSIONS OF 8-1/2 BY 5-1/2 INCHES

 

***NOTE:  PLEASE DISTRIBUTE 22 COPIES TO COURT REPRESENTATIVE TED RODGERS AT PALM ACRES AND 10 COPIES TO COURT REPRESENTATIVE JERRY INGALLS AT EAGLES PRESERVE OF EACH NOTICE GENERATED FOR DISTRIBUTION. ***

 

NEXT MEETING DATE

 

The next meeting of the Shell Point ResidentsÕ Council will be held Wednesday, March 4, 2009, commencing at 8:45 a.m. in the Social Center on the Island.

 

CLOSING PRAYER AND ADJOURNMENT

 

The closing prayer was given by Bill Lanpher and the meeting was duly adjourned at 10:20a.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Linda Nickerson

Recording Secretary

 

Attachment:

                  Larsen Pavilion Resident Council Meeting, Notes from January 8, 2009