Employee Newsletter – December 2020

December 2020 Edition

Welcome to Kennedy Care’s Life Care Connection monthly employee newsletter! 

To Our Cherished Team of Life Care Professionals, 
As 2020 draws to a close, I want to take the opportunity to say how much I appreciate you and your commitment to your clients during this difficult year. We’ve endured so much uncertainty in our lives and our work, but one of the few constants was your unrelenting commitment to your clients. For that, I am forever grateful. Please see below for additional highlights from the year. 

Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season,
David Kennedy

Highlights of 2020:

• Patriot Care added six new positions to the team and increased cases from 2-3/week to about 20/week. PC also expanded into northern Michigan and additional areas of Ohio. 
• Safe at Home introduced the Nanny Share program, serviced more than 400 families, and introduced new on-call staff. 
• We spun out a new program called Share The Care with the intent of providing health care staffing to long term care facilities. We are preparing to staff our second facility in January 2021.
• Catastrophic Care was created as a new program under the leadership of nurse director Kim Newman. She joined KC in October and we are already seeing her team becoming more organized and the program growing as it takes on more clients with catastrophic injuries. 
• Life Care is our newest program and will be replacing Complete Care. This new approach to private pay senior care combines concierge services, small care teams, and high-quality staffing. We began to pilot this program in Q4 and plan on scaling it next year. 

Zachary Petroni
Director of Growth 

Zach is joining Kennedy Care assisting with business strategy, development, and growth across all of the KC programs. 

A bit about Zach: “I’m a Michigan boy who has walked a bit of a winding path up to present (spent the last 7 years working + schooling abroad) but is loving being back and looking forward to what life has in store for me closer to home. I’m a bit of a polymath, and moonlight as a strength and conditioning coach/athlete, am addicted to crossword puzzles, and love gardening (although this doesn’t mean I’m any good at it).”

Lauren Booth, RN
Brookhaven 

Lauren is joining our Share the Care program servicing the Brookhaven community and assisting us as we near the opening of All Seasons.

A bit about Lauren: “I got my BS in Social Science from Michigan State University (GO GREEN!) and I got my BSN from Loyola Chicago (I did not want to move back to Michigan, living in Chicago was so much fun). I have only ever worked at Michigan Medicine as a nurse. This is my first nursing job outside of there!  At Michigan Medicine, I started as a general medicine/pulmonary nurse, and then transitioned to the neurosurgical ICU and was a critical care nurse. I have been with my husband for 10 years, married for three. We just welcomed our first baby in May (right in the middle of when COVID became bad) and it’s a boy named Cash. We have three pets: a cat and two miniature dachshunds. One is a rescue; I have an incredible obsession with weenie dogs and all animals in general. I teach boxing at Title in Ann Arbor and am getting certified to teach spin and yoga in the spring!”

Cari Glynn
Recruiter

A bit about Cari: She joined KC as a recruiter and will be focusing on the VA team. Cari recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources.  Her first position post-college was with Glacier Hills Senior Living in Ann Arbor. Cari’s hometown is Grass Lake, a  small town west of Ann Arbor.  Outside of work, she enjoys hanging out with her dog, Brody.

Welcome to the KC family, Zach, Lauren and Cari! 

At KC, we love others like family. That’s why we love to hire friends and family! If you know someone who might be interested in joining our team, let your Care Coordinators know so we can reach out to them.

To show our gratitude for your efforts to grow the team, we’ll give you a $150 Referral Bonus once they reach 90 days with us!

Our Life Care Professionals of the Year are chosen by their respective teams and each brings amazing caregiving, compassion, and love to our clients and families. We appreciate you and all of your hard work. Thank you for going the extra mile with your care!

2020 Life Care Professionals of the Year

Patriot Care: Lauren Wallick
Catastrophic Care: Tracy Cervenka
Complete Care: Stacie Rutley
Safe at Home: Amanda Frisbie
Share the Care: Chiffon Walker

Congratulations, LCPs!

⏰ Required Training To Complete ⏰

Get paid to learn!

In July, we launched the new Kennedy Care Academy program for our valued caregivers. Additionally, all our caregivers now have a new title: Life Care Professional (LCP).

Through Kennedy Care Academy, we provide LCPs with ongoing training opportunities in advanced healthcare, life skills, and customer service related topics. You will be paid for taking these training courses! 

We are very proud of our new Life Care Professional program and the many opportunities it will bring for our trusted and valued caregivers.

Click here

Payroll Updates

Help us, help you!

• Kennedy Care – Timesheets are due Monday every week by 12 pm (noon)
• Safe At Home – Timesheets are due within 24 hours of your shift
• Paper timesheets are available by request for those without internet 
• timesheets@kennedycare.com

The Patriot Care online training courses are now complete. Be on the lookout for emails regarding online courses for Patriot Care Life Care Professionals. You will have the opportunity to learn more about veteran care, military culture, VA expectations, and so much more.  And an added bonus – you get paid to complete this training!

Kennedy Care Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

December is National Human Rights Month! Human Rights Day, celebrated every year on December 10, commemorates the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Penned in 1948, this document proclaims inalienable rights to all, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, nationality, birth, or any other status. 

This year, the United Nations is recognizing how the COVID-19 pandemic has struck our society. “Recover Better – Stand Up for Human Rights,” highlights the importance of equal opportunity for all and reaffirms the necessity of honoring human rights in our fight against COVID-19.

To learn more, check out these resources provided by the United Nations!

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Sustainable Development Goals

“Recover Better” Resources and Campaign Materials

Resources for Caregivers

• Coping with Stress
• ‘Covid Fatigue’ and How to Fight It”
• Feeling SAD? How to Combat Seasonal Depression
• MI Bridges: Apply for Benefits 
• Mental Health America: Tips for Frontline Workers
• Nurse.org resources for Moral Injury and Mental Health

Happy Birthday!

We hope you all have an amazing day with your friends and family. 

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