Frontline Focus: Hope at the holidays

At lunch yesterday a colleague of mine commented, “I think 2009 will go down in history as one of the hardest years ever; possibly even harder than the great depression.”

I thought, at first, that this was a massive overstatement, but as she went on to talk about the sheer number of individuals affected, the loss of jobs and homes, I began to agree. It’s been, undeniably, an incredibly hard year for many, many people.

We’re lucky, most of us in the senior care business. We may have faced a declining census or more families reluctant to make the change, but overall, we’ve had a relatively easy time of it. We’ve continued hiring, adding staff and programs while other industries have been shutting doors after decades of service.

As part of a project one of my employees is doing during our own holiday lull, I spent a few minutes this morning reviewing comments our EasyCEU and aQuire clients have made to us over this past year. The comments included many like these:

These are the best on-line course I have completed!

Course content is REALLY useful.

I love the ease of great online courses for completing my CEUs.

I think these online courses are much more valuable than sitting in a classroom for 8 hours!

I have used many vendors for CEUs but I found this one to be the most useful!

I loved doing my EasyCEU course and will take more of these courses in the future.

I love that I can take back what I’ve learned to train my staff in better care.

Our aQuire clients shared comments from their team, including, “I’ve never taken an online course before. I didn’t know I could do it. I learned so much about caring for people.”

Needless to say, these messages affirm our team’s efforts this year and give us the intangible reward of knowing that our work makes a difference.

Often, just a kind word or two has the power to encourage, support; energize. We promise to pay forward what you’ve given us this year in the coming year.

Together, maybe we can make the star of hope shine just a little brighter.

Hope for a better year next year for those who have faced the loss of a home or job.

Hope for a chance to continue to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve and the people who serve with us.

Hope for genuine warmth in our homes and families today and always.

Wishing you and yours all the joys – and the hope – of the season,