Retirement Living with a Family Atmosphere

United Presbyterian Home Announces Employee Steering Committee

Washington, IA (May 3, 2016) – The United Presbyterian Home has named seven United Presbyterian Home employees to their Employee Steering Committee for their upcoming expansion project.  The members include Employee Steering Committee chair Paula Brinning and along with her is Gail Rathmel, Traci Hora, Michelle Steinberg, Jennifer Shive, Shannon Bausch and Trevor Tschantz. The UP Home announced plans for their Expansion of Quality First Services in September 2015 which includes an addition on to the south hall of the current Health Center. The first floor of the addition will house 17 private rooms and the lower level addition will have first-class wellness, fitness and therapy facilities which will include a warm water therapy pool.

I decided to help out with the Employee Steering Committee because I wanted to share my excitement about the new building project and I saw it as a way to bring all of the employees together for one cause,” said UP Home Social Service Director, Paula Brinning who has worked at the UP Home for 16 years. “The project is important to me primarily because I feel it will so greatly improve the quality of life for our residents.  As the social worker I often hear from residents that they would like their own room. Many of them have given up so much by the time they come to the nursing home and it will be great that they can still retain their privacy and more of their personal belongings to make the transition smoother and their quality of life more homelike.”

The Employee Steering Committee Team split up the 128 employees in to six teams and each of the Committee Members is the chair of the team.  The employees have been working to raise money through some fundraisers to keep the process fun, encourage teamwork and also educational, to help keep the employees informed about the project. All the money raised by the employees will go towards furnishing two sitting areas located on the first floor of the new building.  Any employee who turns in a letter of intent will have their name on the plaque showing their support for the project.

“I got involved [in the Steering Committee] because I thought it would be a good way to get involved in the project and to help organize employee fundraising events to go towards the project,” said Administrative Assistant, Michelle Steinberg, who has been employed at the UP Home for 34 years. “The therapy pool will be a tremendous asset to the United Presbyterian Home and also the residents of Washington.”