Castle Senior Living

Diana Howell has been named director of operations at Castle Senior Living, which provides assisted living, independent living and memory care residences for older adults in communities throughout southeast Wisconsin.

For the past 12 years, Howell has been a leader in aging research and senior living, serving in numerous roles for assisted living providers, including director of memory care, area training specialist, and executive director. She is a Certified Dementia Practitioner with experience in skilled nursing facilities as a dementia specialist.

Castle Senior Living President Kevin Kiefer says, “It’s with great pleasure that we announce Diana’s addition to the company. Her qualifications make her a great leader for our senior living community. She is dedicated to improving aging and senior health outcomes, and assisting their families as they navigate the complexities of the healthcare system.”

Howell has a Master of Science in Gerontology and Biological Anthropology from Purdue University and completed the course work for her Ph.D. in the same fields. She’s been a research scientist for several large-scale studies examining aging and health issues such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Social Health Life and Aging Project (NSHAP).

Thomas Wellman is the newest addition to the Grand Hills Castle as culinary manager overseeing our dining services. We sat down with him for a conversation on his background, why he enjoys working in senior living and his love of creating meals from scratch.

 

 So how did this love of cooking start for you?

At a fairly early age, my mom said that I couldn’t rely on someone else to take care of me for the rest of my life. So, she taught me how to clean, cook, and make my own lunch. I was intrigued by working with food and meal preparation. When I was 15, I had to get a job, so I started as a bus boy at a Pepino’s in Milwaukee.  From there, I also worked at Heinemann’s, Le Peep Café and spent a few years at the El Tovar Hotel Dining Room in Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Working in the hospitality industry trained me to show up on time, do the best job I could no matter what the wage and pay attention to details. Wiping down a table may be simple, but it adds to the whole experience for someone coming into a restaurant.

 

You eventually transitioned from restaurants to senior living facilities 15 years ago. Why?

The restaurant stints were grueling. I was burned out, so I left the business and worked at a spring factory to fill the time. A couple of years before the 2008 recession, I was laid off, so realizing cooking was indeed a passion of mine, I found a job as a cook at a 40-bed CBRF on Milwaukee’s east side. I worked my way up to the manager position. After 11 years, I was ready to move on. Someone who worked at Castle Senior Living told me about the culinary opportunity and they brought me on board.

I discovered senior living by taking a chance and I love it. As a cook, I like knowing what time the residents are eating meals. Plates are made to order, so I don’t have to cook all day long.

 

What are the qualities that you bring to this job?

I am SERVSAFE certified, which means I’m skilled in restaurant requirements, rules and regulations and sanitation. I attended one year of culinary school and my goal is to return and obtain my certification in dietary management.

 

What do you enjoy most about working for Castle Senior Living?

It’s definitely a team atmosphere. Everyone is friendly and willing to help out. The residents are awesome and the management incredibly supportive. I think I have a bright and promising future here.

I lead a passionate, hard-working dining team right now. There’s room for growth with Castle Senior Living and that makes it an inviting place to work. It feels like home, which makes me think I should have been working here a long time ago.

 

Let’s talk about the trends in senior dining. Cafeteria-style food is not the norm any longer, correct?

I am all about 95% scratch cooking and more inspired dining, so one of my goals is to achieve that here. That means including ideas and suggestions from our residents on what they like to eat and what should be on the menu. In fact, the Castle Food Committee kicks off this month. I’ve tried this at other facilities and it was successful. It helps residents feel like they have a hand in making dining decisions.

 

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

It depends on the night. My wife and I are married almost six years with two grandkids who are nine and 12 and live with us. We’re often taking them to games, movies or other fun activities. My wife does more of the meal preparation at home than I do lately, and she’s an excellent cook. I golf a lot, summer, fall and even in winter.

 

If you were stranded on a desert island, what are the ingredients you’d want to have with you and what would you make?

I would be sure to have taco seasonings, strip steak, tortillas, and avocados. Life is always better with steak tacos!

The physical changes that older Americans undergo as they age influences how medications are absorbed into the body. It’s important to know the medicines that you are taking in order to benefit from them and be well.

Did you know the risk of drug interactions is high, especially among older adults? This can happen when two medicines consumed react against one another. Certain drugs sometimes have a bad effect on a medical condition and could cause more harm. Other times, there’s a bad response to drugs when eating or drinking, or taking drugs while drinking alcohol.

Drugs have side effects. While most reactions are minor, some remedies can seriously affect your health. Keep track of your medicines and how they make you feel. Follow this short checklist:

• Stay in touch with health professionals – Write down a list of scheduled prescription and over-the-counter medicines and share it with them. Be sure to ask if the drugs are truly working well for you. You may not need to take them any longer or could possibly reduce the dosage.
• Don’t stop taking drugs – Are you skipping doses because you have trouble swallowing tablets? Ask about crushing the pills or take a liquid medicine instead. Taking a drug four times a day? Perhaps there’s a medicine that you can take less often. Not remembering to take your medications? Your doctor can suggest ideas, such as a pill box or a calendar.

Castle Senior Living offers residents an in-depth, full-service medication management program. Our electronic medication administration record is directly linked to a local pharmacy, which coordinates the medicine, packaging and delivery. Once on site, a registered nurse oversees the management and distribution of the drugs. All Castle staff must complete a course to become state certified in medication administration. The medicines arrive individually packaged and clearly labeled with a name, date, and dosage information to help prevent errors from happening.

Medicines are necessary to treat illnesses or diseases in older adults. Staying properly medicated is crucial to improve overall mental health and physical well-being.

Helene Hagenmayer was retired and living in Palmyra and ready to start the next chapter in her life. She put her home up for sale, but it sold quickly. Helene was unexpectedly in-between a place to stay.

“I heard from a friend that someone’s mother was a resident at the Birchrock Castle Community,” Helene recalls. “It was close to where I wanted to be, so I put myself on the waiting list here.”

A resident of Birchrock’s Independent Living (the Birchrock Castle Community has Independent Living apartments, townhouses and Assisted Living) four years now, this 88-year old raves about the many conveniences here. She has access to a doctor, hospital, pharmacy, restaurants, shopping and even the YMCA, where she participates in a water aerobics class. She has a car and still drives herself.

“I didn’t have friends when I came here, but I have a lot of them now,” she says. “There are so many people here that you can meet in independent living. In the afternoons between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., some of us gather in the activity area with a cup of coffee and just talk. If someone has a problem, we’ll figure it out.”

A lifelong crafter, Helene always loved to work and stay active. These days, she hosts a craft session at Birchrock’s Independent Living twice a month. Helene doesn’t consider herself an artist, but the canvases on the walls of her apartment show otherwise.

“I just like to putter around with paint,” she says.

Helene was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany, then lived in Bern, Switzerland for eight years as a young adult.

“I was a milliner – that’s a person who makes hats,” she says, “so I first apprenticed in Germany and then worked in Switzerland. In those days, Marshall Fields had an exclusive boutique in Chicago, the 28 Shop, where they sold high-end clothing. They bought the hats that we made in Switzerland.

When she was 28-years old, one of Helene’s friends came back to Europe from living in the states, so Helene took her place. She applied for a green card and achieved her U.S. citizenship five years later.

“I really wanted to go to Australia, but I got a job as a manager at a dress shop north of Chicago and I loved it. I stayed with the husband and wife owners and never left. I never got around to getting married and having a family.”

Along the way, Helene picked up some furry children, and ventured into the world of dog training and competition. She’s been at it for thirty years now with plenty of awards to show for it.

“I don’t like dogs with nothing to do,” she says. “They have their time to play, but I also want them to behave.”

Her current dog, a standard poodle named Sealie, is not trained for competition yet. For now, she’s Helene’s pet.

“I like the breed’s personality. They are smart dogs, but laid back. And they don’t shed.”

This spring, when Helene takes her faithful companion out along the walkway of the Birchrock Castle Community, she hopes the 500 tulip, crocus, grape hyacinth, jonquil and narcissus bulbs that she planted with the help of some friends last fall are in full bloom.

“People with a walker can enjoy the flowers and there’s a bench along the path so they can rest when needed. We have a lovely spot of nature here, if the squirrels didn’t dig up the bulbs!”

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Kris Kiefer, Vice President of Castle Senior Living, and ask him a few questions. Here is what he had to say.

As we begin 2020, what are your goals for Castle Senior Living in the New Year?

One of our objectives is further enhancing Castle’s memory care program. We’re already educating and training our staff, and providing a host of effective activities, but after conducting research on the latest therapy and care, we’re adding new initiatives to create a more in-depth and robust course for our patients. We have a subcommittee of our professional team now meeting twice a month to modify and innovate our program. We are dedicated to achieving this transformation by mid-year.

The healthcare industry is known for employee turnover, so we’re continuing to scale up our efforts and remain focused on that. If we keep improving employee satisfaction and morale along with elevating a strong company culture, it’s a shift toward retaining top talent at all of our facilities.

Another goal is to grow Castle, and you are targeting development at facilities in New Berlin and Mukwonago. What are you doing to transform the landscape of senior living there?

We celebrated our first anniversary of Grand Hills Castle in New Berlin last fall and continue to look ahead for this state-of-the-art facility. Our plan is to add 53 units to the RCAC in order to offer more options for independent living and assisted living. Construction will start later this summer/fall with the opening date set for 2021.

In March of 2018, we bought Birchrock Castle in Mukwonago and are on track to improve the overall program there this year. The goal is to add 20 CBRF units and update existing rooms to specialize in memory care and assisted living. With the expansion, we’ll add a nurse, cook, activity person and housekeeper as full-time staff. We hope to be moving dirt there late April/early May and open in January 2021.

With the needs of older Americans ever-evolving, how does Castle stand out and appeal to those looking for a place to call home?

We believe people should truly love where they live. We do that by building facilities with a family feel. Our residences are properly sized and allow you to know everyone by name. We also offer a variety of attractive services to accommodate any want or need – from custom care plans to lifestyle activities – all available in a real-home environment.

We’ve seen tremendous progress with residents after they move to Castle Senior Living. You can see how their overall health improves. Families approach us and thank us for the difference we’re making here. We recognize our Castle facilities as communities, and families and residents are taking notice of the value and benefits they have to offer.

Castle Senior Living has been serving communities in southeast Wisconsin for nearly thirty years. What do you consider among the greatest successes along the way?

I think there are a lot of success stories from our individual residents, whether they came from a failing situation in their home or apartment, or their family was not able to provide appropriate care. We help them with what they need.

On the business side, Castle grew organically and not too fast over the years, so that is good. Quality and customer service are always our priority. I’m proud of our accomplishments, Grand Hills is probably our greatest achievement so far because of the uniqueness of the property and building design. It all came together nicely. We are able to provide care for those with high acuity needs here. That is incredibly gratifying.

How do you like to spend your time away from work?

When I’m not fully involved in the business end, I love playing piano and singing for the residents. It’s why each Castle Senior Living facility is outfitted with a piano. My home life is quite busy with my wife and three children. We enjoy music, summers on the water near Brule, Wisconsin and winters in the snow, especially gliding across the Kiefer Ice Skating Rink.

It’s that time of year for resolutions. Is there a personal goal that you want to achieve in 2020?

I want to further enhance my skills on the piano. That is always on my goal list along with working out five days a week to stay in shape and enjoy family time. Big news for my wife and me this year? We have a baby number four on the way. All of our children are under five, so that’s a lot of little kids in one house, but we love it.

The holidays are upon us. It is likely that you are spending more time with your family and maybe even at your elderly parents’ house. While visiting you may notice concerning things like unpaid bills, dirty dishes or other signs of memory loss and need for support. But how do you start that conversation? Won’t your mom or dad become upset?  You can pretend that there aren’t any issues, but that doesn’t help your parent and only delays the inevitable.

Here are some tips for having that difficult conversation with mom or dad and overcoming objections to assisted living.

Educate Yourself

It is always good to go in prepared for a tough conversation.

• Put together a list of your concerns and observations. For example, you may be concerned that their home is no longer a safe environment for them. Or perhaps they are making mistakes with their medication and that could lead to a dangerous results. Write all of these down.
• Study how important environment is for older people. The environment is a strong factor when it comes to a senior’s quality of life. It impacts everything from mental health to physical safety to how long they will live.
• Know the various senior housing options. Do some research and get some ideas of what might fit your mom and/or dad best. It can be tempting to downplay how much help they may need, but be objective as possible. Consider what they can afford.

Having this knowledge and learning about successful aging gives you more confidence and credibility. This isn’t making the decision for your parent, but just preparing yourself to be as helpful as possible for the talks and decisions that will need to be made.

Ongoing; Not One and Done

Beginning the conversation when your elderly parents still live safely at home allows you to talk about the future in a non-threatening, almost hypothetical, way. This results in a more gradual process than an event where your parent has been injured and the decision has to made very quickly. It also prevents the loved one from feeling ganged up on by their kids and this conversation is viewed more as a process where everyone’s opinions can be heard, but nothing needs to be acted on immediately.

Have the conversation in a casual and comfortable spot. A good example may be around the kitchen table. The focus being, “Let’s just have this conversation so we can be better prepared for the future.” And the key is to plan to talk again and again. While you or your siblings may want to wrap things up in one go, the reality is that this will be the first of a number of talks – unless your loved one is in imminent danger.

Tips for the Actual Conversation(s)

• Talk face-to-face. This isn’t a conversation to have by phone if you can avoid it and certainly not via text. Pick a time when both you and your parent are relaxed and well-rested. And then ensure you can talk without interruption.
• Utilize empathy, not sympathy. These are easy to be confused, but no parent wants their children to feel sorry for them. Use a calm, kind voice and demeanor to show that you care and that you’re trying to understand the fears/frustrations they may have. This can be a tough step to accept, but your listening to their concerns can be a great help.
• Don’t rush the conversation. Your parent will probably need time to find the words they need to express how they’re feeling. And one of the biggest ways to ease the process is to come to an unpressured mutual agreement at this early stage.
• Promise to keep your parent involved in decisions. No one wants to give up their decision making or independence, regardless of age. Consider having your loved one join you when touring various senior living communities. You can also visit friends and family who have already made the move. Having these first-hand experiences will help immensely when it comes to making a decision.

Ways to Start the Conversation

As with many difficult topics, the first step is the hardest. These conversation starters may help:

• How is it living at home alone? Do you still feel safe? (You can mention specific safety concerns such as struggles in the bathtub or kitchen. Crime may be another fear they haven’t shared with you.)
• Do you ever feel lonely? Why do you think that is? Would you like to spend more time with people your own age?
• Talk to me about your feelings of driving. How has it changed from 20 years ago? Are you interested in other forms of getting around, so you don’t have to worry about getting where you need to go, car maintenance costs, traffic, parking, etc.?
• How are your finances? What difficulties have you experienced with paying bills?
• What aspects of caring for the house cause you stress?

Open-ended questions are always the best way to encourage people to talk. Your job is to just sit back and really listen to their answers.