Commentary – Crestview deserves support

Talk about it

By Savannah Smith, Evansville, MN (now attending college in Ely, MN)

I’ve called Evansville home for nearly my whole life and I’ve worked at Crestview for the past two years. I was appalled to find the exact financial deficit of the facility. $5.5 million is a large sum of money, but you have to also remember that part of that debt was created by the McIntosh facility. Considering I’m from Evansville, I’m more concerned about the future of Crestview Manor than McIntosh.

Currently, we have 28 residents. Yes, I know that isn’t a large number of people, but everyone matters in this world. Eleven of them have lived there since I started working. Every resident I work with tells me they enjoy their home. It is in a country setting, home-cooked meals are a given, and care is priority. Many of the rooms are meant for single individuals and have private bathrooms, a few are designated shared, and others are available for couples to have a bedroom and living room/dining room.

As the article stated, there are 45 people employed at this facility and each of them has themselves and/or family members to support. Closing this property would close the doors to the town. Many of these people would probably leave in order to find a decent job. And the residents; think of how many of them have family nearby. Relocating their homes would rearrange their lives and possibly destroy their family relationships.

After experiencing Ashby’s closing, I’ve seen firsthand what this could do to a town. They have two empty facilities and the town is dying because there is a lack of jobs. Some of the residents and employees came to Crestview to start their “new life.” Some residents decided to quit trying because they just “weren’t home anymore.” I can’t imagine this happening to the residents I feel are family.

I know, in the past, Crestview hasn’t had such a good reputation. I’ve seen the bad workers leave to other jobs and good ones get let go. Life is obviously unfair. It isn’t the residents or the employees who put the facility in debt, but rather the owners, administration, etc. We finally have a great selection of staff that has also been cut shorthand in order to make a profit throughout for each different administrator.

If someone would give us a chance by purchasing the facility and paying off the debt, we could succeed. We are a 42-bed facility. That means we have room to house 14 more people comfortably. If we got administration staffs that are able to handle our finances, we could succeed greatly after a year or so. Time flies and it is worth the commitment to keep the facility operating.

After the debt is relieved and minor building repairs are made, there should be funding left to boost activities, dining and employee benefits. Everything takes time. We should look at this situation as a new beginning rather than the end. Let us all pray to God that we can find an owner who isn’t money hungry so we can continue and improve care in the small town of Evansville.

All readers, please keep an unbiased opinion of our facility and think of the possibilities. All facilities have flags when the state comes. People get busy and forget things on occasion. Before you judge, put yourself in one of our shoes and come check it out; volunteers are always appreciated and suggestions are great. We’re doing what we can to make everything operate smoothly and keep people well cared for and happy. The future will be better if we all remain positive.

Did you know?

•The activities department recently raised money to purchase a Wii for the facility to entertain residents and also help make range of motion exercises more fun.

•The assisted living facility is or is nearly full.

•Food can be room delivered.

•Many of the rooms are remodeled.

•Ice water is passed fresh numerous times daily.

•Food and beverages are available 24 hours a day with the push of a button or word of mouth.

•The facility provides CPR training to all its employees.

•There is a daily scheduled rehabilitation aide.

•Laundry can even be washed in specific soaps such as Dreft.

•Meal recommendations are always considered.

There are so many positive features and the few listed above don’t nearly cover the spectrum. People need to overlook/overcome the past and think about the rest of our new year. Let’s make it a great year for these residents and employees. Please, help Crestview by giving them your support!

Tags: commentary, savannah, smith, crestview, manor, evansville