Darlene Scott called the Family Council meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Attending: Kate Dwyer, Rose Joarnt, Pat Smith, Mona Strom, Larry Quist-Knox, and staff: Jody Docken, Mary Thirsten, and Darlene Scott.

Invited not attending: June Bennett, Pat Egan, Wally Sherseth, Gene & Florence Englebrecht, Jo Bredesen, and Roxanne Sands.

Darlene Scott reviewed issues and recommendations discussed at the last meeting, and follow-up to the action plans. White boards used to identify staff are being used at some of the houses, and others have not fully implemented the system. Will follow-up with all sites to assure they begin using the system so that staff on duty are easily identifiable for house guests.

One of the concerns identified and prioritized from the last meeting was COMMUNICATION.

Jody reviewed the systems in place at The Phoenix Residence, Inc. to facilitate the flow of communication between Phoenix employees and families, vendors, and other outside agencies. Systems discussed:

1. Activities - planning, follow-up and notification of resident activities. Families would like to be notified of which activities are happening for the next month. Some families have seen the activity calendar posted. Some families would like to have input in the type of activities their family member participates in. Some activities may not be appropriate, or the family member may disagree. Some individuals are not under guardianship and then have the right to participate in activities of their choosing.
   **Managers are to send the activity calendar to all interested family members each month, either email or regular mail.
   **Recommend that family members call the manager if they see activities happening in the community that they feel others would enjoy.
   ** The family members are requesting information on how the resident responded to the activity. Please assist the residents in calling family members after community activities so they can share their experiences with family members.


2. Medical Appointment Communication - the Annual PFPP meeting should include the family notification form; this form indicates the type of things a family member wants to be informed of, and in what time frame.


3. PFPP Meetings - No concern with the communication surrounding PFPP meetings.


4. Communication between staff on duty and visitors to the house - Some families find that when they arrive for visits at the house, staff are not interacting or introducing themselves. Will discuss this with all house managers.
   **Some houses are doing informal planning meetings regarding house activities, such as gardening, annual BBQ’s, etc. Family members should request this of house managers if they would like to participate in such planning.
   **Whenever having house gatherings, have nametags available for staff and family members to identify their name and relationship to the individuals at the house.
   **During house gatherings, it was suggested that managers facilitate games to encourage interaction between family and staff, and allow each to get to know the other better.
   **Some family members of residents have exchanged personal information, such as resident birthdates, phone numbers, etc. If family members would like to get to know other families better, they should inform the house manager so the proper consents can be obtained before releasing information.


5. Day Program Communication - No problems with this communication system.


6. Communication Among Staff in the House - This is a problem! Family members have found more success with getting the information passed on to all staff if they call the manager directly.
   **Managers should request the email addresses of all the family members that have email, and then email all of those people with the house email address.


7. Music in the House - Music is sometimes loud and not soothing when families visit. Music should be at appropriate level, and soothing, calming. Would the individuals living in the home choose loud music? Aroma Therapy would also be soothing and calming for residents.


8. How can we get information passed on to all staff in the house? - When family members call and pass on information to one person, they want to be assured that the information will be passed on to the manager and anyone else that may need to know the information. This does not always happen. Can we designate one person to be responsible to answer the phone, take messages, and document the call? Would a communication board work? Some houses with 2 managers have a book for sharing information back and forth between the 2 managers. Recommend: Family members, when calling the house, should ask for the name of the staff they are speaking with. Ask the staff to spell their name. Ask them to pass the information on the other staff as appropriate (ex. Will be picking up resident the next day) and pass info on to manager. This way, if the information is not passed on as requested, they can inform the manager of the staff person they initially spoke with, and we can address it with the employee. We will put this recommendation in the next family flyer.

Don’t forget about annual picnic on September 9.

Positive comments from Family Council members:

• One council member was impressed with the coaching at the Special Olympics event.
• One council member commented that a visit to her own home by her family member went very well and was glad Phoenix staff could assist with this.

The next meeting was scheduled for September 27, 2007 at 6:15 p.m. Next meeting’s agenda: Hiring

The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

Respectfully,


Secretary Pro Tem