The Minnesota Veterans Home in Silver Bay honors veterans’ service by providing a comfortable and secure living environment, innovative programs, award-winning care, and a place where veterans receive the respect and support they deserve.
Established in 1991, the home currently has 54 full-time residents, almost half of whom are living with dementia. Dementia care is a big part of the focus of this facility.
There are almost 100 people employed at the Veterans Home.
“Two of those people started working here in 1991,” said Randall Walz, Volunteer Service Coordinator. “Tammy Svir in Medical Records and Penny Ernest in Nutrition Management.
Walz said the staffing situation, a nationwide problem for healthcare providers, is improving. “We always need more nurses, which is just a fact in our industry,” he said. “But our employees are engaged, and they know they can make a difference in the lives of our residents and the operation of the home.”
Like most rural healthcare facilities, the Veterans Home employs a fair number of so-called traveling staff–nurses and other professionals who come in to work for short periods. Walz finds that sometimes, these temporary staff members decide to stay, are attracted by the area and the workplace culture, and become permanent employees.
“Everybody knows each other here,” Walz said. “They know we can trust each other.”
Earlier this year, Jake Ojala, a physical therapy assistant at the home, received the District B Caregiver of the Year Award at the LeadingAge Minnesota annual conference. LeadingAge is a mission-driven organization network that serves older adults in all the places they call home. The award honors Ojala for his commitment to older adults and his work to enrich the quality of life for those under his care.
The Silver Bay Veterans Home staff is actively engaged in ongoing efforts to improve processes and achieve better, more efficient care for residents with support from ICAN. According to Walz, the ICAN (Integrated Care for Older Adults Network) Quality Improvement Contest, organized by LeadingAge Minnesota, is an initiative to enhance the care and services provided to older adults. In the 2023 contest, Silver Bay Veterans Home achieved notable recognition by securing both second and third place for its innovative projects.
Its “Wound Care Supply Standardization” project, which won second place, was designed to reorganize and standardize wound care supplies across the facility. The problem was that nursing stations needed to be more consistent with inventory. Non-standard organization of supplies sometimes slowed the care process and created ordering discrepancies. The project resulted in significant cost savings and improved staff satisfaction and morale.
The staff also developed “Walking Rounds,” a project which took third place. It encourages clear communication regarding resident-centered care. Nursing Assistant staff now receive reports at the beginning of each shift. They then visit specific residents with their peers from the previous shift to monitor quality metrics. “The result is increased communication between Nursing Assistant care partners, above-standard Resident care, a decrease in shift-to-shift incomplete tasks, and better communication to other nursing staff,” Walz said.
Currently, staff is working to address a long-time problem with lost laundry. The home uses an outside laundry service and has experienced the loss of bedding and residents’ clothing. “Our staff has developed process changes in how laundry is pre-sorted before leaving the facility,” Walz said. “Those steps created considerable savings in costs for residents and the facility.”
The Minnesota Veterans Home, a picturesque facility overlooking Lake Superior, is more than just a place to live. It’s a community. With its four unique households, each designed to emulate the cozy ambiance of North Woods lodges, the home fosters a strong sense of belonging among its residents. These units have communal living rooms, dining areas, and kitchens, where residents can gather and share their stories. The facility also boasts outdoor patios with gardening space, a rehabilitation gym for specialized therapy, a crafts room, and a recreation area, providing a variety of activities for the residents to enjoy together.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, the governing body responsible for the Silver Bay home, is dedicated to the welfare of our veterans. It proclaims every day as Veterans Day, a testament to its unwavering commitment to honoring and supporting our veterans.
