Nursing Assistant Appreciation Day...with a Twist

...a Caribbean twist, that is.

Chambersburg, PA -- June 17, 2004 -- Area long term care nursing assistants and personal care aides received a "splash" of the Caribbean through relaxation and pampering at a local Nursing Assistant Appreciation Day. The day's activities were held to commemorate National Nursing Assistants' Week which is recognized nationally the week of  June 10-17, 2004.

(Nursing Assistant Appreciation Day Picture Gallery)

The Institute for Caregiver Education, a locally-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to revolutionizing long term care and those that live and work within it, sponsored the event. Participants attending the event learned relaxation, meditation and reflexology techniques, Tai Chi, and received chair massages.  Additional pampering by Mary Kay representatives included facials and hand & nail care. 

The program was held at Falling Spring Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Chambersburg. Franklin County Commissioners G. Warren Elliott, Cheryl S. Plummer and Robert L. Thomas welcomed the group and presented a proclamation declaring June 17 as Nursing Assistant Appreciation Day.  Jim Kinsey, Director of Corporate Development and Product Services, and Michaelene Wiesman RN, Manager of Caregiver Programs, spoke on the topic, "A Sea of Caring."  During the afternoon, local health and beauty professionals shared stress-relieving techniques and offered a variety of relaxing and pampering activities.  Alanna Hartzok offered meditation techniques & Pat Worthington, reflexology; Jill Snyder (A World of Touch) as well as other local masseuses Meg Fries, Katrina Myers, and Linda Ehrhart gave "wonderful" chair massages; Mary Kay representatives Johanna Cordell, Mary Jacobs & Diana Stansberry gave facials and hand & nail care tips, Rose Siu (Curves for Women) offered Tai Chi techniques, and Linda Dianna (Mirror Mirror) gave hair cuts to interested participants. 

"Frontline caregivers are the hearts and hands of eldercare," says Annette Sanders RN and the Institute's Vice President. "Their constant concern is the well-being of the residents in their care, and meeting their complex and diverse needs.  This is our way of saying thank you for all they do all year long."

From as far as DuBois (PA) to Sykesville (MD), area nursing homes, assisted living care homes, and personal care homes sent close to 40 staff to attend this special day in their honor.  Special awards were given for the nursing assistant with the most number of years as a CNA and for those with 10 or more years of experience.

The Institute for Caregiver Education fosters the highest quality of life for elders through professional development and continuing education for caregivers. Visit the Institute on the web at www.caregivereducation.org.