The Haven Quarterly Newsletter
2022 REFLECTIONS AND 2023 HOPES
The Haven has much to reflect upon and be grateful for from the year 2022. It was a year filled with change, and in that came a lot of opportunity for growth.

  • We had two very dedicated employees retire at the end of 2022, Kathy and Elsie, after working here since The Haven opened in 1995. We hired an enthusiastic and talented life enrichment coordinator, Sandra, and she has reincorporated The Haven residents back with the greater Yampa Valley community after the pandemic took the wind out of our sails. We hired a nurse, Miranda, who was a caregiver at The Haven years ago and whose dream it was to be a nurse here someday. Miranda helps provide skilled insight to the residents’ primary care physicians, oversees our medication program, and supports and leads the caregivers – it has really improved our overall quality of care to have her here.
  • We had some major renovations in 2022 such as replacing the kitchen and dining room flooring, hallway carpeting, updating the paint throughout the building, a roofing project, and adding new lighting in the living room to name a few. We also had some black and white hand portraits taken of each of our residents which is now on display down the resident hallway and is both timeless and impactful. We might have an older building, but it is clearly well-cared for and has a lot of heart. And we could not have done these renovations without our supportive community helping us with meals when our kitchen was out of commission as well as all of the donations to help support these much-needed upgrades.
  • In 2022, Northwest Colorado Health, who owns and operates The Haven, focused largely on retaining employees. They gave significant wage increases to account for the increased cost of living and inflation and this has helped ensure we retain the wonderful employees that work here.
  • Northwest Colorado Health leaders also approved The Haven to have an extra full-time caregiver so that if/when someone unexpectedly leaves we are not left in a staffing crisis, and the extra full-time caregiver is able to fill-in and float where needed. This ensures we have enough staffing to encourage employees to take care of themselves, to take a vacation, to not come in if sick, and that we always have enough staff on hand to meet the needs of our residents. Northwest Colorado Health also set the norm for all employees to meet 1 on 1 with their supervisor at least monthly, which has received positive feedback from The Haven’s team and promotes good communication amongst our team.  
  • I am proud to say The Haven ended 2022 fully-staffed, including having an extra full-time caregiver, which feels like such a blessing after everything the healthcare industry endured and the chronic staffing crises that have plagued the long-term care industry since the pandemic. We have very dedicated employees working here and anyone who has spent time here knows that we care for our residents as if they were our own family.
  • Other highlights include our menu having been very well-received and it is constantly being updated to offer creative, delicious, and healthy foods for our residents. We hosted our 2nd annual Octoberfest fundraiser which doubled in size and was a very successful event! And we had our first annual evacuation simulation and will continue to do this in future years to ensure thorough emergency preparedness for our team and residents. We also started routine behavioral health screenings of our residents in 2022. All in all, 2022 was non-stop growth in so many ways for The Haven.

As I think about my hopes and goals for The Haven in 2023, I’d love us to continue with this positive momentum we have right now and hit the ground running. We have some openings for new residents right now that we are working hard to get the word out and get the vacancies filled. We aim to maintain our staffing and be free from crisis staffing thanks to the flexibility we have been granted with having an extra full-time caregiver. In the same vein, we will focus on reducing overtime to prevent burnout and will engineer the schedule so that our full-time employees are not going into overtime for staff meetings, required education, etc. We just incorporated a new program to document life enrichment for our residents and I look forward to sharing the possibilities that come from this update. Some building updates we will be seeking grant funding for include installing ADA-accessible front and side doors, a new call light system, and potentially getting A/C in the resident rooms.

Thank you for taking the time to read about all of these updates and as always please let us know if there is anything in particular you’d like to see happening at The Haven. I hope to see you all very soon and I encourage you to spread the word about The Haven and have your friends/family call me if they are considering assisted living for themselves or a loved one anytime soon.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Idsal, LSW
Director | The Haven Assisted Living
The Haven: 970-276-4484 • Desk: 970-875-1888 • Fax: 970-276-4197
300 S. Shelton Lane, Hayden, CO 81639
Laps for Love at The Haven
Show some love for the residents at The Haven! Enjoy our cross country ski and snowshoe track in February. 

Thanks to the Town of Hayden, we have a groomed trail around our grounds. The trails are open now and during the month of February, we invite you to come out and snowshoe or cross country ski outside of The Haven. The first 25 people who sign up to participate will receive a goody bag and will be entered to win great local prizes! There are additional opportunities to win when you participate in our challenges and log your laps! Show our residents support, they love watching community members enjoy the track outside their windows and we invite you to come in for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate after your workout! It is free to participate in Laps for Love, but donations are appreciated. Suggested donation of $10.

We are also planning to host an open house on February 28 from 3:30-5pm to wrap up the event, we hope you can join us!
Staff & Resident Highlights
Miranda Barrett, RN: Caregiver Supervisor
My name is Miranda, and I am the Registered Nurse Caregiver Supervisor at the Haven Assisted Living. I am local to the valley, born and raised. I initially started working at The Haven as a Caregiver in 2013, and immediately fell in love with not only the residents, but the atmosphere as well. Several years later I had to part ways with The Haven after obtaining a nursing degree, but every chance I had I stated that The Haven was my favorite place I had ever been employed and I missed it every day. Fortunately, in October of 2022, a registered nurse position became available, and I immediately applied. I am home again. Each person who walks through the doors of this building is treated with love and kindness; I couldn’t think of anywhere else I would want to be.
Resident Spotlight:
Gwenlyn Thompson
Gwenlyn Thompson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She joined an older sister at home. When she was 4 she lost her mother in a car accident. Her father remarried and she gained a half brother and half sister. She lived in Minnesota until the 2nd grade and moved to a very rural community of Pick City, ND. Her father was a welder on the Garrison Dam (Lake Sakakawea) and worked for many years installing piping in and around the Garrison Dam. Gwen went to school in Riverdale which was on the other side of the Garrison Dam, she can tell you many harrowing stories about crossing the structure on a bus or a vehicle daily while going to school. Her father was eventually the Mayor of Pick City along with running a hardware store and boarding house. Gwen never ran out of work or chores while living in Pick City. When the construction work ran out, the family bought a small farm in the fertile valley of Deapolis along the Missouri River in Mercer County. Her father started raising vegetables and potatoes. Gwen raised everything from strawberries to vegetables and potatoes (many tons of potatoes). They sold produce from a vegetable stand locally to bulk sales at the grocery stores. Gwen enjoyed all the gardening and produce except for Rutabagas. She has a green thumb growing flowers and plants to this day. She met, fell in love and married Kenneth Thompson who lived in the same valley. After Kenny finished his time in the Army, they married and worked around North Dakota while starting a family. An opportunity came up to go farming/ranching with Kenny's uncle and they moved back to the farm in Mercer county. Gwen and Kenny had 3 sons that kept things hopping all the time. A coal company had a lease on some of the land and eventually they had to relocate to a farm/ranch in Oliver county. Gwen and Kenny ranched this location until they retired and moved to Bismarck, ND. In 2017 she lost the love of her life and in 2018 Gwen moved to Craig, CO to be close to some of the family. At the end of 2022 she moved into the Haven where she is still reading, doing puzzles, growing plants and enjoying the great residents of The Haven. 
Check out our new website!
Our website has a fresh new look - be sure to check it out and share with anyone who you think may be interested in getting involved with The Haven! Now you can request a tour, make a donation or apply to be a volunteer right from our website. Use the button below or visit havenseniorliving.org to take a look!
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Thanks for reading!
Please contact Adrienne Idsal with feedback or suggestions.