Sunset years glow more brightly, thanks to rehab director's efforts

At the deathbed of a fellow resident, an elderly man named Bob, who lived at Teresian House Nursing Home in Albany, turned to Kelli Hawver, the home's rehabilitation director and speech/language pathologist.

"This is a tough thing you do: You work with us and then we pass away," Bob told her.

"It's worth it," she replied.

Mrs. Hawver, a nine-year employee of Teresian House, recently won the "professional of the year" award from the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

'Thrilled' by honor

Although she's well-known around Teresian House for her engaging personality and the many innovative activities for the elderly that she's created, the speech pathologist noted jokingly that a co-worker submitted her name for the award for four years before she won it.

At least, she said, she ended up with a lot of nice letters of recommendation.

"I was thrilled," she said of receiving the honor, but "it doesn't really change anything I do."

Much to do

What Mrs. Hawver does takes a while to explain. Nine years ago, she worked at a daycare center across the street from Teresian House but volunteered at the nursing home in her spare time to provide music at weekly Masses in the chapel.

Then she was offered a position overseeing physical, occupational and all other therapies at Teresian House -- combining her license in speech pathology with her talents in music and other areas.

"I always knew I wanted to settle on helping the elderly, but it's rare to be able to settle in one nursing home," she told The Evangelist, because most such facilities bring in speech pathologists as consultants.

Communicating

At Teresian House, Mrs. Hawver's many ideas for communication-related programs were welcomed. Senior citizens, she said, appreciate any efforts to improve their lives.

She recalled one resident with Parkinson's disease who just wanted to be understood when he spoke to his daughter on the phone, and another who was non-verbal but found ways to communicate without words.

"It's such a rewarding feeling; I wanted to help where it's really needed," she remarked.

In tune

The "folk music and movement" program is one effort she has spearheaded. About 50 residents gather weekly to "exercise" to the same set of songs, moving their arms and legs, and clapping to "Shoo Fly," "This Land is Your Land" and other tunes.

"They never tire of it," Mrs. Hawver noted.

None of the residents who attend complain about the songs or movements. When a fast song makes it hard to keep up, the group usually ends up dissolving into laughter. It's a great way to boost communication skills, said the speech pathologist.

"People who can't express themselves get a lot of reward out of that," she explained.

Paradiddles

Another great success is the drumming program. Anyone who has difficulty communicating is bound to become frustrated, said Mrs. Hawver, and drumming provides "a chance to get out some aggression."

It also promotes concentration -- Mrs. Hawver said that if she makes the slightest mistake, the residents make it along with her -- and teamwork, since the whole group keeps the beat to the same tunes.

In fact, residents with dementia do particularly well with the activity, since they're often attuned to looking for cues on behavior from other people.

"I've only had one person in five years say, 'I can't take the noise,'" Mrs. Hawver added, chuckling.

In costume

Another of her programs, "Starberry's Place," was inspired by her own interest in the "Lord of the Rings" books. Hoping to connect children from Teresian House's on-site daycare center with elderly residents, Mrs. Hawver created a "woodland character" named Starberry (similar to "Goldberry" in the Tolkien books).

Wearing a velvet gown and fairy-like pointed ears, the speech pathologist helps the children and seniors act out plays and stories. If children see "how special and fun" the elderly residents are, she explained, they'll grow up to be comfortable with and even advocate for senior citizens.

The character of Starberry has grown so popular that Mrs. Hawver has created a soon-to-be-published children's book and accompanying CD about her, which includes characters who are real-life residents of Teresian House.

A philosophical question on the cosmos from one resident who has since passed away inspired a song for the CD called "Everybody Has a Star": "Everybody has a star/ That becomes a part of who and what we are/ The twinkle in our eyes and wishes that come true/ Everybody has a star."

On the go

Mrs. Hawver said that she has so many ideas on helping the elderly that fellow employees sometimes groan when she comes up with another one, saying, "Kelli, you can't have the residents go everywhere!"

As if in rebuttal, Mrs. Hawver has had residents tour a haunted house that takes months to build every year and trained them to be a choir at Sunday Masses (where her husband, Chris, pitches in to transport them to the chapel from their rooms and helps with hymnbooks).

In addition, she's still hoping to fulfill her idea of putting on a musical starring Teresian House residents.

"I rewrote 'Annie' into 'Granny,' but [the copyright owners] said we couldn't do it," she noted with disappointment. "I said, 'Well, I'll just be seeing you when I write my own musical from scratch!"

(Teresian House's community affairs director Janet Hans calls Kelli Hawver "dedicated," "imaginative," "creative" and "innovative." When residents sometimes advise her to "never get old," she replies: "Growing old doesn't have to be bad. You're as young as you want to be." She sometimes tells herself, "I'm taking on too much." Then she calls a resident's floor to make sure he's coming to an activity and hears that he's been pacing the halls for hours waiting for it to begin. That's when she realizes how much she's appreciated.)

(8/18/05) [[In-content Ad]]