Heart To Heart Ministry

Surrey Place Care CenterLive Oak, FL

Hearts of Service• Before coming to Surrey Place, many of our residents

attended and worked in their churches regularly. They helped their neighbors, fed and clothed the poor, and loved one another.

• The Heart to Heart Ministry is a natural extension of our residents’ lives. J

• ust as they served in their communities, they continue to serve through this ministry and have once again discovered their purpose in life.

04/13/10

What is Heart to Heart Ministry?• The Heart to Heart Ministry is

simply........• residents sharing God's Love with:

Their Peers Their Caregivers Their Community

04/13/10

Why?It was evident that over 1/3 of the residents were exhibiting a hunger for spiritual nurturing and it appeared that a revival was emerging among them. For example:• The Bible studies and morning devotions were growing to the

point that we could not find a room large enough to hold everyone.

• The overwhelming response to the studies had an overflowing effect as the residents began caring and loving one another.

• The ministry had already begun and was then structured into the Heart to Heart Ministry.

• Not all residents are able to participate at the same level. The challenge is to find each resident an avenue for ministry

Objectives• To give our residents purpose• To re-kindle their desire to share God's Love• To help them find their value and worth• To help them focus on the needs of others• To help them open their hearts to God's direction

for their lives

04/13/10

Initial Approach• Step 1• I met with the individual residents who were already

ministering and established a core group.• We issued Heart to Heart name tags• We asked them to keep a log on those residents and staff

that they had visited and what they did. For example: Prayer, encouragement, companionship and bible reading.

• We scheduled regular meetings and the group began to grow

• COST: $ 0.00

04/13/10

Essential PartnershipsPartnered with Quality of Life to find avenues for residents to do ministry.

Our first mission trip was Christmas on the Square where we had a booth to offer:– Free water, with a scripture on the bottle– Signature balloons for the children– Hot Chocolate

Christmas on the Square Cost = $360.00– 10x10 Blue Tent = $100.00– Surrey Seniors Caps = $80.00– Banner ”Surrey Seniors on Mission” = $50.00– Water bottles/Hot Chocolate = $55.00– Booth Rental = $75.00

Developing and Planning

• The key element was the residents and their desire to serve others.

• The program developed as the residents became more excited about what they were doing and plans emerged through cooperative efforts and an interdisciplinary team approach

Quality of Life InterfaceMany Quality of Life programs were natural fits for the Heart to Heart Ministry. Together, the programs were enhanced and became more resident driven and purposeful, such as:

1. The Back to School Bash2. Operation Christmas Child3. Community Easter Egg Hunt4. Haiti Relief5. Stakeholder Assistance6. Chapel7. Welcome Bags

04/13/10

Resources• Bake Sales• Donations• Yard Sales• CraftsDonations and contributions were given for each fund raiser by residents, resident's family members, local churches and people in the community.

Challenges• Transportation• Staffing for

missions/outings• Inclement Weather • What did we do?

– We had to organize transportation and staffing and learn to “go with the flow”.

Outcomes• By continuing to make quality improvement a priority, our

resident and family satisfaction levels are in the top 10% of nationwide results monitored by “My Interview.”

• During our recent survey, we were congratulated by one of the surveyors for not having any resident complaints.

• We believe that as our residents continue to live purpose driven lives, their satisfaction with their care at Surrey Place will continue.

• Heart to Heart Ministry plays a vital role in helping our residents maintain meaningful, active lives

Conclusion• I would recommend this program to any facility where residents no

longer feel valuable and have lost their sense of worth.• A program like this will cause residents to take focus off themselves

and their circumstances by putting their focus on others.• It will return meaning and purpose to their life.

• LESSONS LEARNED• Never assume that a resident is not a good candidate for this program.• I have a gentleman (who is a deacon) who did not want to see a

chaplain when he first came in. Six months later he conducted his first Good Friday Service and is anxious to help me any way he can.