Bailey-Boushay House Homefront
Newsletter February 2016 Edition
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Volunteers set up the room and create a festive atmosphere for residents and their guests.
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Inside this issue
The Joys of Eating Together | Wells Fargo | Chefs' Dinner
The Joys of Eating Together
Sharing meals builds community for Bailey-Boushay residents
“We celebrate often at Bailey-Boushay House,” says Brian Knowles, executive director. “Coming together to share food and joy is good medicine for all of us.”
Upstairs in the 35-bed nursing home, residents can break bread with others at both lunch and dinner. Whether food is prepared for the regular menu or for a festive occasion, meals at Bailey-Boushay are always about more than nutrition.
Dining with pizazz and dignity
In January the menu for “Notte Italiano” was passed out a week before a favorite quarterly tradition: An elegant dinner party for residents to share with their loved ones and each other.
The buzz started immediately, fueled by memories of the 2015 Italian feast. Last year resident Tina Flink wrote a rave review in her blog about the magic of that experience.
“Tonight,” she wrote, “we had a very special evening event. Viva Italia -- a night of opera
and delicious Italian fare. It was like a night out on the town without the logistical problems associated with transporting people with disabilities.”
Because the 53-year-old former accountant and Harley Davidson rider is paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), she uses an eye gaze-controlled communication device to compose email and her blog.
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January's dinner party theme was "Notte Italiano." Opera music paired
with delicious cuisine made for a special evening for residents and their
guests.
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Tina cranked out more than 250 words in her post, describing the evening’s many delights -- the ambience, attentive service, live entertainment -- deliciously capped off by Chef Daniel Molina’s five-course meal.
The blog post ends with a reflection on the power of great company, humor, food and music. “Opera-tunities surrounded us,” wrote Tina.
Making new memories together
Stepping out of patient and caregiver roles can be a restorative experience for residents and guests. With none of the hassles of going out to a fancy restaurant, having fun becomes the order of the night.
Residents become hosts. The people they love become honored guests. And residents without guests get to enjoy meeting and talking to new people.
Sharing the special meal gives everyone -- residents, guests, volunteer servers, and staff -- the chance to engage with each other in a fun social setting.
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Blogger and resident Tina Flink posts, "I gotta talk about it! I had another scrumptious dining experience, here at Bailey-Boushay House!”
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Pairing good food with good talk
“When having a nice dinner, it’s nice to have a companion to visit with,” says Dan, who has lived at Bailey-Boushay for six years.
Dan describes the food at these events as “awesome.” “I always tell my folks about the wonderful dinners,” he says. “Meals are a good memory. I love to cook, and I miss it.”
Enjoying each other builds community
Even a month after the December holiday party, Ron could still recite the menu by heart: lobster bisque, Caesar salad, prime rib, poached cod and Key lime pie. But it’s the social connection that means the most to Ron.
“I don’t have anyone to invite,” he says, “but I’ve met people at the parties. It’s nice. You can sit and talk to people.”
Ron’s face lights up when he tells a story about residents having fun at a small Halloween party last fall.
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Ron, who has lived at Bailey-Boushay for two years, agrees: “Chef Daniel is really good and dinner parties are fun.”
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“There’s a resident who can’t talk, and it was exciting to watch him laugh and play,” remembers Ron. “He was dressed up with a hat and scarf and looked like Elton John. People were singing along to Elton John and the Beatles. I used to like to sing but now I can’t. But it’s fun to listen. And it was fun to see him laugh.”
Lifting spirits with an elegant meal
To end Notte Italiano on a fun and festive note, Chef Daniel Molina personally torched the crème brûlée dessert at each table.
“Residents deserve to have a really elegant meal and to have a good time with food,” he says. “The feedback I get is that it’s an incredible experience for people. I see so much joy in the residents. Patients’ spirits go up for a week, and family leave really happy because the environment is good for residents.”
Celebrating life with food and friends
Recreational therapist Sandra Morrow knows how important all celebrations are at Bailey-Boushay. “With our frail residents, any event could be their last,” she says.
Communal meals, fancy evenings like Notte Italiano, and smaller weekly parties for holidays, birthdays (or just because) all help Bailey-Boushay residents keep a sense of normalcy and connection to the community.
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Elizabeth Martin, Foundation Relations Officer, Virginia Mason, accepts a grant on behalf of Bailey-Boushay House from Mark Dederer, Senior Vice President & Community Affairs Program Manager, Wells Fargo.
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Wells Fargo Support for Outpatient Program
Bailey-Boushay House is honored to receive a grant from Wells Fargo supporting the Outpatient Program. This generous gift will help provide critical services such as medications and adherence counseling, psychiatric care, medication monitoring, life-skills coaching, nutrition education, and daily meals to more than 300 clients annually.
We are proud to partner once again with Wells Fargo, an organization that is actively involved and committed to supporting local nonprofits in the communities where its employees live and work.
Bailey-Boushay House can continue to provide vital services, programs and care to those battling HIV/AIDS in our community with support from donors and organizations like Wells Fargo. Thank you!
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24th Annual Chefs’ Dinner
On Jan. 31, more than 300 guests joined us at Bell Harbor in Seattle to generate support for some of the most vulnerable members of our community: the clients of Bailey-Boushay House. With the help of local celebrity chefs, the 24th annual Chefs’ Dinner raised $375,000. This support will fund nutritious meals, medication management and life-skills classes for clients.
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