JANESVILLE, WI – KANDU is collaborating with Express Employment Professionals to present the Refresh Leadership Live Simulcast. Seminar participants will earn three continuing education credits at this event held Wednesday, May 18, 2011, from 8:00 to 11:30 am.Express Employment Professionals have chosen the KANDU Banquet Hall at 1741 Adel Street, Janesville, for this simulcast. Best Events will provide a light continental breakfast. The cost is $30 per person, and $20 for each additional co-worker. All proceeds will benefit KANDU Industries. This year’s live simulcast speakers will be Ken Blanchard, author, speaker, and business consultant; Peyton Manning, NFL quarterback and proven leader; and Walter Bond, former NBA player and business expert.

Registration is required. For more information and to register, visit www.refreshleadership.com/live. You may also call Barb Astin or Alyce Lashock at the Express Employment Professionals office at 608-741-1600.

Recalling memories from the past can be a great activity for the person who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia.  As the disease progresses, we see that it is difficult to learn new information but some memories created long ago may remain intact.  With guided discussion, these memories can sometimes be recalled and wonderful dialog can take place.

As a family member or caregiver, keep in mind the age of the person you are caring for.   Use this information to guide your discussion.  For example, let’s consider that someone grew up during the 1940’s.  This is the time of Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart.  World War II was raging during the first half of the decade.  The world was recovering and re-organizing during the second half.  Computers were arriving on the scene.  It’s a Wonderful Life and Citizen Kane were in the cinema.  This type of information can provide useful topics for discussion.  The information is relevant to the time when memories were developed for this person.  The names Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart may trigger memories for this person.  Talk about the war might spark conversation about living conditions, employment and other related events.

The internet is an excellent source of information related to time periods that would be relevant to the person you are caring for.  At KANDU Day Services/Memory Care, we also use a tool called the Leisure Interest Inventory.  It is a comprehensive list of hobbies and activities that people may have been involved in during recreation and leisure throughout their life.  Whether they have a current interest or have participated in named activities in the past is indicated. This allows us to individualize their support while at KANDU.  Again, it also gives us information into the likes/dislikes of the individuals we support.  Along with identifying preferences for activities, it also exposes topics for discussion.  For instance, if a person has been involved in sewing projects in the past, we can use this information to discuss what types of sewing; cross stitch, knitting, crocheting or quilting.  We can ask about favorite fabrics, stitches and projects.  Furthermore, we can gather resources from the library related to sewing.  Books and videos regarding the sewing topic can be provided.  Fabrics and quilts can be brought in to share with the group during discussion.  The number of possibilities seems endless once the leisure interest has been uncovered.

Not every person will respond to memory recall discussions or activities but in a group setting, it can be very effective.  It is a valuable tool that can provide meaningful activity for your loved one. 

Respectfully submitted by:
Julie Smith, Program Manager
KANDU Day Services/Memory Care Program

This is the third in a series of four blogs touching on when and why companies would work with KANDU for production services.

Companies making decisions about their future regularly review the balance of expense versus revenue or “return on investment.” The question of whether to take on permanent overhead costs for growth within your walls depends on your needs including timing, predictability, risk-tolerance and market demand.

Company C is growing. They have a new product that takes up too much space and they don’t want to invest in a move or expansion project until they know how the market receives this new product. They call us. We have the space, the capacity and we manage the inventory seamlessly to their monthly requirements.  By working with KANDU Industries they respond to the market quicker and with less long-term risk. It is a win-win.

It is a common saying around here that if you are having a bad day, go walk out on the production floor and spend some time with the client workers. It doesn’t matter if they’ve seen you 10 days before or 10 minutes before, you’ll very likely be greeted by kind hand waving, by name and with lots of enthusiasm. You’ll hear everything from “Hi!” to “You look nice today” to more personal, “I’m going to see my niece tonight!” Their generous sharing of info and greetings often improves the feel of the day. My co-worker Jennie once said, “Wow! A person can feel like a rock star just walking through a room!” It made me wonder how often I make others feel like a rock star. Here’s hoping you feel like one this week. If not, stop by!

Welcome to the new KANDU Blog, the place for inside information, news, events, and other interesting stuff about everything KANDU! We are hoping this will become a great addition to the way we interact with our community and provide you with a view into what really goes on here.  This is just starting up, so please be patient as it will take time for the posts to start rolling in. If you have an idea about somthing you want to see here, let us know.