6
S moke S ignals
AUGUST 15, 2016
Shaver hired to lead Adult Foster Care
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
Peggy Shaver looks at her new
job as the Tribe’s Adult Foster Care
director as her opportunity to have
a positive effect on people.
“I feel so honored to be here,” said
Shaver during an interview at her
office in Black Bear Lodge. “My way
to pay it forward is to take care of
the Elders. It’s just so rewarding to
come to work every day and know
you’re making a difference, that
they have somebody that is watch-
ing out for them.”
Shaver started working for the
Tribe at the end of June with Tribal
member Candi Buswell. The duo
make up the new team that cares
for Elders living at the Adult Foster
Care lodges in Grand Ronde.
Shaver, who graduated from
Chemeketa Community College’s
Nursing Program in 2013, will han-
dle the day-to-day care and over-
sight of the eight residents living
in the two lodges that are currently
in operation. She is responsible
for each resident’s medication and
health needs.
“I check everyone every day,”
said Shaver. “I go over their chart
and check the medications for the
patients. I will be their voice.”
Shaver also will oversee the staff of
caregivers and ensure the lodges are
in compliance with state regulations
and guidelines so that the Tribe can
maintain its licensure certification.
“We have great caregivers,” said
Shaver. “The caregivers care for the
residents like their own.”
Buswell, who spent the last six
years as the administrative as-
sistant to the Health & Wellness
Center’s director, took her new
position as Shaver’s administrative
assistant in mid-June.
“I always loved my job over
there,” said Buswell. “When I saw
this job I knew the work would be
something I would be familiar with.
It also had a lot of new things and
I thought it was time for me to do
something different; create some
growth and learn new things. Get-
ting the opportunity to work with
our Elders and do some activity
planning sounded like a lot of fun.
It was time to make a change and
do something different. It’s going
really good.”
Buswell is the first person to hold
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Peggy Shaver, LPN, is the Tribe’s new Adult Foster Care director.
the new position of administrative
assistant to the Adult Foster Care
director. She said she handles all of
the staff scheduling, goes grocery
shopping for residents, plans menus
and fills special requests.
“It’s really nice that we were
able to create this position because
it benefits our residents,” said
Buswell. “It is good support for our
caregivers, too.”
Buswell said she has taken res-
idents on shopping trips, to the
Tillamook Cheese Factory for a tour
and to the Fourth of July Parade
in Willamina. She said she goes on
walks with residents and makes
sure they get their needs from the
Tribal Library.
Buswell also said she has been
working with Shaver to make sure
the lodges are ready for an impend-
ing surprise August inspection from
the state.
“They just show up,” said Buswell.
“This will be the first one. They gave
us lists of things to have ready. We
have worked really hard to make
sure everything is in place.”
Kelly Rowe, the Tribe’s Execu-
tive Director of Health Services,
said she has been impressed with
Shaver’s demeanor in her time on
the job.
“Coming in right when we are go-
ing through licensure certification,
it’s this busy time of trying to learn
the residents, learn the staff, meet
their needs as well as prepare for
this certification process and she
was really calm,” said Rowe. “That
really inspires a lot of confidence
in me. She’s amazing. There is this
piece of true caregiving; focusing on
that we care. This is our family and
our Tribal members.”
Buswell said that working with
Shaver has shown that she really
cares about the Elders.
“She’s great,” said Buswell. “She’s
been great to work with. She’s real
easy to get along with. She has ex-
perience with the elderly. I think
they really like her. She relates
well to them.”
Shaver has equal praise for
Buswell as the two have settled in
to their roles as teammates.
“She’s so wonderful,” Shaver said.
“What a great person to have on
your team. I’m so lucky that she
is here with me. She’s organized.
Any time there is a problem at the
lodge she knows who to call. She
has such a great connection to the
community here.”
Rowe said having Shaver and
Buswell together taking care of the
Tribe’s Elders is something that
makes her feel that she has a good
team in place.
Rowe said she was sad to lose her
assistant when Buswell moved to
Adult Foster Care, but that she was
excited for her to settle in to her new
responsibilities to help strengthen
the overall program the Tribe offers
its most vulnerable members.
“I think having Peggy and Candi
there is really setting the structure
and putting the administration in
place that is necessary,” said Rowe.
“They both have good hearts and
they come at it from the right place.
“Having Candi there is amazing
because she has such a great skill of
organization and I knew that would
be the perfect match with Peggy.
Candi can help support the admin-
istrative processes. The skills that
she brings to it really complement
Peggy well.”
Rowe said it is important that
the residents feel like the lodges
are homes.
“We are in this position of being
able to develop what we want and
make it better and better,” said
Rowe. “Wanting to do what’s best
for our Tribal members is always
at the forefront and it’s encouraged
and it’s important. That’s always
the focus.”
Shaver, who is from a family of
nurses, was working at the Wey-
erhauser mill in Dallas where she
lives with her husband, Bob. When
the mill closed in 2009, Shaver
found herself at a crossroads.
“My sister is a nurse, my daugh-
ter is an R.N.,” said Shaver, who
has five daughters between her and
her husband. “I have three nieces
that are nurses.
“I was working at Weyerhauser.
I could walk to work from where
I lived and that was going to be
where I retired from.”
With some encouragement from
her husband, Shaver went back to
school to join her family members
in the nursing field.
“When the sawmill closed I saw
my opportunity to go back to college
and get my nursing degree; this is
what I always wanted to do,” said
Shaver. “It was my calling. I always
wanted to be a nurse.”
Shaver, who is originally from a
small village in Nebraska of about
400 people, said she is impressed
with the Tribe’s family-first phi-
losophy and that she embraces it.
“The family involvement is such a
stark difference,” said Shaver. “It’s
just an honor to witness how much
the Elders are cared for out here
and I want to be a part of that. My
plan for the future is to take care
of the Elders and be part of the
community.”
From Oregon to Kansas
Sierra Herron turned 18 years
old on July 31, 2016. She
is very active in sports. Her
team has two championships
under its belt this summer.
She is also a straight-A
student. She will graduate in
May 2017, Her plans for the
future will be in the
medical field.
Happy birthday, Love,
from proud grandma Sha-
ron Wattier, father Mick
Herron, aunt Marline Gro-
shong, uncle “Mo” and the
rest of family and friends.
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