Linda Vista receives Culture Change Initiative grant from Oregon's DHS

Prestige Care, a provider of quality senior care, is pleased to announce that its Linda Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ashland, Ore. recently earned a Culture Change Initiative grant from Oregon's Department of Human Services (DHS).

The matching grant is part of Oregon's Culture Change Initiative, which seeks to help nursing centers increase focus on individualized care through policy changes that moves away from older institutional approaches to resident care.

Linda Vista's culture change grant encourages those who work at the community to collaborate with other grant recipients and industry professionals at training conferences and workshops geared toward culture change. The goal is to exchange ideas with peers and nursing center inspectors to implement programs and policies to improve the lives of those who live at the community.

"We're very excited to be part of the Culture Change Initiative," said Brenda Thornton, administrator at Linda Vista. "We'll be working with our advisors to implement programs that will enrich the experience for people who live at our community. Nothing is more important than providing the best in quality care and this grant helps us deliver on that promise."

Among the programs Linda Vista plans to explore with its culture change grant are community revitalization and sustainability projects that encourage participation by those who live at the community, Thornton says.

"We'll be using some of our grant to plant a cooperative garden that invites the people who live at Linda Vista to participate in the many stages of its growth," Thornton explained.

Linda Vista was one of six Oregon nursing centers to receive a culture change grant this year. Grant recipients are chosen by an independent panel that reviews qualified applications that outline specific programs promoting change. Grant recipients commit to matching the state-awarded grant, to bring the center's total investment in culture change to $5,000.

Oregon's Culture Change Initiative began in 2005 and continues to expand to include more qualified communities.