Neligh's Golden Living Center Embraces New Adventures

It's not the set of Carl Fredricksen's travels to Paradise Falls, but rather the Golden Living Center in Neligh where adventures, homes and bundles of balloons are abundant.

New Executive Director Isaac Smith said the Pixar film Up is the inspiration of a new program they are implementing this month.

“We will be doing different activities throughout building. The bulletin board will be repurposed to look like photo albums. Residents and staff will be able to post pictures of different places they have been,” Smith said.

The Golden Living Center will be showing the movie, Up, several times throughout the month in the Bird Room where residents, families and kids are invited to watch together.  

The entry way will have a 12x12 photo album featuring pictures of their activities throughout the month. A photo op is set up in the main dining hall with house and balloons. Residents will be able to take pictures and put them in “Our Adventure Book.”

“We want to show the community and our residents they have had their adventure out in their lives. We all have our own adventures, but here in the building, we can share our own golden adventure,” Smith said.

Smith said they answered a challenge from their district sales manager to make the Neligh facility the cast of a movie, and has since been creating a culture of this shared adventure.

Aside from celebrating their “Golden Adventure,” there have been several changes taking place in the recent months at this facility. 

Executive Director Isaac Smith said they have transitioned five different leadership positions in the last six months.

Jennifer Bush was the first to come on board in November as the Assistant Director of Nursing. Smith started in January along with the Director of Nursing Jonny Hoefer. Dietary Manager Michelle Keele started in March. Last month, Andrea Haddix started her position as the director of the Alzheimers’ Care Unit, which is a separate, locked unit within the building and has separate nursing staff and daily activities.

“We are working on scheduling an open house so people can come see some of the changes we’ve done. We are doing some painting, minor remodeling, and other updates,” Smith. 

Smith said there have been wage increases for the entire staff as well as new trainings and standards. 

“We are making sure nursing and social practices are up to the standards that we want them to be,” Smith said. “We are also building partnerships with other communities.

Smith mentioned they are making plans for the upcoming Nursing Home Week in May that includes an antique tractor display.

Before going the Golden Living team, Smith was a youth and worship pastor for four years and a missionary in Yemen and Egypt. He started a church in Delaware, where he met his wife, Brandi. 

The soon-to-be family of five have an 11-year old son, Noah and 1-year old girl, Ruby and is expecting another girl in June. 

“I had been interested in nursing administration before I got exposed to it in Sioux Falls with a different company and fell in love with it.”

Smith said he is excited to work with this the team at Golden Living on this “golden adventure.”

“I’ve always been driven to make the maximum impact with the most people that I can. I have staff that I can invest as much time as I can into making sure they are taken care of,” Smith said. “They already have the passion and the drive and the love to take care of people who need it. My goal is to make Golden Living a home for residents and staff.”