Finishing Your List of Summer Home Improvement Jobs

Summer is the seasons when home improvement fans really get to go wild and let their imaginations fly, undertaking projects that at no other point in the year would they even consider tackling. Indeed most people end up scribbling down a fairly extensive list of renovation projects that need to, supposedly, be over and done with by the time the leaves start to fall. Yet, as with so many things in life, all of this is easier said than done, and oftentimes projects either get left for the cold season or pushed back for an entire year! To help home owners out in this regard, here we have highlighted a few renovation projects that are likely to be on most people’s summertime list and offered a few ideas for how to finish these projects on schedule and without too much hassle.

An excellent summer home improvement project could very easily be Replacing any old and deteriorated windows in the home. This sort of project is on the one hand cosmetic (windows have a really big impact on the way a home looks from the street, the backyard, etc.) and on the other hand it’s a functional project, as good windows will improve insulation throughout the home and will thereby reduce the electricity and/or the gas bill. Don’t just look into any old window set and don’t let your aesthetic priorities dominate your choice entirely, but rather research which window brands have got the best energy-efficiency ratings according to Energy Star. … Read More

The Project Manager’s Job Title And Role In An Organization

When a company organization is searched to find a project manager, the first results may be fruitless because no one with that job title can be found. The project manager’s identity is often hidden behind some other organizational roles. This is particularly true for specialized in-house projects where, for example, a person with the title ‘facilities manager’ might act as project manager during a major reorganization of accommodation. Another example is where a personal styled ‘senior engineer’ is made responsible for managing a costly new product design and development project.

Even where project management is accredited with the important of a full-time appointment, the situation can be made less clear by the variety of titles used to describe the job. Contract manager, scheduling and estimating manager, project coordinator, project coordination engineer, program engineer, project leader, and project manager are but a few of the titles which have been used. The trend in recent years has been encouraging, and project management is now widely recognized as a profession that deserves reasonable status and rewards with its own professional associations (The Association for Project Management in the UK) and with far less confusion over the job title.

The levels of responsibility and authority given to project managers vary considerably from one organization to another. In some cases they act simply as planners and coordinators. In other businesses the project manager will have complete authority over all those responsible for achieving the project objectives.

The career of a project manager may have started … Read More

Tabitha Health Care Services Nursing Home Introduces the Green House Project, Part II

This month we continue our discussion with Joyce Ebmeier of Tabitha Health Care Services. A 25-year veteran of the nursing home industry, Ebmeier talked about the social benefits of the Green House and a phenomenon she calls the “Green House Creep,” explaining how the model of care is leading to positive change at Tabitha’s 205-bed traditional nursing home, affectionately known as “the mothership.”

Mary’s story

To many, the social benefits of this house are undeniable. Living in a smaller community operating under its own set of rules makes for a happy household. When Mary, one of the first elders to move into the House, celebrated her 101st birthday, the staff asked her what she wanted. Ebmeier sounds wistful when she recalls, “Mary and her daughter sitting on the porch enjoying a margarita and a cigarette.” This year on her birthday, everyone gathered on the porch and had margaritas to honor her memory.

Community before business

It always is painful to lose someone you love, but Ebmeier says in the Green House it is “that intense and more. [Death] impacts the dynamics acutely.”

After the first death in the House, Tabitha staff acted to fill the spot. The residents and staff of the Green House pushed back, saying they “had not grieved enough yet” and needed more time.

Tabitha’s administration agreed, writing a policy for the House, outlining the steps to be taken when an elder died, in order to allow time for everyone to grieve properly.

Collaborative change

Tabitha’s administration … Read More