Myrtle’s Journey
Look at where she’s been and read about her travels. Click on the locations below to read about the experience they had at:
Marquis Autumn Hills (SW Portland)
Marquis Autumn Hills offers assisted living, post acute rehab, home health care and Alzheimer’s care by people who are passionate about making sure that life is lived to the fullest at every stage.
6630 SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Hwy
Portland, OR 97225
Phone: (503) 292-7874
West Hills Assisted Living (SW Portland)
Myrtle, the symbolic wish tree for the MOVE coalition was on the move earlier this year visiting West Hills Village, a senior housing community located in SW Portland. Myrtle arrived in May and visited thru June. Her presence became a catalyst for staff members to express their wishes on ways to promote resident centered care. Staff members also enjoyed learning more about the mission and values of MOVE, and some even took a picture with Myrtle! All in all it was a very fruitful visit.
Rose Villa (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Earlier this year, Rose Villa had the pleasure of hosting a special visitor name Myrtle — a little white tree meant for gathering wishes about the future of eldercare and elderhood. We placed Myrtle in a spot of honor in our main lobby and invited all residents, staff and guests to adorn Myrtle by writing their wishes on little paper ornaments provided by Making Oregon Vital for Elders (MOVE). I filled out one wish ornament and hung it in a predominant location to get the ball rolling.
At first, people were shy about approaching Myrtle, and she sat quite plain for a week or more. We continued to promote Myrtle through our newsletter and conversing with those that passed by her with a curious look. Eventually a second ornament appeared and then another and then another. Before we knew it, there was a wish on nearly every branch! The staff at MOVE then returned to pick up Myrtle and take her home. MOVE also compiled the wishes that had been hung on Myrtle and sent them to us. We were delighted and inspired by the thoughtfulness and variety that was exhibited by those wishes. They ranged from the very concrete, “‘Brain Gym’ classes for mental agility” to the aspirational, “When considering the aging process, it is my wish that our societal mind-set could change from near total dread to a curious, positive expectation!”
We read these wishes out our bi-monthly Culture Change meeting, which includes staff members from all disciplines and departments as well as residents and our CEO. We evaluated our culture change projects through the lens of the wish list to make sure we are on track with where our community would like to see us go. We are! As we wrap up our current culture change initiatives, we will again refer back to this wish list to see what wisdom it can provide about what we should take on next.
Hosting Myrtle was an invaluable experience that allowed us to gather information in a non-invasive, creative manner from people who might not otherwise have taken the initiative to express themselves in this way. We are so grateful to have been given this opportunity!
Sincerely,
Erin Cornell
Director of Health Services
Myrtle is eager to visit your community! Find out how you can host Myrtle.
