WINTER GROWTH INC
Where friendships grow and care is extraordinary
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our founder created Winter Growth in 1979 because of her dreams and passion to create better services for society's most vulnerable population. She was determined that Winter Growth's services would be provided in a way that offered quality of life for seniors facing chronic illnesses and disabilities, as well as much-needed support for their families.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Assisted Living
Provide residential services including memory care, medication management, assistance with activities of daily living, nutritious meals, laundry and housekeeping services in a home-like setting.
Adult Medical Day Care
Provide 6 hrs of therapeutic activities, nursing oversight, medication administration, nutritious meals and snacks, and assisted transportation.
Assisted Transportation
Provide assisted transportation for Winter Growth's Assisted Living residents and Day Program participants to allow access to physician appointments, shopping and other activities.
Respite Care
Hourly and overnight respite care for seniors and adults with disabilities.
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of Adult Day Care clients
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Adult Medical Day Care
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We are slowly rebuilding from the negative impacts of the pandemic.
Number of Adult Day Care client service days
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Adult Medical Day Care
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We are slowly rebuilding since the impact of the pandemic.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Adult Medical Day Care
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our volunteer programs were limited in 2020 and 2021. We are looking forward to welcoming both our individual volunteers and volunteer groups back in 2022.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Over the next four years, Winter Growth will work on several strategic goals; strengthen the person-centered care model, increasing community awareness, and retention of staff.
Person-centered care promotes choice, purpose and meaning in daily life. This approach is found to have better quality outcomes for clients as staff increases their ability to identify and respond appropriately to the changing needs of our clients. Winter Growth created a new position, Chief Operating Officer (COO), to have a designated staff member who is focused on evaluating current processes, making recommendations for improvement and training staff on any new initiatives. Improving our programs should lead to an increase in client loyalty and referrals. Both clients and families have opportunities to communicate preferences and choices about care and activities and opportunities to provide feedback at in-person meetings and on surveys.
The COO is also responsible to increase community awareness of the benefits of our programs to clients and their families and to look for partnerships in the community to enhance the services we provide. We already have a potential partnership with the Iris Music Project to create a comprehensive, inclusive approach to musical engagement that meets the needs of the populations we serve. The COO has been actively participating in community organizations to look for more partnerships and has facilitated numerous tours of the facility to increase awareness.
As a healthcare provider, we have been experiencing the strain of retaining and hiring qualified staff in a very competitive market. We are working on strengthening our onboarding process and ensuring that all staff have an outlet to express their concerns and suggestions to strengthen what works well and improve where we can. Our team has been working to understand the needs of our staff to increase loyalty and reduce turnover. Success will be evaluated by staff surveys and low staff turnover.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
A study by the American Cancer Society published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 2018 indicated a link between long periods of leisure time sitting and a higher risk of death from cancer, heart disease and other causes. The study defined prolonged sitting as 6 or more hours a day. According to the lead author Alpa Patel, Phd,, the study adds to the collective body of evidence that reducing sitting time is important for a healthy lifestyle. Winter Growth encourages not only participation in daily exercise but incorporates mini-movements throughout the day. During discussion groups staff will pause and encourage stretching. Clients move to different areas of the building throughout the day to prevent prolonged sitting. The study showed exercise strengthens the heart and lungs, reduces the pain of arthritis, and helps manage many of the diseases that seniors experience. Exercise also helps seniors maintain a healthy weight and avoid depression, and can delay dementia and general decline. Over the years we have seen our clients maintain strength and balance which has been shown to have a positive impact on ambulation often impacting the number of falls experienced from an unsteady gait.
Daily brain fitness activities are incorporated into the programs to stimulate memory and have shown an impact on a clients functioning level including the ability to eat and dress independently. Studies have shown that keeping both physically and mentally active can slow the rate of mental decline; and clients family members have repeatedly confirmed that their loved ones memory issues have been positively impacted by Winter Growths programming. In addition to the physical and cognitive benefits, each year participation in our programs reduces hospitalizations and nursing home admission. Winter Growth provides these services in its own facilities that have been tailored to support the needs of the clients we serve. Handrails are located throughout the building to aid in ambulation, special lighting assists those with vision issues, there are no stairs to maneuver, and we provide wheelchair accessible buses to transport people to/from the program, to outings and medical appointments.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Winter Growth has been providing adult medical daycare and assisted living since 1979. For the past ten years, we have seen more than 75% of clients continue to live in the community avoiding nursing home placement. Remaining in the community directly influences the quality of life for an individual, you can easily maintain family and friend connections as opposed to residing in a nursing home which is often a deterrent to visitors. Nursing oversight contributes to quick action when a client has a sudden change in behavior or is exhibiting new physical symptoms. Alerting a physician quickly can result in positive outcomes for a clients health status. Over the past five years, 70% of clients have avoided hospitalizations due to nursing oversight.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Each weekday our residents and daycare clients have the opportunity to participate in a 45-minute exercise class. Over the years we have seen our clients maintain strength and balance which has a direct impact on decreasing the probability of falling. Daily brain fitness activities are incorporated into the programs to stimulate memory. Studies have shown that keeping both physically and mentally active can slow the rate of mental decline; and clients' family members have repeatedly confirmed that their loved one's memory issues have been noticeably impacted by Winter Growth's programming.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
WINTER GROWTH INC
Board of directorsas of 01/03/2024
Robert Martin
Michael Valazak, Treasurer
Miller Development.
Barbara Falcigno, Secretary
Tom Benedict
Alvin Thompson
Applied Communications and Technology
Barbara Bednarzik
Ann Johnson
Leisure World Maryland
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/10/2019GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.