In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Diamond Willow.

Diamond Willow provides independent Assisted Living, Memory Care, and hospice care under one roof. Residents can age in place and never have to leave (as nursing home and hospice care are provided as needs advance). Diamond Willow has ten facilities in the region, plus Key Stone Bluffs, and employs a total of 300-400 staff. Proctor is the oldest facility, constructed in 2004, and the Cloquet facility was built in 2008. They then added Lester Park, Baxter, Alexandria, and more.  

The Cloquet facility was modeled to be built to be backed up into nature. With 30 employees, Cloquet is a star facility fully staffed, with good staff, under solid leadership. “Bigger isn’t always better,” said Samantha Anderson, the Onsite Manager/Administrator of Diamond Willow Cloquet. The setting is designed for fewer residents per suite. 

This design allows Diamond Willow to implement their model of care, person-centered care, in a home-like setting. Only 8-16 residents per home are provided the ultimate care by an integrated team of direct care staff, an onsite leadership team, and site-based registered nurses - all of whom work collaboratively to deliver the best-assisted living services.  

We met with passionate employees Samantha Anderson and Rudy Harvey. “At Diamond Willow, we are always admitting and hiring, and there are opportunities for CNAs, RNs, and LPNs at our facilities,” said Rudy Harvey, Admissions Director. We learned a lot about elder health care; not everything is apples to apples. Diamond Willow is proud to provide acuity staffing versus a price tag for care service. 

The care provided is census driven, so their staffing ratios for Cloquet are 6:1 (residents to staff). For private clients, they offer a flat rate with inclusive services versus other similar facilities which operate on point systems (points increase on care needs).

Interestingly, or perhaps ignorantly, we learned that Medicare stopped paying for nursing home care in 2004. “There is no boot camp for elder care education, you learn the process by assisting your parents, or you watch your parents help your grandparents. We need to better educate people at 60 and 70 on care options. There are two ways you gain entrance into our facility, that is by elderly waiver or private pay. Many elders stay at home in unsafe situations even though they are paying for long-term care insurance,” said Rudy Harvey. To learn more, contact them today.

Diamond Willow

130 W. North Road

Cloquet, MN 55720

(218) 878-1212

Website: https://diamondwillow.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiamondWillowCloquet/