EvenMORE For You

Raise Your Glass!

We’ve all been told we should drink more water. Many of us struggle to drink water because it lacks the intrigue of a fancy sweetened coffee or fun-flavored energy drink. In fact, multiple studies report that as many as 75% of adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic dehydration. Undoubtedly, it benefits our bodies to drink good ole H2O, but why should we and how can we make it happen?

Why?

• Protects organs and tissues, cushions joints, and helps maintain normal movement.
• Helps you age slower, prevents or delays chronic disease and inflammation.
• Improves your workout performance. Water = muscle fuel.
• Improves mental focus, boosts productivity.
• Weight loss. Drink a cup before meals and watch your waistline shrink.
• Clearer, younger-looking skin. Ditch dry, wrinkled, dehydrated skin.  
• Carries nutrients and oxygen to your cells.  
• Aids digestion and flushes toxins.
• Maintains electrolyte balance.
• Mood! Water stimulates the flow of nutrients and hormones that release feel-good endorphins.

How?

• Make it a morning and evening habit. One glass in the morning will boost your energy and another at bedtime will keep you from waking up with dry mouth and bad breath.
• Buy colorful reusable bottles to refill throughout the day.
• Replace soda and energy drinks with water to boost your health and reduce your calorie intake.
• Eat your water – Lettuce, watermelon, and celery are mostly water. Try fruit-infused water to add flavor and fun.
• Schedule your water breaks by downloading a free app like Water Tracker to remind you of your hydration goals.
• Drink one glass of water before each meal. Not only will it add to your daily water intake, but it can also help you feel full, so you eat less.
• Challenge your co-workers to a friendly water consumption competition to fuel your hydration success.

Raise your glass! Cheers to health and hydration!

Developing a Better Tomorrow Starts with Us

By Danny Gutknecht
We’ve all heard the saying: the only constant in life is change. While change can be overwhelming, it’s inevitable—and one of the most powerful catalysts for new beginnings. As life moves forward, we must grow with it, evolving not just for progress, but for the sake of our own well-being and for those around us.

People deal with change in different ways. Some resist it, some become paralyzed by fear, and others embrace it, thriving in the process. I worked with two of the largest and first accountable care organizations in 2012 & 2013 helping them navigate a difficult time.

One moment stands out. I was working with a group of 300 physicians who were upset about selling their practices, adopting new medical procedures, and adjusting to an entirely new set of rules. After hearing their concerns, the leadership team asked for my advice. I simply said, “As out of control as things may feel, the best way to deal with change is to be part of it—become a better version of yourself, and everything will work out.” Many of those physicians still reach out today, grateful for that advice. 

Change, as any hospice worker knows, is a process of both grief and new beginnings. We will always feel the weight of time passing, not because we observe it from a distance, but because we are part of time itself, unfolding moment by moment.

How to Talk about Crossroads’ New Chapter

Smaller is Better for Our Patients and Families

“We are committed to building our remaining locations and we have the depth of talent and proven standards for the highest quality care and the most time spent bedside, including attended deaths, compared with any other hospice.”

That’s a quote from Crossroads Founder and CEO Perry Farmer in an article posted on Monday in McKnights Home Care, a national healthcare media company that covered Crossroads’ sale of five site locations to Agape Care Group.

Perry continued, “This is an opportunity for Crossroads to reach its highest potential” as a fewer number of locations are operated.

As you have the opportunity in the field, professionally and in your community to talk about Crossroads’ sale of locations and new focus on six remaining locations, please keep the talking points below in mind: 

We chose smaller to deliver MORE:

• In support of our mission to deliver the best care in hospice, Crossroads recently made a strategic decision to reduce its geographic footprint.
• Today’s healthcare compliance rules and regulations have made it difficult for hospices to operate without making a sizeable investment in a corporate structure with a full legal department.
• This type of investment would mean taking staff out of the field, like so many hospices with a corporate structure have been forced to do.
• We believe in operating by the highest service standards, driving innovation, and doing the right thing for the right reason, so we chose smaller to deliver more.
• We’re committed to this community and clinical excellence.
• We’re really excited about the future and the new innovations we have in the works.
• We’re not going anywhere but up.