Shaver hired to lead Adult Foster Care program

Peggy Shaver looks at her new job as the Tribe’s Adult Foster Care director as her opportunity to have a positive effect on people.

“I feel so honored to be here,” said Shaver during an interview at her office in Black Bear Lodge. “My way to pay it forward is to take care of the Elders. It’s just so rewarding to come to work every day and know you’re making a difference, that they have somebody that is watching out for them.”

Shaver started working for the Tribe at the end of June with Tribal member Candi Buswell. The duo make up the new team that cares for Elders living at the Adult Foster Care lodges in Grand Ronde.

Shaver, who graduated from Chemeketa Community College’s Nursing Program in 2013, will handle the day-to-day care and oversight of the eight residents living in the two lodges that are currently in operation. She is responsible for each resident’s medication and health needs.

“I check everyone every day,” said Shaver. “I go over their chart and check the medications for the patients. I will be their voice.”

Shaver also will oversee the staff of caregivers and ensure the lodges are in compliance with state regulations and guidelines so that the Tribe can maintain its licensure certification.

“We have great caregivers,” said Shaver. “The caregivers care for the residents like their own.”

Buswell, who spent the last six years as the administrative assistant to the Health & Wellness Center’s director, took her new position as Shaver’s administrative assistant in mid-June.

“I always loved my job over there,” said Buswell. “When I saw this job I knew the work would be something I would be familiar with. It also had a lot of new things and I thought it was time for me to do something different; create some growth and learn new things. Getting the opportunity to work with our Elders and do some activity planning sounded like a lot of fun. It was time to make a change and do something different. It’s going really good.”

Buswell is the first person to hold the new position of administrative assistant to the Adult Foster Care director. She said she handles all of the staff scheduling, goes grocery shopping for residents, plans menus and fills special requests.

“It’s really nice that we were able to create this position because it benefits our residents,” said Buswell. “It is good support for our caregivers, too.”

Buswell said she has taken residents on shopping trips, to the Tillamook Cheese Factory for a tour and to the Fourth of July Parade in Willamina. She said she goes on walks with residents and makes sure they get their needs from the Tribal Library.

Buswell also said she has been working with Shaver to make sure the lodges are ready for an impending surprise August inspection from the state.

“They just show up,” said Buswell. “This will be the first one. They gave us lists of things to have ready. We have worked really hard to make sure everything is in place.”

Kelly Rowe, the Tribe’s Executive Director of Health Services, said she has been impressed with Shaver’s demeanor in her time on the job.

“Coming in right when we are going through licensure certification, it’s this busy time of trying to learn the residents, learn the staff, meet their needs as well as prepare for this certification process and she was really calm,” said Rowe. “That really inspires a lot of confidence in me. She’s amazing. There is this piece of true caregiving; focusing on that we care. This is our family and our Tribal members.”

Buswell said that working with Shaver has shown that she really cares about the Elders.

“She’s great,” said Buswell. “She’s been great to work with. She’s real easy to get along with. She has experience with the elderly. I think they really like her. She relates well to them.”

Shaver has equal praise for Buswell as the two have settled in to their roles as teammates.

“She’s so wonderful,” Shaver said. “What a great person to have on your team. I’m so lucky that she is here with me. She’s organized. Any time there is a problem at the lodge she knows who to call. She has such a great connection to the community here.”

Rowe said having Shaver and Buswell together taking care of the Tribe’s Elders is something that makes her feel that she has a good team in place.

Rowe said she was sad to lose her assistant when Buswell moved to Adult Foster Care, but that she was excited for her to settle in to her new responsibilities to help strengthen the overall program the Tribe offers its most vulnerable members.

“I think having Peggy and Candi there is really setting the structure and putting the administration in place that is necessary,” said Rowe. “They both have good hearts and they come at it from the right place.

“Having Candi there is amazing because she has such a great skill of organization and I knew that would be the perfect match with Peggy. Candi can help support the administrative processes. The skills that she brings to it really complement Peggy well.”

Rowe said it is important that the residents feel like the lodges are homes.

“We are in this position of being able to develop what we want and make it better and better,” said Rowe. “Wanting to do what’s best for our Tribal members is always at the forefront and it’s encouraged and it’s important. That’s always the focus.”

Shaver, who is from a family of nurses, was working at the Weyerhauser mill in Dallas where she lives with her husband, Bob. When the mill closed in 2009, Shaver found herself at a crossroads.

“My sister is a nurse, my daughter is an R.N.,” said Shaver, who has five daughters between her and her husband. “I have three nieces that are nurses. I was working at Weyerhauser. I could walk to work from where I lived and that was going to be where I retired from.”

With some encouragement from her husband, Shaver went back to school to join her family members in the nursing field.

“When the sawmill closed I saw my opportunity to go back to college and get my nursing degree; this is what I always wanted to do,” said Shaver. “It was my calling. I always wanted to be a nurse.”

Shaver, who is originally from a small village in Nebraska of about 400 people, said she is impressed with the Tribe’s family-first philosophy and that she embraces it.

“The family involvement is such a stark difference,” said Shaver. “It’s just an honor to witness how much the Elders are cared for out here and I want to be a part of that. My plan for the future is to take care of the Elders and be part of the community.”