Local health facility wins governor’s award

CONRAD — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently announced that two long-term care facilities have been selected to receive the 2018 Governor’s Award for Quality Care in Health Care Facilities. Mercy Living Center-North, of Clinton and Oakview Home, of Conrad, were selected from a field of 11 nursing facilities nominated for the Governor’s Award.

The second Award-winning facility, Oakview Home, is a 46-bed community-owned nursing facility overseen by a local board of directors.

Nominator Dixie Walters said Oakview “is the hub of community activity. Residents see people they know and have worked with, which helps greatly in the transition to living at Oakview. Residents do not feel alone.”

Walters cited several examples of how Oakview staff seeks to enhance the residents’ quality of life.

“When a resident has a particular interest or need, staff sees to it that the resident receives it,” she said. “A CNA accompanied a resident on a small aircraft flight. The resident was a former pilot and hadn’t flown for quite some time.”

The nursing, CNA and medical staff are on top of every issue, Walters wrote. “The staff always knows what’s needed to be done to help. The individual is important; one sizes does not fit all. When residents can do something that is special and unique to them, that is quality of Life. Life is not only maintained, it is improved. Exceptional care is not unusual for Oakview, it is the norm. They set their own bar very high.”

The Governor’s Award for Quality Care was established to recognize long-term care facilities that provide — in the nominator’s opinion — a high level of care to their residents. Since the first awards were presented in 2001, a total of 56 awards have been presented to 49 individual facilities.

“What is most unique about the Governor’s Award for Quality Care is the fact that facilities are nominated by those they serve or the family members of their residents,” Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Director Rod Roberts said. “The nominators have all experienced, first hand, the care and compassionate services provided by these facilities to their loved one, their neighbors and their friends.”

“The common theme running through all the nominations is Iowans caring for Iowans,” Roberts said. “We are fortunate in our state to have some of the finest people operating nursing homes where our senior citizens are recognized for their individuality and cared for with dignity and respect.”

“On behalf of Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, I look forward to presenting the 2018 Governor’s Awards for Quality Care to the administrators, staffs and residents at Mercy Living Center – North and Oakview,” he said.

Arneson promoted to VP and General Manager of Deimco

TAMA — Deimco Finishing Equipment, a designer and builder of custom finishing systems, announces the promotion of Tom Arneson to vice president and general manager. The position was created to support the continued growth of Deimco Finishing Equipment in the coming years.

“We are excited that Tom Arneson has accepted the position of Vice President and General Manager,” said Cindy Shirar, CFO and co-owner of Deimco. “Tom’s 24 years of experience engineering custom finishing equipment is irreplaceable to both Deimco and our customers.”

Arneson will be leading Deimco as it navigates future expansions in its facilities and in the turn-key finishing systems Deimco provides to its customers. Arneson began working at Deimco Finishing Equipment in 1994 and has served in many capacities. Prior to working at Deimco Finishing Equipment, Arneson worked at Standard Bearings in Des Moines. He has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Iowa.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve as vice president and general manager of Deimco Finishing Equipment,” Arneson said. “I look forward to applying my many years of experience to meet our customer’s needs with the highest quality finishing systems. This includes innovative technology, on-time deliveries and unyielding integrity in all we do.”

Additionally, the company announced three new hires in: Karol Smigowski — senior engineer, Shannon Lwe — electrical engineer and Jacob Shirar — sales engineer.

Smigowski joins Deimco after 11 years at US Concepts Inc. as a project engineer. While at US Concepts, Deimco and Smigowski worked collaboratively to co-develop application specific equipment for unique customers. Smigowski has a master’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Agriculture in Krakow, Poland. He will be leading the development of additional automated sanding technologies and guiding the company’s adoption of new machining technologies.

Lwe obtained her electrical engineering degree from Iowa State University in December of 2016. During her time at Iowa State, Lwe excelled academically and completed an internship with Intel. Lwe will develop custom controls and integrate new technologies to automate processes for Deimco’s customers.

Shirar joins Deimco after graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from Iowa State University in May of 2018. Shirar is the son of the owners, Kirk and Cindy Shirar, and has worked in different roles within the company throughout the past. Jacob will be heavily focused on strengthening customer relationships and new business development.

“We’re thrilled to add such high character people and such high caliber engineering talent to our team,” said Kirk Shirar, president. “We believe the time is right to make these significant investments as we execute our strategy to be the first choice finishing solutions provider.”

CGA to exhibit at League of Cities

Clapsaddle-Garber Associates, Inc. will be exhibiting at the Iowa League of Cities Conference Sept. 12-14 at the Mid-America Center, located on One Arena Way in Council Bluffs.

Between 400-450 attendees made up of city clerks, city council, mayors, city managers and other appointed and elected officials from large, medium and small cities around the state are expected. The League’s Annual Conference & Exhibit is the largest event in the state geared specifically toward the needs of Iowa’s elected and appointed municipal officials. Held in September of each year, the conference includes workshops, an exhibit hall and unique networking opportunities. This year there are 160 exhibit booths, including CGA’s, which is located at #80. Companies and organizations who offer services to cities are in attendance.

The exhibit hall is open from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 and from 8 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. on Sept. 13. The CGA booth (#80) will be staffed and ready for you to visit.

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