LETTER: Keiro NW board expresses full confidence

Dear Editor,

As the Board of Directors, serving as volunteers and members of the Asian Pacific Islander community, we are proud to be associated with and representing Keiro Northwest (KNW).

Publically, we want the record to show that we support Bridgette Takeuchi, CEO, and her amazing team at Keiro Northwest 100 percent. These hard working individuals provide exceptional care to our residents and in no way is their quality of service subpar. Printed accusations of such have been taken personally by our staff and we want them to know they are exceptional and we are very grateful for all that they do.

Keiro has consistently received Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) highest quality rating (5 stars) for nursing facilities.

There are no staffing issues at our facility. We provide an average of 4.08 hours of care per resident per day (the required staffing is 3.4 hours of direct care per day).

All residents have received bathing care appropriate to their individual care plans.

All reported concerns/grievances are investigated, consistent with our organization’s standard practice and procedures.

Although we are not perfect, we take patient care very seriously and pride ourselves on our staff’s good work.

We are very excited about the energy, ideas, and collaboration of the team. New members have hit the ground running and we can only believe the majority of the workforce stands behind Bridgette and her vision as turnover has decreased 5 percent from last year.

We are here, as volunteers, fighting for another 40 more years. We, and the KNW leadership team, know that we stand on the shoulders of the community heroes who came before us. We know that Keiro came to existence because an entire community came together. As legend has it, half of our community initially supported this idea, and here we are today. We know that there are bumps and tough times with community organizations. However, we will not let a few voices shape the narrative of the hard work of our amazing and talented team.

We ask the community to come to us, or KNW management, directly if they have questions. We strongly feel that they will leave that conversation feeling positive about our future and in support of Keiro. You can reach any of us at AskKNW@KeiroNW.org or 206.323.7100.

We want to invite all to come and visit us for Keiro Conversations, which occur the first Tuesday of each month. Times will now vary to accommodate many different schedules. Please like us on Facebook or check in on our website to confirm times each month.

— Keiro NW Board