Do Justice - A Letter to the LSC Family

Dear Lutheran Services Carolinas Family,

 

Communication is hard.  LSC does a great job of sharing, even over-sharing, but it can never be enough.  The death of George Floyd and the international demonstrations for justice underway are a good example. 

 

When African American’s faith in humanity is in doubt, or any group is marginalized, LSC needs to respond.  LSC has been responding for years, but I need to communicate even better!  LSC has a long history of justice, diversity, and inclusion.  Black lives matter.  That statement doesn’t dismiss anyone or any other group; it acknowledges four hundred years of injustice and white privilege.  I realize to some those words may be triggers, but when Jesus left to look for the one sheep it didn’t mean the lives of the other sheep didn’t matter, it meant he needed to focus on the one in immediate danger.  Let us not forget our brothers and sisters in Christ that are in danger.  Their lives matter.  Sadly, in this world we need to say it.

 

LSC’s response begins, as always, with our Vision Statement from John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  Christ called for abundant life for everyone!  He did not reserve abundant life for one group over another.  Our Mission Statement, “Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all those we serve,” puts our vision into action, again with Christ leading as we walk together with all.  Our Vision and Mission guide everything we do.  All of our positions, policies, and actions flow from those headwaters.  One doesn’t have to be a Lutheran or Christian to be served by or work for LSC; our guide star is Christ.   LSC serves without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, disability or veteran status, or any other legally protected status. The world will, like the song says, “know we are Christians by our love.”

 

Many initiatives flow from our core beliefs, like our values:  Faith, Integrity, Respect, Excellence, Collaboration, and Compassion.  LSC’s Dignity and Respect Statement was developed from this to tell the world:

 

At Lutheran Services Carolinas, we believe our family of residents/clients, their families, teammates, and friends each have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. If you ever feel you have not been treated with dignity and respect, we encourage you to discuss this with a supervisor or the administrator/executive director immediately. Everyone’s active participation is necessary for us to live by Christ’s admonition to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Our Dignity and Respect Statement is polite, but be assured the words carry great weight.  LSC unequivocally denounces racism, discrimination, intolerance, and oppression.  We have a zero tolerance for any form of racism, discrimination, or oppression. 

 

LSC’s initiatives span inclusion of diversity and inclusion in LSC’s strategic plan; creating The LSC Way, a strong culture of service for all teammates; the LSC Diversity Council, open to every one of LSC’s over 2,000 teammates; adoption of the Just Culture philosophy to console the teammate who makes a mistake, to counsel a teammate exhibiting at- risk behavior, and to punish the reckless; a strong Cultural Competence plan; the creation of Lutheran Services University to lead and share diversity training for all teammates including all supervisors;…

 

LSC’s justice and diversity efforts don’t stop at the front door.  We are a corporate citizen, and each member of the LSC Family is a member of their community.  LSC has been actively involved with the N.C. Lutheran church’s African Descent Strategy Team since 2003.  Multicultural ministries, LGTBQ efforts, and Hispanic outreach have all influenced LSC.  A few years ago, the Ku Klux Klan leafleted our Columbia, S.C Office neighborhood to protest LSC’s refugee services.  We were okay with being targeted by the KKK; we are on the right side of history.  All those collaborations and events have influenced LSC’s learning, sharing, and serving. 

 

Our national Lutheran church has likewise been a leader in justice and diversity.  LSC’s first response to the death of George Floyd was to widely share Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton’s statement affirming the Lutheran church’s commitment to combat racism and white supremacy.  Bishop Eaton began her statement by quoting Micah 6:8,

 

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

 

Since that has been my personal mission statement for many years, her statement spoke to me deeply.  I am a person of privilege, which is all the more reason to use my voice to lift up those who are less privileged and who have been marginalized.   

 

Please let me end with a call to action.  I urge every member of the LSC Family to mourn the death of child of God George Floyd and others that have died and been brutalized; pray for our country; learn and study more about Black Lives Matter, justice, diversity, inclusion; and, if you are called to it, to stand up or lie down in peaceful demonstration for liberty and justice for all as is our first amendment right.

 

Peace be with you.

 

Ted W. Goins, Jr.

President

NC Lutheran Synod and LSC Update

I was invited to join a Zoom call with Lutheran Bishop Tim Smith & 40 Lutheran pastors & deacons this morning, 5-27-20. They invited me to share a update on LSC, specifically Covid-19 information.  I was throwing my notes in the trash, when it dawned on me these notes would be a good update for anyone interested.  My talking points are appropriate for any reader:

1. Thank you all for your prayers and support!  Many of you have participated in window visits, parades, etc.
2. Covid has been devastating to our residents, our mission, and our model of hospitality.
3. Nursing homes are not the cause of Covid-19; nursing homes are the canary in the coal mine of our communities.  If there is Covid in the community, it will attack the most vulnerable seniors.  That is who we serve!
4. Shockingly, LSC senior communities as still Covid-free!  It is hard to believe since it is all around us!  And we are more vulnerable now since people are not being as safe or careful.  We have had a number of staff affected, but no residents, so far.  We have had three clients in a S.C. group home, thankfully, asymptomatic.
5. Nursing homes may have 12-18 months of this, until a vaccine is created and distributed!   We have a long row ahead of us still.
6. We are beginning to slightly open up our Independent living apartments; residents can now come and go.  We are strongly encouraging them and everyone to practice the 3 Ws:  wear mask, wash hands, wait 6 feet apart!
7. How can pastors and congregations help?  There is a nursing home or assisted living near you, doesn’t have to be a Lutheran home.  You can:  organize or participate in a car parade, window visit whether you know the residents or not, make cards for residents.  Call your local nursing home or assisted living and offer.
8. LSC is assuming 15% ownership in PACE of the Triad on June 1, 2020, giving LSC a larger presence in the Greensboro area!  LSC is assuming 50% ownership of another PACE program this summer, but cannot announce publicly until federal approval is received.  Exciting growth of the LSC mission.  Learn more about PACE at www.npaonline.org.

A number of questions were discussed around immigration (halted), foster care (great need but no families being approved during shutdown), nursing homes in S.C. (about the same story as NC), can we deliver food (if you are family/friend for residents, yes to feed teammates), financial impact (difficult, massive expenses, but we are getting some additional funding),  etc.

Tammy Jones West led the group in prayer for all of LSC, for residents/clients and teammates/heroes.  Participants were invited to add names or prayers in the Chat feature and Tammy read those off too!  Very powerful!  It is nice to know that we have so many people praying for us and supporting us! We Are The Church Together!

And to all of you, thank you for your prayers and support! 

Oh, The Places You'll Go

LeadingAge NC shared a leadership lesson that I enjoyed and customized to LSC. I know you will enjoy, and you might want to finds ways to share with all of LSC:

 

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go,” wrote Dr. Seuss in Oh, The Places You’ll Go.

Every LSC teammate is a leader.  You are in charge of your life, your dreams, your goals, your destiny. You build your skills; you define your talents. LSC and the residents and clients for whom you care rely on you. What is the next step in your professional growth? When are you going to take that step? What additional skills, training, or resources do you need?  I hope that growth and development is within LSC, but if you decide to go off and conquer the world, we will support you in that too!  Where do you want to go?!

Trying to be proactive and transparent.  Lutheran Services Carolinas has, since this letter, had two teammates test positive for Covid.  They are not working, being treated at home, and further testing shows that no residents/clients have been infected.  Thank you all for your prayers!


April 15, 2020


Dear LSC Family,

     Lutheran Services Carolinas nursing homes, assisted and independent living communities, group homes, and other health and human services are still free of COVID-19 as of this moment. We all are prepared for that to change, since so many people have it and it is so easily spread, especially in congregate housing.

     So far, LSC has had COVID-19-type symptoms or suspicions in all of our senior services communities, but no positive tests. Last week at Clemmons and Salisbury, we tested a total of 30 residents and teammates. All tests were negative, thank God!

     LSC’s over 2,000 teammates are working hard and selflessly to keep our residents and clients safe. God bless and protect each and every one of you!

     I also want to lift up the unsung, invisible infrastructure that is supporting our resident/clients and front-line heroes! Our administrative teams are serving on state-level committees, participating in daily conference calls, and then implementing changes. Daily changes are difficult to manage, but the LSC family is being forgiving and understanding.

     Behind our administrative team is a strong wall of government and professional associations who are gathering all the disparate information and feeding it to us. The Centers for Disease Control and our NC Department of Health and Human Services have been true public servants.

     We could not do this work without our professional associations. American Health Care Association, North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association, LeadingAge, LeadingAgeNC, Benchmarks, and Palmetto Association for Children and Families have all worked hard to get us providers the information we need to do our work.

      Lastly, thank you all again for your prayers and support as we face the greatest threat to our residents and clients in modern history. And please remember, social distance and stay safe!

Yours in Christ,

Ted W. Goins, Jr.

President and CEO

Stop Sign Abused

The federal government has started using a red stop sign on the national nursing home website, if inspectors cite abuse.  The stop sign might mean a health care community has a problem, or it might mean you should stop even reading the national nursing home website. 

Recently, a top flight community had an incident.  A nursing assistant was accused of being rough transferring a resident from one chair to another.  Even though there was a difference of opinion about whether it was rough or that the resident was struggling, making the transfer difficult, out of an abundance of caution the nursing assistant was terminated.  The community immediately reported the incident to the appropriate government agency.  The agency responded that they were not going to investigate further.  

Six months later during an inspection, the inspectors reviewed the incident and fined the community approximately $100,000 for abuse.  Their rationale was that they have a zero tolerance for abuse, so any abuse must be penalized.  Lutheran Services Carolinas and every other health care organization had a zero tolerance for abuse before the government did. The person was immediately terminated and reported.  Events will happen, but how health care providers address an event is the test.  What more can an honest provider do?  The broken federal system is running good communities and good people away; do we want to leave our elders in the hands of who’s left?

Nursing Home Clarification

WCNC published a story about seven Charlotte area nursing homes on 2-11-20. Unwittingly, WCNC shared just part of the story.

The federal government system for inspecting and reporting on nursing homes is flawed,inaccurate, and antequated. The government recently added a stop sign to its system, which purports to warn people about nursing homes where abuse occurs. And the government definition and guidance on abuse is byzantine.

While the nursing homes noted may have had problems, they could also be among the best. If a rogue employee neglected or verbally abused a resident and the nursing home immediately fired the employee, the nursing home would still be cited for the abuse, and would have received a "red stop light." In all fairness, it is possible that a nursing home did not take appropriate action and should be punished.

There is no substitute for being actively involved in your community nursing home. If your friends are there, if you visit there regularly, you'll know where you and your family will want to go if and when the need arises. And the need will arise. Go visit your local nursing home this week!

One cannot reduce a person to a sheet of paper, and one cannot reduce a nursing home, a health care community, to a piece of paper. The old saying is "seeing is believing," not "reading is believing." Please don't believe everything you read.

Orpha Shuford. Well done, good and faithful servant.

We lost Orpha Shuford this week. Mrs. Shuford worked at Trinity Village, the Lutheran Home in Hickory, NC, for most of her 50-year nursing career. Mrs. Shuford was a saint! Wife of a Lutheran minister, Mrs. Shuford's ministry was seniors. She ministered to the people who called Trinity Village home. She was professional, quiet, kind, and always at work! Mrs. Shuford died with week at the age of 96, living where she served so diligently, at Trinity Village. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Nursing Home Over-Regulation and Solution

Complaining is a job, problem solving is a vocation. I have always appreciated people who don’t just complain, but come with a plan to fix the problem. That gets harder the bigger the issue, the less control we have. Our current politics and societal changes come to mind.

Recently, I found myself once again railing at the overwhelming issues health care professionals face due in large part to over-regulation. Our national nursing home regulatory process costs millions and doesn’t work. We are regulating nursing homes as we have since the 1970s and just continue to pile on more regulations and more penalties and more paper, but we are not getting the return in quality and cost efficiency our parents, our nation’s senior’s, deserve.

I’d like to offer a solution, not just a complaint. In this age of technology, our federal government is spending millions of dollars a year to drive 4-5 or more inspectors to every nursing home in the United States for 3-5 days every year, or more often. Think of the salaries, the mileage, the hotels and meals. Then add the administrative costs, the teams that inspect the inspectors, and the people who go out and inspect when a complaint is lodged. The government is spending millions of all of our tax dollars, health care professionals aren’t providing care because they are responding to inspectors, and quality is not much affected.

This failed system is not the inspectors’ fault. By and large I have found inspectors to be dedicated public servants, they are just working in a broken system.

There’s a better, simpler, cheaper way than the current broken system. Nursing homes can be monitored through technology, inspections of high performing nursing homes could be curtailed so more time could be spent with true under-performers who need it, all nursing homes can be routinely monitored through current technology, the complaint process could be improved, inspectors can become collaborative consultants, not just inspectors. Quality could go up, and cost go down. How many times do taxpayers get an opportunity like that? Instead, our country continues to live by the quote from Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Refugee Defined

Language matters. As we discuss refugee and immigration issues with people on both ends of the political spectrum, it is clear that language divides. We have not done a good enough job educating people on the simple definitions of a refugee, immigrant, and asylees.

A refugee is a person who has had to flee her/his country of origin out of fear of persecution or death. I have started to use the term legal refugee. Legal refugees are people who have been extreme-vetted, generally wait years in a refugee camp in a third country, and then are invited by the United States government to come live in the United States. Non-legal refugees could slip into the US, but that doesn’t happen often as it’s too difficult to get to the United States. A good example of non-legal refugees would be the boat-loads of Syrian refugees making their way uninvited across the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. I would still categorize non-legal refugees as illegal immigrants.

An immigrant is someone who has chosen to leave her/his country of origin for economic and other reasons. Legal immigrants are those who have applied to the United States and been granted permission to enter the country. An illegal immigrant is someone who has entered the U.S. without that permission, or who overstayed their time if here on a time-limited status. A 2017 study estimates that 42% of the illegal immigrants, 4.5 million people, are here because they have overstayed their expired visa!

Asylees are people who have entered the U.S. or arrived at a port of entry and requested asylum to escape persecution or death in their country of origin. Chinese people account for the most asylees in the U.S., followed by El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, Mexico, India, Nepal….

When Lutheran Services Carolinas talks about serving legal refugees, and advocating for legal immigrants to fill jobs when there are no Americans to fill them, I have heard no opposition save the most extreme. Language matters.

Seeing Jesus

Dear Friends,

I had the opportunity to visit a border state on June 11, 2019 with a group of health and human services leaders. It's easy to fall into the political debates; it's hard to ignore suffering people.

A bus took us to a very nice neighborhood where a number of the homes have been built by Habitat. In a row of six Habitat houses, three are owned by legal refugees who escaped war and death for a new life in America. The home owners were from Afghanistan and the Congo. They are succeeding! They are working homeowners who keep a spotlessly clean home. All three proudly opened thier homes for us to tour and talk about thier journey. The extreme political rhetoric on both sides doesn't match reality.

Our next stop was an aging auto repair shop where we met the proprietor and another entrepreneur, Iraq and Cuban refugees respectively. Both escaped to come pursue the American dream. The car repairman now employs eight people and has a successful business. The other has started a commercial cleaning service that is growing rapidly. He's keeping his day job till he's got enough business and help to transition to full time. Both took out and quickly repaid a micro loan from a sister Lutheran organization to our Lutheran Services Carolinas. The extreme political rhetoric on both sides doesn't match reality.

Our last stop was to a church where every Monday one or two ICE buses pull up and dump approximately 100 asylum seekers. The Lutheran organization arranges housing, communications, clothing, etc. for these people who are on their way to sponsoring family members across the country. We had the privilege of plating and serving lunch and visiting with 47 of these asylum seekers. They had been in the United States for less than 24 hours. Thanks to the Lutherans, they had had a good night's sleep, a shower, etc. after a horrible ordeal. The extreme political rhetoric on both sides doesn't match reality.

The Bible tells us that when we clothed and fed those in need, we have done the same to Jesus. Wow, I saw Jesus this week.

Criminal

Criminal podcast 114 was interesting, then went sideways into infuriatingly one-sided. They started bashing nursing homes, ignorant that many organizations have transformed into skilled living communities.

The speakers stated that the big problem with taking care of someone’s body is forgetting about their mind, and giving agency and dignity to people. “No one listens to you when you’re in a nursing home. No one listens to you when you’re over 65.” Then they discussed the rate of suicide, and nursing homes try to make residents easy to manage, just getting their bodies thru the day. Fake news!

Since one person is a thief, do we extrapolate that all people are thieves?

The speakers obviously have not heard of person-centered care, or life in a Lutheran Services Carolinas community: chaplains, activities from singalongs to games to beach trips, one on one visits with bedbound people, snow sledding, painting classes for people with memory issues, drum circles, political discussions,.... People can sleep late, stay up till all hours, it’s their call, not ours.

Go see for yourself! And go visit to make life better for a person living in any assisted or skilled living community!

Remarks to NC Lutheran Assembly

I had the opportunity to share a brief message about Lutheran Services Carolinas with the NC state Lutheran assembly on June 1, 2018. Here's what I shared about the amazing and passionate work of LSC.

Good afternoon!

The theme of this assembly is “We are the church for the sake of the world.”

We are the church with you, and we stand on the shoulders of YOU giants! In 1960 we were birthed by Drs. Norris, Lippard, Conrad, and each of you, the NC Synod. We started with one little health care center in Hickory in 1961 and are now serving from Asheville to Wilmington! We added child and family services in 1979, thanks to Bill Brittain, Dr. Misenheimer, and all of you!

This makes me want us to chant:

God is good - all the time
All the time - God is good

Thank you for your partnership! As the church together, LSC has chosen to reach out as Lutheran, as Christian, and as a diverse and inclusive ministry!

While other Lutheran organizations around the country struggle with identity including taking Lutheran out of their name, we chose to lead with Lutheran as in Lutheran Services Carolinas!

While other Christian ministries are taking Christ out of their missions, LSC has chosen to lead with, “Empowered by Christ!”

LSC purchased an old nursing home in Winston back in 2001 that was filled with precious children of God: 100% indigent and almost all persons of color. We built them a beautiful new $10M health care community in the heart of East Winston, and we’ve been trying to learn and model diversity and inclusion ever since.

We are the church!

We are the church to:
Elders needing nursing home and assisted living care, especially and passionately for those who can’t afford to pay!
Crack babies in need of therapeutic foster care.
Elders needing support at home!
People with developmental disabilities needing a group home or in a home with a host family.
Elders looking for safety, security, and community at Lutheridge, Salisbury, and Wilmington!
Refugees coming to America to escape a death sentence and to start a new life!
Babies looking to be adopted, and foster children to be adopted.
Homes for homeless veterans and homes for people with traumatic brain injury.
Foster homes for unaccompanied alien children whose parents sent them here to escape death or the slow death of gang violence.
Partnerships in low income senior apartments in Hickory and Dallas, and partnerships in PACE programs for low income citizens in Gastonia and Hickory.
Those in crisis and those whose lives have been forever changed by disasters, like Hurricane Matthew!

We are the church to thousands of people. We do this with YOU, thru 2,140 LSC teammates, through $139M worth of programs and services.

And there’s more to come!, more of all of the above along with: Renovations and additions at Salisbury and Albemarle, new senior living apartments in Clemmons, Trinity Landing - a new retirement center in Wilmington, and much more.

Thanks be to God and His NC Synod, who fulfill His mission, “Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all those we serve.”

Amen!

A New Reformation

Some thoughts on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

A new Reformation?

Jesus Christ turned our world on its head, but it seems society, then and now, just won’t listen. We persist in allowing society and its winners define who the winners and losers are.

I personally come from a long line of losers: Eve and Adam got kicked out of the garden; Jesus was crucified; Martin Luther was excommunicated. My poor immigrant ancestors fled Germany and then were on the wrong side of the Civil War; and people of my German heritage created one of the saddest eras in human history that included the horrors of Adolph Hitler and the Holocaust.

Times and perspectives change. From that ignominious past, I now find myself more of a winner according to the societal definition: I have a strong family, a good education, and a good job. I’m privileged, and in good health. Much has been handed to me, and I have worked hard to take advantage of what was given to me.

Let’s throw Lutheran Services Carolinas in there too. As CEO I find it difficult to talk independently because we’re all in this together. LSC has been on a path from small nonprofit to fairly significant two-state ministry. With a $139 million budget, LSC has more than 2,000 teammates who work to provide multiple services. LSC has been effective, strong and nimble. We are growing.

What can LSC do as an organization, and what can I do as an individual to honor what God has provided? I guess we and I could protect our positions, but that’s not very godly. I am reminded of the M’s: Matthew and Micah. Christ tells us that the second commandment, right after loving God, is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In Micah we are taught to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Christ turns winners and losers on their heads. Think of the Resurrection. Think of the rich man and the eye of the needle. Think about societal success versus Christ’s vision for humanity.

Here in 2017, on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we have the opportunity to participate in a new Reformation to serve seniors, children, and families who don’t have the resources or ability to care for themselves. Our Reformation vision and mission give us hands to serve and voices to advocate. Government is not all bad. In our country, government and nonprofits like LSC collaborate to provide essential services to people – people who could be you and me. So we lift our voices for our neighbors, often those who can’t speak for themselves: for nursing home residents, direct care workers who deserve a living wage, and foster children. We lift our voices for affordable health insurance for all; we lift our voices for veterans, refugees, and people with developmental disabilities and mental illness.

Please join LSC in embracing our heritage and using it and our voice to love our neighbor.

Follow Up From Florida, Texas, and Gulf Coast Disasters

Dear Lutheran Services Carolinas Family and Friends:

You have seen news coverage about the emergency response following the recent hurricanes in Florida, Texas and along the Gulf Coast. Our prayers and thoughts are with the victims of these natural disasters. You have seen news reports about the evacuations of people and institutions. Our mission statement is: “Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all we serve.” Walking together starts with safety, so I want reassure you that the safety of the people we serve is our top priority.

Each of our senior living and long term care communities, foster families, homes for people with developmental disabilities, etc. has a detailed disaster plan. Each of our senior communities has a generator, and LSC’s four newest communities have a generator that will operate the entire building. The plan for our communities and group homes includes procedures for sheltering in place as well as evacuating safely, if that is necessary. We ensure that food, water and medical supplies are available. We also have detailed plans for communicating with family members during an emergency.

Having a plan is important, but it’s just the first step. Our staff has taken time to practice implementing our emergency procedures. Throughout the year, we conduct regular fire drills as well as other disaster training. We work closely with our local first responders, including fire and police departments as well as the power company, food suppliers, water supplier, etc. to ensure we have their support during any situation that occurs.

We are entrusted with the care of our parents, grandparents, children, and friends. Each day, we do all we can to fulfill that promise. That includes being prepared for all circumstances, including natural disasters or other emergencies. While complete preparation is impossible as disasters are so unpredictable and unique, we commit to routine planning and preparation to do our best.

LSC continues to provide disaster recovery services from long-forgotten disasters in both South and North Carolina. This work is helping many who need it most, and it's raising disaster awareness for all of us. Let's let all these disasters be a lesson for all of us to plan for disasters professionally and personally!

Please be in touch with us if we can answer any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your prayers, and for reading this.

Tilting At Windmills, Parts 1 and 2

I try to keep my head down and do my work, but every once in a while I just can’t help but tilt at a windmill. I’ve tilted twice recently, and with the same results as Don Quixote.

My first windmill is an issue that frustrates long term care providers across the country, specifically for me here in North Carolina. The federal government has created a punitive and in many cases perfection-requiring regulatory environment. Violations can easily result in fines and other penalties. The fines were my latest windmill.

The federal government (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS) determined that these fines will accumulate and then can only be used to improve the quality in nursing homes across in our case the state of NC. The fines can only be accessed by applying for grants from the fund of fines. It was particularly frustrating to hear that the fines have accumulated to a total of $23 million! That money sitting in the bank is not improving quality for anyone.

In NC, state employees and the NC Culture Change Coalition review and preliminarily approve all grants, which are then approved or disapproved by the federal government. The state employees and the Coalition have been extremely helpful and collaborative. But the federal restrictions are onerous.

I wrote the head of CMS in hopes that the new federal administration’s desire to relieve regulatory burdens might provide some relief. Utilizing fines to improve quality is a worthy goal; it’s just that the bureaucracy gets in the way. The Death of Common Sense is the book that helped shape me years ago. Read it if you have time.

Now, I realize my plan was way out there, and way too simple. Since there is $23 million sitting there, nearly inaccessible, why not call a re-set. My suggestion was to leave $3 million in the fund to fund the few grant requests that can pass muster. I suggested the other $20 million be used to give a $500 bonus to every full time certified nursing assistant (CNA) who works in nursing homes in North Carolina. Even today, I cannot think of anything that would be more beneficial to the quality of care of all of our state’s residents than the promise of two years of bonuses. But apparently and sadly, the federal rules do not allow the fine money to be used for the things like wages or bonuses that would have the greatest impact on quality.

There were two reasons for tilting at this particular windmill: to honor every North Carolina CNA for their hard, hard work and because I thought we could take the lead on this issue. You see, LSC’s nursing home leaders have been very innovative, and we were willing to brave the regulatory requirements. We’ve gotten our fair share of the grant money, or more, so we didn’t have to whine because we weren’t getting grants.

Anyway, I had my say and got the reply I was expecting. My only hope is that this attention and the current administration’s desire to rein in over-regulation might conspire to get that money used to improve the quality in our state’s nursing facilities.
Round two is not quite so bad, and I didn’t start it, thank you very much!

The last week in August 2017 the Governor of South Carolina sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting that no refugees from the 6 Muslim countries in the Afghanistan area be relocated to SC. We immediately started getting press requests.

I shared that LSC has resettled thousands of South Carolinians from around the world, and will continue to do so in accordance with all applicable laws. The United States already performs extreme vetting on every refugee entering the country, which we feel is important to keep us all safe. After resettling over 12,000 refugees in the Carolinas without incident, LSC encourages all people to fulfill our biblical mandates to love one another and to welcome the stranger.

Further, we are in midst of the largest humanitarian crisis in world history. The US has always been a world leader and we need to be leading now.

At a time when our government has drastically cut the number of refugees coming to freedom, I have been advocating the US should be admitting 200,000 refugees each year. If we are going the be the leaders of the free world, we need to start leading!

The tilting is really trying to make sense out of the discussion. Refugees are already extreme vetted! No refugee has killed anyone in the United States since the Refugee Act of 1980 was enacted! Refugees are not a threat. I want our governments spending their time and energy on a government’s mission of public welfare and public safety. That means jobs, mental health, crime, drugs, and national defense. Now that’s tilting!

Refugee Services

A friend pointed out to me last week that our Facebook page had been heavily filled with refugee services for the last couple weeks, and what was up with that. That is true and it is as it should be. LSC and I have posted a number of pictures of nursing home visits and other services, but refugees are the current hot topic.

LSC's refugee services is a relatively small program, about $2.5 million in our budget of about $130 million. But size doesn't matter when we stand up for what's right. There's a song about needing to stand up for something or you'll fall for anything.

Much like a big sister standing up for her little brother, LSC stands for and stands up for the people we serve--in every program. Today it's refugees, tomorrow it will be nursing home residents or foster children.

Refugee services has become a political issue; facts are irrelevant to red meat politics. That's a sad state of affairs, but one we have to address with steadfastness and facts. The truth is LSC has been resettling refugees in the Carolinas since 1979. We have resettled people from many different religions and from all parts of the world. And with no issues! Refugees coming to the United States are already "extreme vetted," including biometric screening, interrogation-style interviews with trained professionals, and years of waiting in refugee camps. That is extreme!

Much of the problem is education. Our refugees get lumped in with the refugee flood into Europe, which is the exact opposite: no vetting, no identification, just people walking right in to European countries. People also don't understand the concept of undocumented immigrants, often called illegal immigrants as compared to refugees. Again, they are sneaking in or overstaying visas. Refugees are officially invited in by the United States government after "extreme vetting," and after approval by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

LSC's refugee services will probably shrink for the next few years from a paltry 460 to an even smaller probably 250. The U.S. has decided to reduce the number of refugees admitted to the US from 110,000 to 50,000. LSC will continue to serve, and eventually politics will move on to other issues. In my opinion, the US should be resettling at least 200,000 refugees each year to participate as a humanitarian leader in the world. US leadership is needed now more that ever, as the world is in its largest crisis of displaced people in recorded history: 65 million displaced people, among them includes $21 million refugees worldwide.

Facts matter. LSC will continue to do this important work. Today refugees are front and center, tomorrow it will be another group of people. But always, LSC will fulfill its mission: Empowered by Christ, we walk together with all we serve!

St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Columbia, SC

Below is a letter I just mailed to Pastor John Trump and the saints at St. Andrew's Lutheran, Columbia, SC. Cheryl and I spent most of Sunday, 9-11-16, with them. Wonderful visit and wonderful partnership.

September 13, 2016

St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church
1416 Broad River Rd.
Columbia, SC 29210-7623

Dear Pastor John and the St. Andrew’s Family:

Thank you for allowing me to be with you on September 11, 2016 at both services, the Sunday School hour, the after-church meal, and the tour of Welcome House. The Burmese youth choir was a beautiful addition! And thank you for the work we do together. I continue to bask in our Sunday fellowship and decided to reiterate the points I tried to make during my brief remarks to the congregation.

Thank you for the partnership between the South Carolina Synod and Lutheran Services Carolinas! That partnership allows us to serve in so many ways, from veterans to foster care, to people with developmental disabilities, to refugees. And no congregation in the Carolinas has a closer connection to Lutheran Services Carolinas than St. Andrew’s.

The Catholic Church just made one of my personal heroes, Mother Teresa, a saint. I have always taken to heart her words, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Few saints do more than the saints here at St. Andrews. Thank you again for your partnership and ministry through Welcome House and beyond!

We are the church together! Separately, we are so thin; together we are so strong! Your chocolate – the old parsonage, and our peanut butter – the refugee services program, make a great partnership. Serving and partnering is never easy. Wear and tear, constant turnover, cultural differences, cooking and bathroom issues – some days I’m sure you throw up your hands and lament, “No good deed goes unpunished!” But we are the church together! We overcome the obstacles and stand together to welcome people who are escaping death and death threats and persecution and starvation.

Lutheran Services Carolinas has resettled over 14,000 refugees since 1979 from every corner of the world and from many religions of the world. And without incident. We will continue to be the hands of Christ, to work with and for you in this imperfect world.

Thank you for your time Sunday and for God’s richest blessings on your ministry here at St. Andrew’s every day!

Yours in Christ,

Ted W. Goins, Jr.
President

Lutheran Services Carolinas and Grace Lutheran, Hendersonville, NC

Grace Lutheran celebrated their 100th anniversary on 9-4-16. They invited fellow church organizations to share connections. When I started thinking about it, there were so many connections. We are the Church together! My letter to Grace:

Grace Lutheran Church
1245 6th Ave. W
Hendersonville, NC 28739-3311

Dear Friends:

Congratulations and God’s richest blessings as you celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of Grace Lutheran Church. Grace has meant a great deal to Lutheran Services Carolinas, and to me personally.

Crescent View, now known as Trinity View, is a ministry of Lutheran Services Carolinas. Trinity View opened in 1991 to serve seniors in western North Carolina. Trinity View fulfills its mission as a faith-based, small, affordable, rental community.

Grace Lutheran Church has been instrumental in Trinity View’s founding and success. Your pastors and the congregation have been developers, supporters, volunteers, friends, employees, donors, board members, and always brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace and Trinity View have been an example of all of us being the church together! We are especially grateful that Grace and Pastor Greg & Brenda shared LSC teammate Elliott Williams with us.

Probably the most impactful connection between Grace Lutheran and Lutheran Services Carolinas is The Rev. Doctor Jefferson Norris, grandfather of Brenda Williams and great grandfather of Elliott. Dr. Norris, a former pastor at Grace, was a founder of Lutheran Services Carolinas, leaving Grace to become the first Executive Director of The Lutheran Home in Hickory, LSC’s first ministry. His legacy has grown into a $130 million ministry that serves the Carolinas through adoptions, foster care, refugee services, services for those with developmental disabilities, nursing homes, retirement centers, and much more.

Again, congratulations and blessings on your one hundredth anniversary, on our twenty-fifth anniversary together, and on the next generation of collaboration and mutual support. And on a personal note, Cheryl and I were married at Grace on October 27, 1990. We thank you for tying the knot tight allowing Cheryl and me a long and happy marriage!

Yours in Christ,



Ted W. Goins, Jr.
President

Lutheran Services Carolinas at SC Lutheran Assembly

The SC Lutheran Synod was nice enough to allow LSC to present to the Assembly. Below are my remarks. Then LSC Director of Refugee Services Bedrija Jazic was allowed extended time to share the current state of our refugee services work in the State of South Carolina.

Lutheran Services Carolinas is proud to be part of A Reforming Church: Living out Reconciliation and Renewal!

The Synod and LSC do that together.

We do that together when the Ku Klux Klan targets our Columbia office because we serve refugees who are escaping persecution and death. Bishop Yoos and the Synod stood foursquare against the Klan and to oppose anti refugee legislation.

We stand together to serve hundreds of foster children coming out of saddening and often horrendous broken home circumstances.

We have stood together in the last two years developing now 10 group homes for people with developmental disabilities.

We stand together serving homeless veterans, even though that is getting increasingly difficult due to government changes.

We stand together as we partner with WELCA to share books with disadvantaged children.

We stand together in local partnerships to meet local needs: St. Andrew’s Columbia’s refugee Welcome House, St. Luke Florence for use of their ministry house, All Saints Mt. Pleasant’s birthday cakes for foster children, St. John’s Beaufort for Christmas presents for foster children, St. Luke’s Summerville for hosting our foster care Christmas party since the early 2000s, and Reformation Columbia for our shared office/meeting space!

In 2011, our child and family services were about a $15 million ministry. About 10 in NC and 5 in SC.

Today, we have grown from $15 million to a budget of $19M, and one half of that budget is managed out of the Columbia office. I only mention budget because that means we are serving more people who need services!

That growth in ministry is coming through opportunities across the state, and an entrepreneurial and innovative staff in Columbia and around the state. Executive Director Bethany Vause and her staff have been passionate leaders in reform and in ministry.

LSC is just getting started. There are great needs across the state. In part to try to address those needs, the Synod has graciously given us permission to conduct a synod-wide capital campaign beginning in 2018.

One example, I am pleased to announce that LSC, with a grant from the ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response, will be employing a case manager in the ongoing aftermath of the October floods that devastated the area. And at the same time, LSC, with a grant from Lutheran Services in America, will be employing a VISTA worker for the next three years to help indigent and underserved populations be better prepared in the event of disasters. The emergency crews are long gone, but I am proud that our church is walking with those with the greatest need as they rebuild their lives.

Thank you for standing together with us as The Reforming Church, for your prayers, and for allowing me to be here today.

And now the star of the show. Refugee services is one of the hottest topics in the state and in the country. Bedrija Jazik is one of those passionate leaders I mentioned earlier. Our refugee services are growing in ministry and in size and in service. To brief you on the latest in refugee services, please join me in welcoming one of the most dedicated, sacrificing, passionate people I know, Bedrija Jazik.

Claudia Sigmon's retirement with 41 years of service!!!

The letter below will be read to CNA Claudia Sigmon at her Trinity Village, Hickory, retirement party at 2 pm today. I hate I'm not able to be there. Love this woman!

Dear Claudia,

I am so sorry that I am not there to celebrate your retirement from Trinity Village. I’m serving as Chair of the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce, and we have a major event today at exactly the same time as your party.

On behalf of the entire Lutheran Service Carolinas family, thank you for 41 years of faithful service to the residents of Trinity Village. You have been a role model for me. Your 16 years of quiet leadership and service had already become well known when I started there as administrator 25 years ago. I have witnessed your servant leadership happen ever since.

We often talk about ourselves as the hands and feet of Christ to the people we serve. You are the hands and feet of Christ! Imagine how many people you have comforted and cared for. Imagine how many hours you have served. The simple math of 41 years times a normal 2080 hours worked per year would equate to 85,280 hours. And I’m sure you never worked any extra shifts! You have set a standard that the rest of us can aspire to.

Thank you again for what you have done for your residents and for Trinity Village. God’s richest blessings as you enter this next phase of your life. And remember, once family, always family. So don’t be a stranger.

Yours in Christ,

Ted