Last week I shared our organizational chart with you and pointed out that there are many authorities over the director (me) of Grace Place. I neglected to mention that there is an ultimate authority over all, God the Father. Without His blessings, none of what we are doing will be successful. I know that His strength is made perfect in my weakness…in other words, I could not open this business on my own power, and He will be given the credit. God has often chosen the weak and powerless to accomplish good in this world. And Grace Place will be a good thing for people who are aging (everyone).

I also forgot to mention an organization that can tell us what to do before we can open: The Small Business Administration. They are our business loan source. The administrators of the loan at Kentucky Bank tell me that we must update our personal financial statements from last year. First I must finish doing our taxes for 2014. Ugh. Another organization that can tell us what to do: The I.R.S.

So for now we are moving forward on faith. We have purchased tables and chairs for the dining rooms, chairs for the exercise sessions in the gym, bathroom accessories like soap, toilet and paper towel dispensers, spa equipment and tools, garbage cans and signs.

Here is a picture of the signs I made for the three restrooms, which we are calling loos. One of the people helping with the renovation is a delightful man from Ireland, and he calls them loos, which is easier to say than ‘restrooms’ and sounds more fun, so that is what we are calling them. During my health care administration coursework at the University of Kentucky we learned about the Toyota Way of Manufacturing. The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporation’s managerial approach and production system. Toyota first summed up its philosophy, values and manufacturing ideals in 2001, calling it “The Toyota Way 2001”. It consists of principles in two key areas: continuous improvement, and respect for people (Wikipedia).

Our bathroom signs are an example of one of the Toyota techniques for efficiency: naming and labeling everything so that communication is improved and employees know where to find tools that they need to do their job well. My grandmother said it this way: “A place for everything and everything in it’s place”.

According to Kentucky State Adult Day Center regulations, a record of cleaning and restocking of supplies must be displayed in the restrooms. Ours will be written on with wet erase markers to improve efficiency (we won’t have to print and post one every week):

I have to run now….meeting with a woman who wants to help us with our nutritional offering for members of Grace Place…then I am picking out paint colors at Porter Paints.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful week…try to get your sleep for your health’s sake with this awful time change http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/29/us-heart-daylightsaving-idUSBREA2S0D420140329