Meg Jones’ longtime volunteerism at Knute Nelson began with providing manicures to residents.
“My friend invited me to do manicures for the residents and they were very excited about getting their nails done, which was quite a rewarding experience,”

“When we were planning Grand Arbor, it was our vision to serve aging adults,” said Mark Anderson, President and CEO, Knute Nelson. “It was a big dream, and the whole community came together to help us make it a reality.”

Hospice care is a special kind of health care that focuses on the quality of life for people who are experiencing advanced, life-limited illness, and also provides care and support for those who are at home offering personal care.

Knute Nelson knows how hard Veterans work for America, and this Veterans Day, we salute all American service members, both past and present.

There is no doubt that we are working in a period of constant change. Despite these challenges, I remain optimistic for our future at Knute Nelson.

Brittney Thoreson, Vice President of Operations at Knute Nelson, grew up coming to the Alexandria lakes area to spend time with family. Little did she know, she would discover a “second family” here as well.

The Knute Nelson Foundation exists to create and nurture relationships with generous individuals, businesses, and grant-making foundations in the communities in which we serve.

With the constant and ever-changing ways of today, you may have been thinking about different ways to bring more work/life balance into your own personal life. For instance, how can I find more time for my family? Or, what could I do that would allow me to have more free time for errands, see loved ones and possibly work on growing my career?

As we age, some things that were once easy—dressing, laundry, bathing, and cooking, for example—no longer are.

We all need a little help sometimes, and for some aging adults, that’s all they need to stay safe and in their homes. Personalized care is the perfect solution.

Each year, residents of the Alexandria area recognize their favorite businesses and organizations in the Best of the Lakes Contest (sponsored by the Echo Press).

Thank you for recognizing us in eight categories this year. We’re honored!

Join us for a FREE BBQ-style lunch at the Knute Nelson Annual Community Picnic!

This year’s Community Picnic will be held on Tuesday, August 10 at the Care Center campus (420 12th Avenue East, Alexandria).

Knute Nelson invites the Park Rapids community to a free outdoor picnic at their Crystal Brook Senior Living campus (1006 Crocus Hill Street) on Thursday, August 26th from 11:30 am to 1 pm. 

John was the epitome of active. Fishing, hunting, biking, gardening, camping— especially in the Boundary Waters. Then in October 2020, he got COVID-19.

Knute Nelson has been nominated by readers of the Echo Press for 8 awards within the Best of the Lakes Area contest. Thank you to those who nominated us!

Senior Day at the Douglas County Fair saw kids, parents and seniors out for a day of fun in the sun.

From rides to food vendors, music to smiling faces, it was great to see everyone who stopped out.

Knute Nelson is proud to sponsor Senior Day at the Douglas County Fair on Thursday, August 19th!

Knute Nelson invites the Park Rapids community to a free outdoor picnic at their Crystal Brook Senior Living campus (1006 Crocus Hill Street) on Thursday, August 26th from 11:30 am to 1 pm.

Join us for a FREE BBQ-style lunch at the Knute Nelson Annual Community Picnic!

This year’s Community Picnic will be held on Tuesday, August 10 at the Care Center campus (420 12th Avenue East, Alexandria).

Alexandria, MN – Knute Nelson, a nonprofit senior living and services provider, will be expanding their continuum of care with the acquisition of Prairie Senior Cottages residential community in Alexandria on October 1, 2021.

“Hospice is a way of providing comfort and care. It’s a beautiful service,” said Sara Severson, Therapeutic Musician at Knute Nelson. “Not only for the patients but their families.”

These are all words and phrases that come to mind when you think of making a donation. But you may not immediately connect with these, because they are big and general ideas.

Four years ago, Stuart and his wife, Evelyn, moved to an independent living apartment at Grand Arbor. “We did not want to have to make a housing decision at a time of crisis,” he said. Moving was also a chance to downsize and de-clutter.

Finally, the warm weather has arrived! Time to hit the pool, and plan those golf outings, picnics, tennis dates, and all things outdoors.

The number one goal of hospice care is to enhance the patient’s quality of life by managing their symptoms and keeping them as comfortable as possible.

The mission of the Alzheimer’s Association is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support.

Thank you to the women and men who care for our patients and residents. Happy Nurses’ Week!

I’m Gyra Rozell. I came from Overland Park, Kansas, and I’m living at the Nelson Gables.

My husband worked in Kansas City and when he passed away, I moved up here because my son is up here. My son married a girl from Minnesota, settled on Lake Ida and here I am.

Seasonal allergies are incredibly common and something that millions of people experience every year. If you find yourself coughing, sneezing, experiencing congestion, or other bothersome symptoms this time of year – you’re not alone.

We invite you to participate in the 15th Annual Knute Nelson Golf Classic!

We have greatly enjoyed networking and golfing with you, while raising funds to support Knute Nelson’s mission of enriching the lives of everyone we serve.

Finding the perfect home health care provider can pose unique challenges. That’s why we have put together this short guide of good questions to ask a home health care provider.

This article details the various types of senior living available to help you get a better understanding of which level of care will best suit your loved one’s needs.

Contrary to previously held beliefs, cognitive abilities don’t necessarily decline with age. Lifelong learning offers many benefits for senior well-being and can enhance your mental and intellectual wellness.

Hospice care can make your time with them more enjoyable and memorable. This is why it’s so important to know when hospice should begin.

Caregiver burnout is described as a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion where you may experience feelings of anxiety, depression and extreme fatigue. Caregiver burnout can likely occur if you are caring for someone else and not getting the help you need, or if you’re trying to do more than you are able to.

No matter the age, our bodies depend on water to survive. From our individual cells to our organs, every component of our body requires water to function properly.

Every major change – like moving to senior living – also requires some planning. That’s why we’re reviewing all that’s offered at Grand Arbor, Knute Nelson’s independent living community in Alexandria, MN, so you can find the independent living community that is just right for you.

As you continue to age, you may struggle to meal prep like you used to or have less motivation to stay active. This is where living in a senior living community can help. Between freshly prepared meals and regularly scheduled activities and events, senior living can help you age well in retirement.

People aged 65 and older are more likely to suffer from heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and heart disease due to the weakening of the heart muscle and blood vessels. However, you can minimize your risk of experiencing these conditions by keeping your heart healthy.

In-home care technology services offered by Knute Nelson support your independence by helping you live in your home safely and comfortably.

Now that it is officially 2021, everyone is more than ready for a fresh, healthy new year! This is the time to plan your goals or resolutions for the next 12 months and make any positive lifestyle changes you’ve been thinking about. This year (more than any other year previously), be sure to prioritize your health.

As you (joyfully) say goodbye to 2020, make the greatest new year’s resolution you can make for yourself in your retirement years. Moving to an independent living community will give you the freedom to exercise, pick up a new hobby and so much more.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Minnesota has the third highest fall mortality rate in the United States. This means that, as a Minnesota senior, you should take extra precaution by following these fall prevention tips

There are still ways you can celebrate the holiday season by abiding by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Clutter can weigh you down in more ways than one and leave you feeling trapped in your own home. Fortunately, decluttering can improve your mental and emotional wellbeing and put you in an easier spot to downsize in your golden years.

As we celebrate Home Care and Hospice month, consider if these services can help your loved one live their life to the fullest. Millions of nurses, home care aides and therapists, like the ones at Knute Nelson, strive to improve the quality of life for their patients every day.

It’s true that there is no cure for dementia. However, with the right memory care, your loved one can continue living with meaning and dignity.

Knute Nelson strives to provide high quality care to veterans and their families. We do this through We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of

Science can’t definitively tell us just yet why the gut changes with age, but what we do know is these changes can lead to indigestion, ulcers and chronic diseases. Maintaining your gut health as you age can keep you on your feet, doing more of what you love for longer.

If you find yourself sneezing more frequently or feel a tickle in your throat, you may wonder if your symptoms are from allergies or something more sinister. No need to panic, though! Evaluating your symptoms can help you determine if you’re dealing with allergies, the seasonal flu or COVID-19.

At Knute Nelson, hospice is all about empowering life. Managing your loved one’s pain and symptoms are only one component of hospice care. The others focus on helping them reach their end-of-life goals and providing them with the emotional and spiritual care they need to find peace and comfort.

This where the Knute Advantage can help. At Knute Nelson, we know all too well how complicated the health care system is for families. As part of the Knute Advantage, our Care Transition Coordinator can navigate you to the health care service that’s best for you or your loved one.

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this year’s “Not-So Classic” Golf Classic! This event was incredibly successful and heartwarming for us to safely spend time with supporters like you.

At Knute Nelson, we offer the highest quality of care and recovery because it’s more than just about healing that specific joint; it’s about getting you back on your feet to do things you never thought you’d be able to do again.

It takes a full continuum of therapy to get you back on your feet, starting and ending with wellness programming.

Since knowing how to care for your emotional wellbeing isn’t as intuitive as your physical wellbeing, Knute Nelson is here to help with 5 key ways you can keep maintain your emotional health.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Knute Nelson Drive-Thru Annual Picnic!  It was such a joy for us to see so many smiling faces and share a delicious picnic lunch with you. We are pleased to share that we served a total of 553 picnic lunches—450 total at the Care Center, 53 at Nelson Gables, and 50 at Grand Arbor.

Knute Nelson invites the Park Rapids area to a drive-thru style picnic at their Crystal Brook Senior Living campus on Thursday, September 17th from 11:30 am to 1 pm or from 5 to 6 pm.

Knute Nelson has been nominated by readers of the Echo Press for 8 awards within the Best of the Lakes Area contest. Thank you to those who nominated us!

Enjoy a relaxed afternoon outing with your family or devote attention to a renewed passion like gardening or painting. All of this is possible at a senior living community. But when is the right time to move to senior living?

Assisted living could be that positive change that you didn’t know your loved one needed. By opening up to the idea of assisted living, you could help your loved one begin the next positive chapter of their life.

At Knute Nelson, our home health care services are available as a part of our care continuum to help all patients regain their strength, recover in a quick, safe manner and get back to their independent lifestyles.

At Knute Nelson, short-term rehabilitation is part of our specially designed therapy continuum and the first step in recovery after your joint replacement.

Hospice provides quality of life and comfort for those at the end of life. It helps patients manage pain, makes them comfortable and supports them physically, emotionally and spiritually.

When you make exercise a regular part of your weekly routine, you can also help prevent yourself from physical and emotional problems and memory decline.

There are ways you can practice your faith daily no matter what is happening in your life, or where you are at in your faith journey.

The Knute Nelson Annual Community Picnic will take place in a drive-thru format this year on Tuesday, August 25th from 11 am to 1 pm. Lunch is free but free will donations will be accepted.

Finding the right therapy services can be challenging, which is why Knute Nelson offers you a full therapy continuum so you don’t have to seek additional sources of care during your recovery.

The Knute Nelson Foundation “Not So Classic” Golf Classic is officially open! This year’s tournament will be open for play on any day of your choosing between Wednesday, July 8 through Tuesday, September 8 at Geneva Golf Club in Alexandria.

If your parent has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you may feel confused and unsure about how this will impact your loved one’s health and behavior as time passes. It might help to familiarize yourself with Alzheimer’s disease so that you can better understand what your parent is experiencing and help them get the care they need.

There are many things to consider when it comes to transitioning to senior living. Whether you’re ready now or a year from today, here’s what you should know to ensure you’re choosing the right place when it’s the right time.

Brittney Thoreson, Vice President of Housing at Knute Nelson has been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Argentum LEAD (Leadership Advancement & Development) Program.

Knute Nelson Home Care and Hospice is expanding to serve the St. Cloud community and surrounding area with home care and hospice services out of their new location at 655 2nd Street South, Waite Park, MN 56387.

According to the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project – the largest clinical study of Parkinson’s disease – early exercise habits are crucial for disease management.

The Knute Nelson Foundation Golf Classic has been a signature fundraising event for the past fourteen years. Over those years, we have greatly enjoyed networking and golfing with you.  This year due to Coronavirus (COVID-19), we are hosting a “Not So Classic” Golf Classic.

The Knute Nelson Foundation was the recipient of a wonderful $2,150 gift from the Amy Christopherson State Farm Agency. Amy started a program called Quotes for Good, where she donates $10 to a local nonprofit for every quote her office generates. During the months of March and April, Amy’s office generated an astonishing 215 quotes.

In consultation with the Minnesota Department of Health and our medical advisors, we support this widespread testing to help identify and be proactive in our preparedness. Without conducting testing and identifying areas of concern, it is much more difficult to prepare to respond to an invisible virus.

Alomere Health and Knute Nelson proudly announce the formation of a new employer-based clinic in Alexandria. The new clinic named health+ opened in January 2020 at Station 4 of the Alexandria Clinic.

We understand you may be concerned about the spread of COVID-19, especially with the amount of media coverage heightening everyone’s awareness on senior living providers. We want you to know that we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our residents and staff. This has always been our priority and will always continue to be our priority.

Letter to the Echo Press editor by Mark Anderson, President/CEO of Knute Nelson, Alexandria, MN

You’re probably wondering—what are Knute Nelson residents up to these days? The visitor restrictions to keep our residents and staff safe during COVID-19 are still in place and are proving effective. However, day-to-day life and activities look different for all of us!

It’s a sad fact. When our loved ones are most alone, we can’t visit them. Because it’s harder for them to fight off the virus, stopping by could put them in danger.

The health and safety of those we serve as well as our staff are our highest priority. Our greatest hope and desire is to uphold our commitment to serving others in meaningful ways that you’ve come to know, rely on and trust. This commitment hasn’t changed; however, in recent weeks, it looks a bit differently as we walk on this journey each day.

Making the decision to receive home health care can be difficult. That’s why we have put together a guide of the most frequently asked questions about home health care.

There are many questions surrounding getting a loved one into the right care for hospice. Where do you go? Which choice is right for my loved one?

“We have been rapidly learning about COVID-19 from various health agencies to mitigate the potential spread and circulation of it at Knute Nelson,” comments Mark Anderson, Knute Nelson’s president/CEO.

Knute Nelson Care Center has achieved a five star rating with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Comparison rating system. The rating system was developed by CMS to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily.

Prevention is the key to curbing readmissions. Here are ten ways we help prevent them for short-term rehab and home care patients.

Knute Nelson received the Award of Honor for Performance Excellence in Aging Services from LeadingAge Minnesota. The award recognizes an advanced level of continuous quality improvement and outstanding achievements in 24 management practices focused on leadership, strategy, customers, measurement, workforce and operations.

A Care Center helps your loved one thrive. It starts with around-the-clock medical care and includes activities and a culture that engages their bodies, minds and hearts.

Short-term rehab is designed to get you ready to be safe and thrive at home.

Whether you’ve had surgery, an injury or you’re recovering from an illness, you’ll need time to recover and heal. You’ll also need to regain strength and mobility. That requires one or more therapies. Here are a few sample scenarios:

Congratulations to the graduates from Knute Nelson’s 2019 Leadership Academy. The group of 15 individuals has spent the last nine months strengthening and developing their leadership skills.

Lynette Berglund, a care attendant at Grand Arbor in Alexandria, recently received the Make Zero Harm Possible Award from LeadingAge Minnesota. The award recognizes staff in aging services settings who demonstrate their commitment to safe, quality care and to treating the people they serve with respect and dignity – always.

The Blessing and Power of Healing Touch for Hospice Patients

Imagine you’re in hospice. You’re uncomfortable. You’re probably in pain. Medications can help, but they can bring their own problems.

What if there was something that might bring relief without side effects?

Have you heard about healing touch?

There are so many emotions surrounding end of life. And so many questions.

We compiled this list to help you and your loved one to decide whether and when hospice works for you.

We are humbled as we announce our 2019 “Best of the Lakes Area” awards. The “Best of the Lakes Area” is the Echo Press newspaper’s readers’ choice awards.

Spend the holiday season enjoying time with family and friends at our beautiful Grand Arbor Theater. Each Friday from November 29th until Christmas, Grand Arbor by Knute Nelson will be featuring a FREE community movie night in their full-size movie theater – complete with coffee and cookies.

By taking a distribution from your IRA this year, you will likely pay more in taxes and may even reach a higher tax bracket. Rolling over part of your IRA’s “required minimum distribution” or “RMD” to a charity like ours can help reduce your tax bill while supporting our cause.

Knute Nelson Home Care and Hospice have moved from their office at 15175 Edgewood Drive, to a new location at 15670 Edgewood Drive North, Suite 150, in Baxter.

Knute Nelson in Alexandria is a recipient of the Spirit of Advocacy Award from LeadingAge Minnesota.

We are honored to be recognized as a 2019 Distinction Award recipient for Business Excellence by the Park Rapids Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. This prestigious award is given to recipients who exemplify the values of the Chamber: leadership, workforce, innovation, and community.