Volume Twenty Seven, Number 10
December 2013
Capital Projects begin; residents grin, bear it and toast the future
Mimosas in hand, water aerobics class meets for the last time in old pool and offers toasts to completion of the new. Fitness Director Bob Stedeford created special exercises on land for the six months the pool construction is expected to take. From left: Julie Williams, Renata Whitaker, Barbara Pottish, Jean Churchman, Tuppie Solmssen, Peter Binzen, Jeanne Cortner, Anne Gruenberg, Joan Thayer and Myra Freudberg. Residents were also taking other construction inconvenience in stride, helped by weekly bulletins posted near the mailboxes (“Construction Corner”) and re-opening of the newly renovated coffee and cocktail bar. — Photo by Bob Stedeford; Mimosas by Rose-Marie Pringle
Health Center installs ‘cutting edge’ record-keeping tool By Linda Lemisch, Vice President of Health Services
On your next visit to the Health Center it may appear to you that our staff is ‘writing on the wall.’ What on earth are we doing? We have recently installed and implemented Stage 2 of our electronic medical record journey. What you’re seeing is our staff using “Care Tracker,” a point-of-service documentation device that allows the nursing staff
to enter observations and experiences with residents as they happen. The staff is entering real-time facts such as percentage of meal eaten, how much assistance someone needs with bathing, toileting, dressing and eating, what the resident’s mood and behavior has been throughout the day, and their weekly weight. The next step will be to expand the system so that professional staff can document vital signs (pulse, heart rate, temperature and oxygen level) and fluid intake and Health Center continued on page 3 VETERANS DAY, November 11, had special meaning for two women on Beaumont’s staff: See Page 2
In honor of Veterans Day: Two hometown heroes By Mary Schnabel vanity plate on the front of her car reads, “She who waits, also serves.” Before I left her office that morning, she had found Milton’s poem online and had printed it. Carol herself has had a fascinating life. She has her black belt in tae kwon do martial arts and was an instructor in that discipline when she was living in Massachusetts. She has been working and going to school full time since 2010 and is almost finished earning her bachelor’s in human resources development. She and her husband communicate daily, either by email or Skype. When Mike comes home (as of this writing he was expected soon), he wants to take Carol on a vacation to some place with green trees and blue water. He’s had enough of brown sand and barren landscapes. *** So often we hear stories of wonderful grandmothers who are pitching in and re-winding their lives to help raise a grandchild. My second interview in this story was with a grandmother who was doing that very thing—in spades! Mary Gweh works as a housekeeper in the C Wing of the Health Center. She works the 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift, a recent change from her usual night hours. The change came about through necessity, because she is now the sole caregiver of her almost-5-year-old grandson, Raymond Higgins. Raymond’s mother, Koo, has enlisted in the Army for four years and is currently at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, awaiting deployment to
When I told Carol Korabik that one of my favorite lines in poetry was the last one in Milton’s poem On His Blindness, she was actually dumbfounded. It’s that classic: “They also serve who only stand and wait.” But I’m getting ahead of myself here and need to start with the backstory. Carol, for those who may not know her, is the Assistant Director in the Human Resources Department, sharing an office with Director Mary Wells. I had met Carol shortly after she started to work here, about a year ago. I liked her right away and was very much interested when I learned her husband had just been deployed to Afghanistan. She was, quite naturally, feeling sad and bereft. I have followed Mike’s progress in the war and was particularly interested after I heard he had an emergency appendectomy out there in a field hospital. That story had a happy, healthy ending! It was during my interview with her for this article that I mentioned the line from Milton. She had not read or heard of the poem, but told me that the custom
Letter to the Editor
DEAR EDITOR: A recent Beaumont dinner menu had an intriguing offering: “Hemp-Heart Crusted Tuna.” First I wondered what the hearts of hemp might be. My next thought was that perhaps, thinking of the possible attraction of pot for younger potential residents, the Marketing Committee had recommended adding hemp to our menu. Puzzled also as to what part of the plant the heart might be, I spoke with Chef John Bauer. Chef John said he had purchased split hemp seeds at a health food store. “The seeds, when roasted,” he said, “have a nutty flavor. And there’s starch without gluten, protein without sugar, and low carbohydrates.” (An erstwhile pot user told me he thought “hemp heart” referred to the tender inner leaves of the plant, but who cares about a little poetic license when the food is so good?) In case anyone was wondering, now you know. —Ann Louise Strong
Veterans continued on page 4 BEAUMONT NEWS The Beaumont News is published by the residents and staff of the Beaumont Retirement Community, 601 N. Ithan Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 Editor Assistant Editor and Production Manager Graphic Designer Photo Editor Events Manager Proofreader Circulation Manager
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Mary Graff John Hall TJ Walsh Louise Hughes Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel Barbara O’Brien
Beaumont trips: a little something for everyone!
About a dozen of us recently visited an amazingly clean and most interesting landfill, Pioneer Crossing, in Birdsboro, about an hour from Bryn Mawr. It is operated by J.P. Mascaro & Sons, the company which picks up our recycling and trash, and does everything from accepting computers and televisions for proper disposal to burying about 850 tons of trash a day and using gases generated by decomposing material to generate electricity. Upon entering the landfill, each truck passes through a radiation detector as well as a scale. (On one occasion when radiation was detected, the culprit truck had to dump its contents and be thoroughly searched for the source, which turned out to be a lanyard belonging to a World War II veteran recently deceased. Why Trips continued on page 7 Health Center continued from page 1 output. All of this data can be trended and printed out in report form so the medical staff can get an accurate, real-time picture of the resident and make treatment decisions accordingly. Traditionally, before Care Tracker, the nursing staff would gather at the end of their shift and enter the same information onto a multitude of forms in three-ring binders. The information was only as good as what they could remember about each of their residents at the end of an eight-hour shift. There was no easy way to trend the data without manually going through each page in the binder and developing your own graph or timeline. Now this can all be done with the touch of a button. And of course Beaumont, being Beaumont, had to make something good extraordinary. The typical Care Tracker product is a large Kiosk screen (about the size of a medium television) mounted on the wall. It can only gather Care Tracker data. But thanks to our knowledgable and creative IT team, our system is cutting-edge. Rather than using outdated Kiosks, IT created a way to use wall-mounted iPads to capture the data. The iPads’ use can be expanded to include many applications. It can be a portable phone, a camera, an e-mail messaging system, a work-order entry
Rich Smyth (at the wheel), Fritz Lubin (left in front)) and Steve Fisher—Beaumont’s new driving team—pose in August with one of our two new buses, sleek and glossy on the outside, soft and comfy on the inside. Photo by Louise Hughes
Linda Lemisch, vice president of health services, points with pride to one of new devices for tracking patient care in the Health Center. Photo by Louise Hughes system and even a Skype communication device enabling our residents to see and hear their friends and loved-ones anywhere in the world. So there’s much more to come—we’ll keep you posted!
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Genies of our grounds and forest: Who they are and what they do By Ann Louise Strong
Beaumont’s woods and public gardens welcome and cheer us every day. Maintaining their health and beauty is the charge of our Grounds crew: Mark Hritz, Director, with Jake Bean, Kurt Mueller and Patrick Nardizzi. They are dedicated and skilled men, well able to meet the challenges and surprises that nature and society bring to our campus. Weeding, watering, planting and pruning are daily chores. Often included are repairing pipes, making compost, spreading mulch and fixing fences.
“Yard Sale” in the Beaumont Room: Tony Starr dog-sat and rang up sales at event organized by Resident Services’ Louise Hughes to raise money for a bench with plaque honoring the late Jake Joyce. The young Beaumont houseman “brought great joy to all of us,” Louise recalled as she thanked everyone for helping her reach her goal. Inspecting the merchandise are (left to right) residents Dot Maass (with her daughter-in-law) and Rena Burstein.
When Mark Hritz was hired in 1991, he was Beaumont’s third Grounds staffer. Prior to this he had trained as a mason and then had worked as an arborist for seven years. Ten years after his hiring here he was promoted to Director. After 22 years altogether, there is little about our land and its vegetation that is not familiar to him. Mark fixes machines, selects trees and shrubs for planting, prunes trees and shrubs and designs stream improvements. A few years ago, when we started composting, he and Jake attended a composting course at the University of Maine. Mark has studied the threat of invasive plants and insects. Most important is his vision for what Beaumont’s grounds can become and his commitment to realizing that vision. Off-campus, Mark is a certified firefighter. He has been a firefighter since he was 16 and is now Chief of the Stowe Fire Company. He holds certificates in Hazardous Materials Operations and Vehicle Rescue. The company receives about 250 calls a year. Mark enjoys the outdoors—hiking, fishing, hunting, as well as camping in Maine with his family: wife, Kim, and daughters Rebekka and Emylee. Over the past several years he has restored a cabin in the Endless Mountains of Wyoming Valley. Now fully functional, it is a base for weekend outings. At home in Stowe, there are two Bernese Mountain dogs, two cats and six chickens to cosset and feed.
Photo by Louise Hughes Veterans continued from page 2 Dubai. Grandmother Mary is not a young woman, and her schedule is truly a punishing one. That is evident particularly when she talks of little Raymond—not a sweet, mild little boy who placidly obeys and does lovely things like read books and play with toys. Oh no. We know his type because we have had one like him or have seen and heard his kind. As adorable as he is, little Raymond is never still, hates to go to bed, cries when he doesn’t get his way and just plain exhausts Grandma. Mary gets up at 5 a.m., gets things ready for the day, gets Raymond up (under protest), gets him dressed and delivered to day care at 6 and then comes to work. She picks him up after work and then they begin the Raymond merry-go-round. He goes to bed (under protest) about 8:30 and Mary follows this as fast as she can. Fortunately, Mary has three daughters living in the area who try to help on weekends and whenever they can. If I sound too hard on little Raymond, I am only quoting Mary. She laughs, shakes her head, rolls her eyes and tells it like it is. This wonderful woman is both a patriot and a heroine in serving her country!
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Grounds continued on page 5
Grounds continued from page 4
*** *** In addition to his daily list of chores, Patrick Jake Bean discovered Beaumont over 10 years ago Nardizzi is the residents’ go-to man for short-term help when Toth Brothers, for whom he had worked for 10 with their individual gardens. He may be asked to prune years, was dredging our pond. While with Toth Brothers, a big limb or water a flower bed when the resident is Jake had done a good bit of pond dredging, as well as away for a weekend. He is ready to bring residents some building walls, stabilizing banks, and other heavy-duty Beaumont-made compost, and he will supply and stack grounds work. He met Mark Hritz while working here some Beaumont-produced firewood. Patrick is well and quickly accepted Mark’s offer of a job. known to most residents because of his friendliness and Jake is most visible at Beaumont readiness to help. as our chief of the compost operation. Patrick grew up in North Cape May, then moved He is captain of the blue tractor, often to the Philadelphia area when he was a seen turning and piling the compost. sophomore in high shool. His next stop He works with Kurt on the daily chores, was two years’ service in the Army. Folincluding raking leaves, blowing snow, lowing that, in 1997, he came to Beaupulling weeds and repairing pipes as mont and started out doing summer needed. painting for the Maintenance Depart At home Jake and his wife, Kristy, ment. When fall arrived he switched to spend much of their time with their son, Jake Jr., age 2 jobs for the Grounds Department and 1/2. Jake has trained his three German short-hair pointhas been there ever since. ers for hunting and competes with them. This autumn Leisure time is often spent with family, particularly he has enjoyed considerable success hunting grouse and his 4-year-old twin nephews, Cody and Michael. Patrick woodcock in New Hampshire and ducks and geese in enjoys sports and movies as well as getting together with Quebec. his friends, perhaps having a steak dinner. *** Kurt Mueller is the newest of the Grounds staff, though his mother, Connie, worked here as assistant to our recently retired CEO, Joe Fortenbaugh, for 16 years. Kurt came to Beaumont five years ago after studying Ornamental Horticulture and Environmental Design at Delaware Valley College and then working for a large landscape corporation, as first a foreman and then a supervisor. Kurt met his wife, Barbara, at college. They worked together and with relatives to design and build their house and landscape their grounds. Both enjoy gardening around the house and growing vegetables in summer. They have a daughter, 6, and a son soon to be 3. Kurt’s family and in-laws are active fox hunters in Chester Springs, and his wife and daughter spend much time caring for the horses. Kurt bikes and runs in local charity events; he also enjoys attending or watching the Eagles, Flyers and Phillies. At Beaumont, Kurt works with Jake on whatever Mark schedules for the day.
*** Although we do (like everyone else) face serious environmental stresses, we are truly fortunate to have Mark, Jake, Patrick and Kurt, working with the Grounds Committee headed by Nancy Harris, protecting the glories of our grounds. Come spring we will restore the pond and create an adjacent meadow. Other projects await.
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From newcomers to neighbors
Baldwin residents celebrate 60 years together this month By Bobbie O’Brien
were married in 1953—their 60th wedding anniversary is coming up this month. George’s hobbies are tennis and wine, and he has a special interest in The College Settlement Camps for disadvantaged children in Horsham, Pennsylvania. In addition to her years of directing Camp Susquehannock for Girls, Dede wrote and published a 100year history of the Susquehannock Camps. Previously, from 1973 to 1983, she was the coordinator between the volunteers and the National Park Service for the Friends of Independence National Historical Park, a volunteer group founded to support teaching and guiding activities for the newly established area around Independence Hall. She is interested in history and genealogy, having served on the board of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and is currently a member of The Welcome Society of Pennsylvania. Other hobbies are tennis and singing. George Shafer The Shafers have a son and three daughters. Their son, Carl, a retired Marine Corps major, now works for Sikorsky Global Helicopters in Coatesville. Their eldest daughter, Catherine, is director of business analysis, information technology at Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington. Another daughter, Polly, has had a particularly adventuresome life: She has been an Outward Bound instructor and crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a 41-foot sailboat with four adults, two teen-agers and a younger child they had to tether to the mast in bad weather. She has hiked through Burma, to the base camp of Mount Everest, and taught science in a school in the Ukraine. She currently lives in Boulder, Colo., and is the director of academics at The Temple Grandin School for children with Asperger’s syndrome. Their third daughter, Elizabeth, is a scientist at Catalent Pharma Solutions in New Jersey and is a horsewoman living in Lawrenceville, N.J. George and Dede have seven grandchildren.
George and Louise (Dede, pronounced dee-dee) Shafer, who moved into Baldwin in October, were clearly destined for each other. They are third cousins and met at Dede’s 5th birthday party! Dede grew up close by on Beech Road in Rosemont, went to Lower Merion High School and West Chester College for a year; George lived half the year at Camp Susquehannock in Brackney, in Susquehanna County, and half the year in Hollywood, Fla., until he went off to boarding school Louise Shafer at Lawrenceville. He then went to Princeton, class of ’51, and graduate school at Columbia, where he earned a master’s in history. George’s father started Camp Susquehannock for boys in 1905 and ran it for 50 years until his death in 1959. Then George and his older brother took over and ran it for another 45 years. Meanwhile, in 1986, Dede started a camp for girls nearby which had formerly been the site of Camp Choconut. In 2000, both camps were turned over to a board of directors made up of camp parents and alumni who took it non-profit, and continue it today. The Shafers still own the land and have homes (for themselves and guests) adjacent to the camp where they go every summer. George taught at many levels and coached at The Episcopal Academy for 43 years. He was the varsity tennis coach for 41 years, began the varsity swimming program when a pool was installed, coached the varsity for 10 years, and continued to coach diving and junior swimming, along with junior football and other sports, until he retired in 1995. He ran coaching clinics for the Middle States Tennis Association and was director of operations for the U.S. Pro Indoor Tournament for 20 years. George has served as a deacon and elder at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, where Dede and George
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Trips continued from page 3 a radioactive lanyard will forever remain a mystery.) When the truck has disposed of its contents and leaves Pioneer Crossing, it is again weighed and the difference between full and empty determines the fee. The “cells” into which trash is deposited are built with the utmost care. An area is excavated to within eight feet of the groundwater and has a base of hardpacked clay over which a triple layered lining is constructed of an almost impermeable plastic with its parts welded together into a seamless whole. Liquids seeping through are collected and sent to a water treatment plant which pipes them into the Schuylkill after treatment is completed. At the end of the day all active sites are covered, sometimes with dirt but most often with heavy plastic which keeps animals away and odors from escaping. Odor control is a sizable challenge, and a staff of three covers all sites daily sniffing for unwanted smells. These are promptly dispatched with scented sprays. There is a choice of several. among which are “Fresh Cut Grass” and “Honeysuckle.” (No Chanel No. 5 available. Pioneer Crossing has an extensive self-monitoring system and is regularly checked by federal, state and local officials. When full capacity is reached in about 15 years and Mascaro closes the site, it will become a large recreation area with playing fields, playgrounds and extensive hiking trails for which the plans have already been drawn. Hopefully, it will still be home territory as well to the Bald Eagle which circled off in the distance as we bumped along over the dirt roads of this impressively clean and green facility which is surely a state of the art landfill and no “trash dump.” —Jean Homeier
*** Fifteen lucky residents recently enjoyed a fabulous trip to Charleston, S.C. Louise Hughes and Kim Norrett were our staff leaders. Fytie Drayton, with many fabulous connections to Historic Charleston, arranged it so we always had the top tour guides wherever we went and even had a delightful dinner in an extraordinary private house. The first day we had a warm-up walking tour along the streets, gawking at all the lovely houses. Dinner was on our own with vast choices of excellent eateries. The second day was devoted to the plantation country and we saw Middleton Plantation with its great gardens, followed by Drayton Hall, where we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch including gorgeous baby oysters. Drayton Hall was of particular interest in that our group included one Drayton descendent and two inlaws! I was astounded to find that the house, of which I had heard so much, was in fact only a shell. No furniture, no curtains, no rugs, no portraits! But fascinating in that the intricate wood and plaster work of this fine example of Palladian architecture has been preserved intact for almost 300 years and is truly a gem. That night we had dinner in a lovely private house and were joined by several local Charlstonians. The third day was devoted to touring several houses of historic importance with a grand picnic lunch in a beautiful private garden. That evening we were again on our own to savor the delights of the famous Charleston cuisine before packing up for our return to Beaumont the following morning. —Nancy Harris A staff party with cake helped John Henry celebrate his 25th anniversary of service in the Health Center, delivering meals by big cart, small cart or individual tray. Executive Chef John Bauer looks on.
In Memoriam Seena H. Copeland October 13, 2013
Franz Goldstein November 19, 2013
Photo by Louise Hughes
Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their family and friends.
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Mike’s Roundup By Mike Bailey, Housekeeping
Before the Thanksgiving feast we all had a treat, tricks and laughter from all sorts of people, quick ride thru the barnyard in some snuggly hay, then off to the garden where the snacks were placed.
Let’s take a step back and glance for a second at the beautiful pictures from Bob’s reception.
Bring on the confetti and make lots of noise a soldier is coming home and Carol he’s all yours.
Staff Sgt. Mike Korabik, thanks for all your service,
the duties you performed will not go unnoticed.
And remember . . . “There’s two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither one works.”
Top left: Staff Sgt. Mike Korabik. Top right: Barbara Ann Murphy’s Halloween costume blended right in with the last of the fall colors. Bottom: New bride Andrea Stedeford reacts to maid of honor’s speech as bridegroom Bob (Beaumont’s Fitness Director) prepares to throw in the towel.
Chef John’s wild game dinner Anyone who was not here for Chef John Bauer’s wild game dinner—Here is what you missed: Roasted pumpkin bisque with cider poached pheasant, venison osso buco on rutabaga and Yukon potato puree with roasted chanterelle, salad of smoked duck with baked beets and orange segment in a blackberry balsamic vinaigrette, and wild berry tart with cinnamon whipped cream and a winged gooseberry. Photos by Chef John
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