Family Focus

Jennifer Honeyford celebrates 25 years at PPH

PPH celebrates Vice President of Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, Jennifer Honeyford’s 25 years of service.

Jennifer’s favorite part about working at PPH is being a part of the “family” of supportive staff and residents. Jennifer also enjoys developing long-lasting friendships with the residents, especially when learning about their lives, as well as working to make their lives better.

Jennifer started her career at PPH in 1998 as a Recreation Therapy & Life Enrichment Coordinator, and transitioned into the role of Director of Recreation Therapy at Pathways. Jennifer worked as a Senior Director of Resident Life and Performance Improvement, where she oversaw both Life Enrichment in Personal Care and Independent Living, as well as Recreation Therapy in Pathways and Chapters. Jennifer loved working with the Quality Assurance and Improvement program because “it gave me an opportunity to bring more education about dementia here at PPH.” That role gave Jennifer the opportunity to teach classes to certify PPH staff members in becoming dememtia practitioners. In September 2020, Jennifer would receive another promotion, becoming the Vice President of Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation.

Jennifer enjoys the challenge of her new role, and the opportunity to provide quality care for our residents on a daily basis. What Jennifer also appreciates is that everyone is comfortable approaching her and talking to her.

“The biggest part of my role is being able to take care of the people who take care of the people”, says Jennifer. “My role is to take care of our staff and make sure that they have the tools that they need in order to provide the best quality of care for our residents.”

Jennifer’s biggest hope is that every new PPH employee feels welcomed and has a sense of family, just as she did when she started here in 1998.

Thank you for all you do, Jennifer!

Half a World & Beach

by Ronald Barras PPH Benefits Coordinator

Half a World

Half a heart; half a world. What’s a boy without a girl?

Ronald Barras

Half a heart, you know it’s true. There’s only so much half a heart can do.

Beach

I don’t need piles of money. Don’t need any silver or gold. My promised land of milk and honey

Is in the hand I hold.

New resident at PPH

John Gillespie

John grew up in Olney. John’s last name sounds familiar, because his sister, Maryann, is a Gateway resident at PPH. John attended LaSalle College and earned his Public Health Doctorate from UCLA. He has worked and lived in over 62 countries, including Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands. John is also bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. John’s occupation was developing health services around the globe, and even worked in Colorado for several years, where he managed health care services and delivery to seasonal workers at fruit orchards and farms. He advised foreign governments, including Pakistan, Egypt, Peru, Nepal, and Lesotho in improving health care delivery to vulnerable populations, notably for women and children. He owned a home in Thailand for 25 years, and intended to retire there, but has since returned to the U.S. and PPH. John, we are pleased to have you in our family. Welcome home, and welcome to PPH!

$20 Stock’s Poundcake & Raffle

Auxiliary Fundraiser

ORDER AND PAY BY MONDAY, MARCH 27th

PICK UP FRIDAY, APRIL 14th

1pm–3pm in SOCIAL HALL

There are several ways to order and pay for your cake:

PPH Auxiliary Members

215-697-8403 • cameo1200@gmail.com

Lawndale #5110 ORDER FORMS

IN DOOR – Patricia Coyne

STOCKS Vanilla Poundcake with Vanilla or Chocolate Icing

Your $20 includes a $5 Raffle

Basket Ticket and Poundcake

Happy 107th Birthday to PPH Golden Girl, Catherine!

On February 6, 2023, PPH Staff and Pathways residents gathered to celebrate PPH’s Golden Girl, Catherine Wagner’s 107th birthday! Catherine loves the Flea Market and was an active member of the Juniata Adult Center, where she volunteered serving food. She also bowled twice a week at Erie Lanes for just about her entire adult life. Catherine loved attending Miss America Pageants with her twin sister, and even participated in the Senior Olympics well into her 80’s. Catherine was even congratulated by Philadelphia Mayor, Ed Rendell, who marveled at the fact that she was able to run track and swim laps at the age of 85, with Catherine jokingly suggesting for him to buy a new suit because every time she saw him, he was wearing the same one.

Happy 107th birthday, Catherine! You truly are the Golden Girl of PPH!

Wood is Good for Marlene

by PPH resident Lawrence H. Geller

A small crowd gathered around the exhibit case (1st floor Alpha) to get a view of an unusual display of wood crafts recently. One item stood out amongst all the fine pieces---a violin with a bow.

A violin with a bow in wood? Are you kidding me? “How does she do that?” asked one onlooker.

The “she” is Marlene Matarazzo and years of p-r-a-c-t-i-c-e is the “how”. “It all started,” she said, “when I was four or five years old on the porch of my grandmother’s farmhouse in upstate New York.

Marlene was very observant watching her uncle take a piece of wood, usually from a nearby tree branch, and whittle the wood with a knife.

“I was fascinated,” she continued, “and begged them to let me try. But they were very reluctant, saying “‘It’s not a child’s game, plus you could hurt yourself with the knife’”.

But after a few months and seeing that she was really interested, “My grandmother and uncles gave me a knife and a piece of wood. They taught me how to hold the knife and wood and, most important, how to keep my fingers and hands out of harm’s way.”

One day, as she continued to practice, she pictured the wood in her hands becoming a horse— “I love horses”. By the time she was six she carved her first animal, “Grandma’s farm dog named Jack Boy.”

She is the first to admit, “It wasn’t very realistic. It was more like a caricature.” But like all artists to be, she didn’t give up.

>>>continued on page 7, Wood is Good