December 2022 REACH

Founders' Day returns to the Social Hall!

After two years of COVID-19 restrictions, the 2022 Founders' Day was officially brought back as an in-person event on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. The event brought staff and residents together in the Social Hall, with anticipation and a harmonious atmosphere surrounding the event.

In 2020 and 2021, PPH brought Founders' Day to residents' living rooms through the PPH TV. Found ers' Day honors the vision of a group of German ministers, who, in collaboration with members of the community, set forth to accomplish something they all strongly believed in, caring for aging parishioners. This vision resulted in a vibrant senior living commu nity and the founding of PPH as we know it today.

Each year during Founders' Day, PPH recognizes members of the community for their special achieve ments and contributions. PPH also recognizes one employee for quality care and excellent service with the highest distinction, the PPH Presidents Award. The nominations were from a pool of employees who received an Employee of the Month recognition as

“During these 132 years, PPH has grown from one small house on N 5th Street to a 12.5-acre senior living community with a full continuum of healthcare for approximately 550 residents in IL, PC, and Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation.” – John Dubyk, PPH President & CEO

well as those staff who are recognized by others as a PPH Guardian Angel. This year’s award was given to Safety and Security Supervisor, Jorge Rodriquez!

The program started with a piano prelude by PPH IL resident, Joyce Kerstetter, and opening remarks, delivered by PPH President & CEO, John Dubyk. In his remarks, John discussed how PPH went from a small house on N. 5th Street to a 12.5-acre senior living community with a full continuum of healthcare for approximately 550 residents. Founders’ Day also fea tured a centenarian recognition, which recognized PPH residents who have observed a century or more of birthday celebrations.

We also honored and recognized the residents who have known PPH as their home for over 20 years. Ha zel Peatman, our longest-tenured resident, has called PPH her home for over 29 years!

Family Focus

Meet the Medical Team

PPH is excited to announce new medical team members for our independent living and personal care residents, consisting of Certified Nurse Prac titioner, Natalie Mills, Nurse Practitioner Joel Tumberello and Dr. Charles Wasserman, who has been with PPH for many years.

PPH Vice President of Residential Living and Personal Care, Mary Ann Pa risse, hopes that residents can take advantage of the new medical services on campus. “I think it is important for the residents to know that we have a very competent primary care physician team here at PPH.” In addition, she mentioned that taking advantage of this new service is an option if residents want to make a switch from their regular primary care physician to the medi cal team on campus.

Natalie Mills is a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner and her position involves working with physicians as partners and colleagues with treating residents. Natalie has been working in healthcare for over 30 years and in her first 15 years, and did home care at PPH when PPH ran the Care Masters program, which brought medical services to the outside community. She was also an ICU Nurse for 13 years. Natalie is currently enrolled for her online DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice). Natalie grew up around the Philadelphia Protestant Home, and many of her family members have worked at PPH in some capacity. Her mother, Alpha resident Natalie Hardiman, worked first in Human Resources, and then in Pastoral Care. “Clearly, if there were things we didn’t like about PPH, they wouldn’t keep calling us back,” said Natalie. “It is a sense of family and community that I see here at PPH, even coming back for a third time.”

Joel Tumberello is a Nurse Practitioner, and has a certification in Geron tology. In addition, Joel has a Ph.D. in Geophysical Science from MIT. He has been in the field of nurse practitioner for over 27 years, and was a nurse seven years before that. He has worked in a variety of nursing roles, includ ing as a flight nurse, and an ICU nurse. He has worked in the areas of internal medicine, and primary care. Joel is delighted to be here, as this environment is suited for his work style. He is always focused on the big picture, as he believes the quality of his work is what is important, not quantity.

Charles Wasserman is a family physician who has worked in geriatrics for the past 20 years. He is a certified medical director through the American Medical Directors Association, and is practicing internal medicine as well as geriatrics. Dr. Wasserman has been practicing medicine for over 35 years, graduating from medical school in 1987. Dr. Wasserman has worked on the health care side of the community at PPH for many years. He says that PPH is a “phenomenal facility that provides care through all spectrums of health care, especially with independent living, personal care, subacute care, and skilled care as well.”

Natalie, Joel and Charles are a hard working team that wants to ensure all residents are provided the care they need to live their best lives, their way, and know that they are always there for them five days a week.

Please give a warm welcome to Natalie, Joel, and Charles! Welcome to the PPH family!

Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner, Natalie Mills Nurse Practitioner, Joel Tumberello

Dr. Charles Wasserman

How do you Handle Extra Money?

by PPH resident Maryann C. Volk

As I went around at the end of the month trying to spend down my food allotment, I decided to have fun among some of my fellow spenders. I asked the ques tion: “Before you moved here, did you ever have extra money at the end of the month?” The following are some of the responses I received:

“Are you kidding? At the end of the month I was robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

“No! Never have I had the experience of extra money at the end of the month.”

“Before the end of the month something broke and had to be fixed.”

“One of my kids always came up with something they needed for school, sports, scouts, etc.”

“Never happened while saving for retirement, college tuition, weddings, etc.”

“No way. It seems we were always saving for something like a larger house.”

Some have told me they purhcase nonperish able food and give them to our food collection. For myself, it has been especially difficult. My resolution recently has been to invite my family and friends to dinner in our dining room. I have been enjoying these evenings. Those joining me have been happy to get out, not have to cook or worry about daily responsibilities.

And you, how do you handle extra money?

New residents at PPH

Helen Schrimshire

Helen Schrimshire moved to PPH after recently living in Florida. Helen was born and raised in Fishtown, a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Helen worked in the Bible House, where she did bound and packing for shipping, and attended Kensington High School for Girls. She likes to do water arobics, listen to music and dance. Helen has a son and a daughter, and has five grand kids as well as nine great-grand kids. Welcome home, Helen!

Oliver Upshur, Esq.

Oliver Upshur, Esq. moved to PPH in September 2022 after living in Elkins Park and Willow Grove. Oliver has eight children and one grandchild. Previously, Oliver worked in the Department of Justice, as well as other areas of law. He moved to PPH after hearing from a lot of people that it was a great place to live. Oliver, we are glad you chose PPH as your new residence. Welcome to the fam ily!

Facebook: Facebook.com/PhiladelphiaProtestantHome Instagram: @philadelphiaprotestanthome Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/philadelphia-protestant-home Twitter: @pphfamily

For any REACH ideas, please contact Communications Specialist Daniel Ortiz at 215-697-8003 or dortiz@pphfamily.org

Family Focus

PPH celebrates Halloween

Halloween is a special time at PPH, as residents and staff celebrate this fun holiday. One of the events on campus was a Spooky Bingo, hosted by Life Enrichment Activities Director Kathy Nucero, where Indepen dent Living residents gathered in the Social Hall to play Bingo, with a twist. Besides winning prizes, residents had the opportunity to show off their Halloween costumes!

To make Halloween special on campus, staff dressed up in costumes. In addition, they strolled around cam pus, with residents voting on who had the best costume.

Thank you to everyone who made this year’s Halloween special, as everyone had a blast!

Campus Walk to End Alzheimer’s

On Thursday, November 3, Team PPH hosted the Campus “Walk to End Alzheimer’s, where residents and staff walked around the entire PPH Campus. All walkers were encouraged to wear purple in support of Alzheimer’s Awareness.

PPH residents and staff united to walk all throughout PPH Campus, from the main entrance to Magee Avenue. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Founders' Day returns to the Social Hall!

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PPH also awarded residents of the year. A resident is selected, one from each level of care, were chosen as the Resident of the Year. These residents were selected because of their contributions to the PPH community, their positive attitudes, are good neighbors, show determination and perseverance, as well as being an equal among their colleagues. Director of Resident and Medical Services, Donna Wojcik, announced Alpha resi dent Paul Hedges as the Reggie and Betty Beauchamp IL Resident of the Year, with Sheleana Perez, Director of Personal Care Nursing Services, announcing Midway resident Angela Emmanuele as the Gertrude Corley PC Resident of the year. Finally, Director of Nursing Kyle Ozimkiewicz announced Pathways resident Barbara D’Amore as the Carmela Heine Skilled Nursing Resident of the Year. The event concluded with closing remarks by John Dubyk and Pastor Peter Ahn, PPH Director of Pastoral Services.

Employee of the Month: Attiya Saleem

Attiya has been with PPH since August 2011 in our Personal Care Department as a CNA. She is always willing to jump in and help where needed. She is caring and compassionate with the residents and staff. We are happy to have her as part of the PPH family!

Congratulations Attiya!

Thank you for doing “Whatever it takes.”

The PPH Volunteer of the Year will be announced on December 7, 2022, at the December Grab & Go! Please check the January 2023 edition of REACH to see who is the Volunteer of the Year!

PPH & Toys for Tots

The Philadelphia Protestant Home is participating in the 2022 Marine Toys for Tots program. When you donate to Marine Toys for Tots, you are helping to bring joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to America’s less fortunate children. Please drop off any new and unwrapped toy in the designated boxes by the Business Center or the Pathways Front Desk between November 23 and December 9.

Contact Bill Conaway at ext. 8194 for more information.

PPH Residents of the Year (from left to right): Paul Hedges, Angela Emmanuele & Barbara D'Amore

★ COVID-19 protocols for visitors: Guests are now permitted to eat in the Fountain Room and dining areas. Guests are also welcome in our gift shop and the Tabor Mar ket. Independent Living residents and visitors will be encouraged but not required to wear a mask in any Independent Living setting, including hallways, all dining venues, and main entrance lobby. Masks are still required in the Doctor’s Office, Personal Care, and Path ways. Please advise your guests to refrain from visiting if they feel sick or have been exposed to COVID-19.

★ Food Collection: The PPH Food Drive — a 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Project — will continue indefinitely as long as PPH’s neighbors are in need of food. Food will be collected the last week of the month, and then will be delivered the first day of the following month. There will be two collection sites: the vending machine area, located near the Wellness Center and in front of the Security office. For more informa tion, call Tom Sexton at 8368.

★ Trips: Fees for trips are now added to each resident’s monthly bill (NO CASH). If you’d like to cancel, you must call the Business Office (8010) to have the trip fee removed.

★ Independent Living Residents Association:

*Please note there is NO meeting in December.

★ PPH Auxiliary: The Auxiliary’s next meeting will be held in the Social Hall and broadcast on PPH TV channel 7 on Tuesday, December 13 at 11:30 a.m. Membership in the PPH Auxiliary is open to PPH residents, staff, and community supporters (only $5 per year). Dating back to its origins as the PPH Ladies Aid Society in 1889, the Auxiliary continues its initia tives to support the heart of PPH’s fundraising mission, Benevolent Care, as well as supporting staff/ resident gratitude activities.

★ New Year’s Celebration: On Saturday, December 31, PPH will be hosting a New Year’s celebration in the Social Hall at 7:00 p.m. You can sign up in the Business Office start ing December 5, with the deadline being December 19. Please contact Kathy Nucero at ext. 8505 for any questions.

★ Blood Drive: PPH has scheduled another blood drive on Thursday, December 29, located in the Social Hall. Please consider the impact your donation has on others. For any questions, please contact Bill Conaway at ext. 8194.

★ TED Talks: See the December calendar.

★ Veterans’ Meeting: The December Veterans’ meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 6, at 10 am in the Social Hall. If you have not provided your photos for the Veter ans video, please bring them with you to the meeting. Please contact Bill Conaway (8194) with any ques tions.

★ Calling all Veterans: It is im portant to PPH that we identify all veterans living in our community. We want to make sure you are receiving the meeting notices, ceremonial invitations, and other veteran specific information. If you are new to the community and/or you have not completed the May 2021 veteran survey, please contact Bill Conaway (8194) or Kathy Wers inger (8017).

★ Dining Services: December 7 and 21, The Continental, featur ing fresh pastries, bagels, yogurts, juices, fruit, and coffee, will be available for purchase and will take place in the Fountain Room from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

December 14, and 28, the Farmers Market will take place in the Foun tain Room from 10:00 a.m. –  11:00 a.m.

★

★ Flag Raising Ceremony: Wednesday, December 7, is our Flag Raising in remembrance of Pearl Harbor. The event will take place at the Gateway flagpole at 10:30 a.m. Please contact Bill Con away at ext. 8194 for more informa tion.

Door Decorating Contest:

During the month of Decmber, we will be hosting a Door Decorating contest, where there will be one winner per building. The doors will be judged on Monday, December 19. We look forward to seeing your decorated doors!

Congratulations to the Eberhand and Helen Schea Scholarship Recipients!

(from November 2022 edition)

Congratulations to the two recipients of the 2022 Eberhard and Helen Schea Endowment Fund Healthcare Education Scholarship. This year’s Schea Scholars are Natgeene Joachim, Dining Services, and Roji John, Dining Services. Each recipient was awarded a $1,500 scholarship to help defray costs associated with secondary educa tion. To show their gratitude, Roji and Natgeene took pictures of their awards.

We are beyond excited to see you advance your education!

The 2022 Bocce Ball champs are Tom and Marge!

On Thursday, October 20, PPH hosted a Bocce Ball Tourna ment, which featured friendly competition between staff and residents to determine who was the true Bocce Ball champion. The event featured a $10 admission, with all of the pro ceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Staff members played their games from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., while residents played their games from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Once the brack ets were set, the championship started at 3:30 p.m., which featured Lawndale residents Tom and Marge Sexton facing off against Eileen Bratton, QAPI Nurse, and Kyle Ozimkiewicz, the Pathways Director of Nursing. They were all close games, but in the end, Tom and Marge came out victorious, and were crowned as the PPH Bocce Ball champions.

Thanks to everyone participating in our campus-wide events, such as the Campus Walk, Bake Sales, and Bocce Ball Tournament, PPH was able to raise nearly $1,500 in support of the Alzheimer’s research. We appreciate everyone who was able to participate in the events, as this is a cause near and dear to everyone.

(Pictured from top) Natgeene Joachim, Dining Services and Roji John, Dining Services

Reflections

“To have more is not to be more.”

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Sabbath, 3

The original Saint Nicholas, who inspired the tradition of Santa Claus, was bishop of Myra in fourth century Turkey. Not much is known about his life, but it is told that he gave away all of his parents’ possessions to the poor when they died. While serving as bishop, Nich olas learned of three girls who were going to be sold into slavery by their father. He used the church’s wealth to ransom the lives of these little ones, tossing three bags of gold through the family’s window.

Today, the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas that many of us recognize as Advent is the biggest frenzy of retail spending. More than a half of it, hundreds of billions of dollars a year, is spent as we celebrate the birth of the “homeless son of God” in that stinky manager. Hundreds of Christian congregations have now been rethinking the Advent season as a time for compassion rather than consumption.

— Reverend Pastor Peter Ahn, PPH Director of Pastoral Services

Heritage Society Members recognized on Founders’ Day

The Heritage Society classes of 2020 and 2021 were recognized on Founders' Day. Congratulations to our new members!

THE PPH MISSION

Guided by Christian values, the mission of The Philadelphia Protestant Home is to provide a caring senior living community that affords its residents the opportunity to achieve their highest possible quality of life.