Aberdeen Village
Residents stay connected with technology
MAY 2020
The entire world is navigating uncharted territory as the COVID-19 virus moves across the globe. Residents and staff at communities such as Aberdeen Village have had to endure drastic changes in operations, procedures and contact with the outside world in order to protect those most vulnerable to the virus. For residents, that has been an especially big challenge that has made it impossible for family members to visit the communities.
Cards and letters help warm residents’ spirits during crisis
“People need to feel connected to other people to feel well,” social worker Liz Miller said. “Emotional health plays into physical health.”
Staff and residents of Aberdeen Village want to give a special “thank you” to everyone who has sent cards, letters and kind thoughts to our community. We received a stack of postcards Tuesday from a thoughtful person named Kayla. It was so touching that our staff teared up while reading her messages. She sent so many cards that every resident in the healthcare area received one. Thank you, Kayla, for your kindness. A note card from someone named Danny included a personal message for all of our residents and is now displayed so everyone can read it. We’ve had phone calls to inquire if we have any needs, such as personal shopping or visits. Girl Scout troops asked to make a craft for our residents. A mom with a toddler offered to walk around the exterior of our building so residents could see a 2-year-old child smiling back at them. We have been amazed by all the offers from people who want to help our residents feel they are loved and not forgotten. Thank you so much to everyone. SPIRITS - continued on page 2
Liz, along with fellow social worker Janelle Erickson; Chaplain Diane Gunsolley; Life Enrichment Director Sandy Barnes; Life Enrichment Assistants David Nelson, Ellen Petelin, Rachael Esau and Rouba Sawaf; and Sales and Marketing Director Stephanie Oehlert, have been coordinating with residents and their families to use eight iPads equipped with video conference software to help keep residents connected to the outside world. “We have the ability to video chat no matter what level of care you’re in,” Liz said. “We’ve TECH - continued on page 2
Aberdeen Village | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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Keeping our residents and staff healthy is our top priority. We encourage letters and cards sent through the US Postal Service.
created a shared calendar that we use to schedule times. This can be initiated by residents or their families.”
As of March 26, we are also now able to accept care packages sent through official carriers such as USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL.
The technology has been an important tool in recent weeks, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidelines that advise against allowing visitors into long-term care communities. While necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among residents, many people are missing regular visits with family members.
Packages are quarantined for 3 days before being delivered to residents, so no perishable items please. ◆
Calling all needleworkers: Help us supply our staff with masks and gowns
Can you sew? Aberdeen Village is asking for help to protect our residents and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are seeking donations of homemade fabric face masks and isolation gowns. If you’re interested in helping out, contact Stephanie Oehlert at soehlert@pmma.org or by calling 913-599-6100.
“I see a lot of smiles,” Liz said. “They are happy to be able to connect with loved ones. Family members respond very well. It lets them put eyes on their loved ones, and they know that they’re doing well. Both residents and families really enjoy it.” While the technology might be new for some residents and their families, Miller has found a way to help everyone streamline the process and understand its mechanisms. This has included coordinating compatible technology between users. “Sometimes, there’s some explanation for our residents,” Miller said. “I describe it like watching live TV. I say ‘I have a device and you can see your son, and it’s like live TV.’ It goes really well when you describe it like that.”
The response to the technology has been overwhelmingly positive. “My favorite reaction was from one resident who looked at it, and her daughter asked, ‘What do you think?’ Miller said. “She said, ‘It’s beyond my comprehension,’ but later she said ‘It’s magic! It’s magical!’” These connections are an important tool in residents’ health, particularly during a stressful time. “This is all part of the overall wellbeing of our residents, when we’re all being asked to isolate,” Miller said. “Thankfully we have these platforms, not just for our residents but for families as well. As we visit residents with the iPads, it’s also another pair of eyes checking in and making sure things are OK. Our nurses are incredible and doing so much for residents right now. Every department is going above and beyond. This is another way we can assist and walk with residents during this time.” The technology’s use is borne from necessity, but Miller expects it will remain in place as a tool to connect residents to families well after the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. “We’ll absolutely use this more,” Miller said. “For residents with family members out of town or working during the day and can’t visit but might be able to take a break for a quick chat. I think this is something we’ll look at continuing in the future.” ◆
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ABERDEEN VILLAGE A PMMA COMMUNITY
913-599-6100 ◆ Fax: 913-599-3810 17500 W. 119th St. Olathe, KS 66061-9524 AberdeenVillage.com
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Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Village by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizaton.
To submit or suggest articles: soehlert@pmma.org Tim Allin, executive director Stephanie Oehlert, director of sales and marketing
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
April 15, 2020
Dear Residents and Family,
We continue to “Stay the Course” despite the challenges of restricting all visitors to our PMMA communities. It has been a key prevention measure in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 virus across the United States. In addition, the CDC guidelines and the emergency “Stay-at-Home” orders for the general public in Kansas and Missouri and the guidance to social distance issued by almost all of the states, has helped our employees to protect those entrusted to our care.
Just last week, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) released revised models that included a strong statement as to what social distancing is doing to decrease the number of expected cases of COVID-19. The revised projections simply indicate that the policy of social distancing is working to reduce both hospitalizations and deaths, not only in the U.S., but also around the world.
What does this mean for all of the senior living communities in the PMMA system? It means that taking the stance to implement these extreme measures by the PMMA leadership, but one required by CDC guideline, remains the right thing to do to keep all our residents and employees COVID-19 free.
To this point, PMMA has a resident population of approximately 2,400 that are – as of today – COVID-19 free. In addition, we have had only one non-direct care employee out of almost 2,500 total employees that tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and appropriate steps were put in place to assure no other employee or resident was affected. It is difficult with these outcomes, to argue with the PMMA System success due to the key prevention measures implemented in March. I sincerely thank you for your cooperation, patience and grace during this pandemic and please let me end with a personnel experience I had this past Easter weekend.
Most Easter mornings, I usually attend a Sunrise service at my local church. Unfortunately, this opportunity was not available due to the “Stay at Home” orders in Kansas. Therefore, I sat in my driveway, looking at the cloudy morning and listening to a Christian podcast of the readings from all of the gospels of the very first Easter morning. At the end of the podcast, the presenter read the following chorus from the Hymn, “Because He Lives.” The words were very reassuring to me in this very trying time. I hope this speaks to you also. Because He lives I can face tomorrow Because He lives all fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth the living just because He lives God’s Blessings, Bruce H. Shogren President/CEO Aberdeen Village | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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Coronavirus in the news: Separating fact from fiction By Julie Pfitzinger for Next Avenue
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., the 24/7 news cycle has transformed into an even more rapidly changing landscape of information, and in some cases, misinformation. Now more than ever, it’s important to have a discerning eye as we all attempt to process updates surrounding everything COVID-19 from statistics to social distancing, both on a national and a local level. In a recent story in Stanford News, Jeff Hancock, a Stanford University communications professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences and founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab, said there are telltale signs to determine whether coronavirus stories you’re seeing are based in truth. “Compared to real news, fake news tends to include information that is more surprising, upsetting or geared to trigger anger or anxiety. Any information that fits that (and a lot of coronavirus news can) should be double-checked. Other cues that raise suspicion include unknown sources, unusual numbers of endorsements (or likes) and memes that focus on partisan topics,” he said. Coronavirus news: hoax or no? Recently, Buzzfeed published what they called “a running list” of hoaxes being promulgated about coronavirus; it’s a list the editors plan to update regularly. You may be surprised to learn that the “sources” to which incorrect information is being attributed include reputable entities such
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as the United Nations and the Pentagon. Other hoaxes featured in the Buzzfeed piece spotlight claims which, in calmer times, might not gain traction, but in this period of heightened anxiety, are attracting attention. There’s a YouTube video encouraging people to inhale hot air from a hair dryer to cure coronavirus and another “home remedy” purported to kill the coronavirus — drinking excessive amounts of water to activate stomach acid — which offers what the article calls “very bad advice,” according to many medical experts. Or this fallacy: no, in fact, there isn’t any proof that taking ibuprofen can worsen coronavirus symptoms. The power of mal-information Why do hoaxes like these surface in a time when it’s more important than ever for people to have confidence the information they are seeing is accurate and in their best interests? According to Hancock, the reason is often deeply rooted in commerce and financial gain for those who definitely don’t have the best interests of anyone else in mind. “Because media business models are based on attention economics, bad actors create mal-information (which includes fake news, misinformation and disinformation) about the coronavirus in order to get people to attend to their content, and ultimately make money from that attention. Money is the primary motivation,” he said. But, Hancock added, there are
other factors lurking behind the fake news. “A second motivation is partisanship, and partisans try to lay blame for the crisis with political opponents. The third main motivation is seeking to disrupt and confuse the public. This was the Russian election interference motivation for mal-information and remains their objective along with some other hostile state actors,” he said. Our fragile emotional state In an article published on Next Avenue in April 2019, called Who Shares Fake News? (We Know it Wasn’t You), contributor Andrew Lapin addressed the issue of which age group is generally more prone to believe, and share, fake news. As Lapin reported, there are many factors and not a definitive answer about the ages of those who spread fake news stories. However, in this time of a pandemic, the role of our collective emotional state no matter our age is a contributing factor in susceptibility to fake news.◆
Art is Ageless® competition cancelled, but artwork remains on display In light of the restrictions and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 virus, we held many discussions with our residents and our art committee about how to move forward with the Art is Ageless® competition.
Under these circumstances, we decided the best thing for Aberdeen Village is to have a display of all of the artwork without holding a competition this year. We did not come to this decision lightly. Our artists worked hard on
their masterpieces, and we want everyone to be able to see them. While we’re disappointed that we couldn’t hold the competition, we hope that everyone will enjoy the display of the incredible work of our talented residents. ◆
Aberdeen Village | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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ABERDEEN VILLAGE A PMMA COMMUNITY
17500 W. 119th St. Olathe, KS 66061-9524 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Our Mission: to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.
‘Remote’ visitors raise spirits of residents Music always has a way of lifting spirits.
When resident Rebecca Ann Chaikin’s family came by for a “socially distant” visit, they took the opportunity to lend their voices to everyone in the Aberdeen Village community. “They sang multiple songs while walking along the pond pathway by Independent Living,” said Life Enrichment Director Sandy Barnes. “They also sang on the main entrance to Independent Living, so they were able to reach more residents.” The impromptu concert lasted about 20 minutes on each side of the Independent Living building.
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The music drew residents out to their balconies.
“They were clapping and singing along and telling the singers thank you for coming,” Barnes said. “The inside was abuzz about the singers, and it seemed to perk up the whole day for everyone.” More recently, other members of Rebecca’s family, including her children and grandchildren, visited again for another round. The family regularly sings in church and for retirement communities in an effort
to bring the joy of music to others. Barnes said anyone who is interested in bringing signs, music, or other talents to the community should contact her to make arrangements. This will help ensure that the gifts can be shared with as many residents as possible. She can be reached at sbarnes2@pmma.org or by calling 913-599-6100. ◆