Clay Center Community Matters August 2016

Commun ty Matters Clay Center Presbyterian Manor

COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:

Everyone has a story to tell

We will focus on dining services in an upcoming issue of Community Matters. What foods do you connect through your memories?

How has food shaped your life and recollections?

If you’ve got a story to share, contact contact Heather Germann, marketing director, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

From chaps to scrubs:

August 2016

RN has unique career experience

While people come into the nursing field from many different backgrounds, RN Michelle Kipfer has a very interesting career path.

“Before I came to the Clay Center Presbyterian Manor, my husband and I were self-employed. We made custom leather chaps for cowboys, and traveled the country going to stock shows,” said Michelle. “Once our kids were in school, though, it was harder for me to travel, and I wanted something close to home. After a while, my husband didn’t like working and traveling by himself, so he found something closer, too.”

So how did Michelle make the leap from rodeos to RN?

“In the back of my mind, I was always interested in nursing. But we got married young, and I didn’t go to college. If I had gone to school, I would have liked to be a nurse. When my husband and I started talking about me getting a job of my own separate from our business, I brought up nursing. I wasn’t sure, though. I was nearing 40, and wasn’t sure I could go back to school at that point. But my husband encouraged me, saying, ‘That’s a great idea, you can do it!’” said Michelle. “Once I started CNA work, I really enjoyed it. Then I started some online pre [requisites] for nursing while I was a CNA and just kept going.”

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Michelle is glad she decided to pursue her dream of nursing, and especially glad she chose to do so at Clay Center Presbyterian Manor.

“I got a scholarship for my CNA classes from PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid America) and that helped a lot. I could have gotten a scholarship for my RN classes, but I wasn’t sure if I could fulfill my commitment to working

Chaps to scrubs continued on page 2

Three cheers for teachers!

While teachers should be celebrated all year long, we give them particular praise during the month of August, when back to school excitement fills the air.

Resident Leona Shadle shares some memories of her 43 years as a teacher.

Leona taught grade school special reading and math in Junction City, Kansas City, and Salina. She became a teacher because she liked kids and wanted to help them. She jokes that going home at the end of the day was her favorite thing about teaching, but in all seriousness, she really enjoyed seeing kids’ skills and confidence improve.

“I thought that it was really great when

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Clay Center Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

Mike Derousseau, executive director Heather Germann, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Heather Germann, hgermann@pmma.org.

Telephone: 785-632-5646 Fax: 785-632-5874 Address: 924 Eighth St., Clay Center, KS 67432-2620

Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

ClayCenterPresbyterianManor.org

2 COMMUNITY MATTERS AUGUST 2016

they could learn how to read, and how to read new words. It was rewarding,” said Leona.

Leona’s students weren’t the only children in her life, though. She has five nieces and nephews, and eight great nieces and nephews, and eight greatgreat nieces and nephews! We thank Leona and all other wonderful teachers for their dedication to education!

Leona Shadle taught for 43 years.

PMMA rebalances portfolio with sale of campus

In the more than six and a half decades Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America has provided care for and advocated for the aging in Kansas and Missouri, the senior retirement landscape has changed dramatically. PMMA remains committed to our mission of providing quality senior services guided by Christian values and to meeting the ever changing needs of today’s seniors.

Seniors want a full continuum of care, with an emphasis on active living and wellness. Out of this demand, the Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) model was born.

This model provides for a large independent living level with smaller levels of assisted living and health are/skilled nursing.

During the past two decades, PMMA has been slowly moving its system toward the CCRC model. Even though we have made significant strides, our system still remains imbalanced in the world of CCRC’s.

Upon a careful analysis of our properties, it became clear that the Kansas City campus, with its predominantly health care focused

model, could not easily convert to a CCRC campus. After much analysis, deliberation and discussion with the senior leadership team, the Board of Trustees approved the sale of KCPM.

While saddened by the idea of selling KCPM, PMMA was and is confident that we are leaving our residents in good hands. The sale of Kansas City Presbyterian Manor to Riverbend, an operating subsidiary of The Ensign Group Inc., was completed and the campus transferred, on July 1, 2016.

Chaps to scrubs continued from page 1

here since we thought we might move. We didn’t end up moving though, and [Presbyterian] Manor has been so encouraging and supportive as I’ve pursued further education. They’re like that for all employees. They really want us to learn.”

We’re happy Michelle decided to join our team, and happy to support other staff members who choose to further their education.

This summer’s heat waves are more dangerous than you think

Heat waves tend to be underestimated as natural disasters because they lack the destructive power of hurricanes or earthquakes.We shouldn’t, however, overlook their lethal capabilities. During a week-long heat wave in Chicago in July 1995, temperatures in that city reached as high as 106 with a heat index of 120.

At least 739 people died — 651 of them 85 or older. Most were living alone, without power or air conditioning.

Four years later, when another heat wave hit, the city took aggressive action, sending police to check on isolated seniors and offering free bus service to cooling centers. Still, 110 people died.

And during a catastrophic three-week heat wave in Europe in August 2003, when temperatures produced the hottest season in five centuries, an estimated 70,000 people died, a fifth of them in Paris alone. Again, elders living alone were most vulnerable.

While seniors face the greatest danger, they aren’t the only ones at risk.

According to Dr. Basil A. Eldadah, program officer with the Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology of the National Institute on Aging, “heatrelated injuries can affect all ages, the middle-aged as much as the older population.You may not feel as susceptible as your elderly parents, but even the best of us can succumb to hot weather.”

Risks associated with heat waves

Heat exposure can lead to several dangerous conditions, grouped under the umbrella term hyperthermia.These conditions are characterized by an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the heat-regulating mechanisms of the body to deal with hot weather. Most people who die from hyperthermia conditions are over 50,

and those who have poorly working sweat glands — or heart, lung or kidney disease — are especially vulnerable. So are people who take diuretics, sedatives, tranquilizers or certain heart and high blood pressure medication, such as beta blockers, which can impair the body’s ability to cool itself by sweating. People who are overweight are also at greater risk than others. Here are some conditions to watch out for: • Heat syncope is sudden dizziness that may happen when you exert yourself in high temperatures. People with heart conditions who take beta blockers are especially susceptible to feeling faint in the heat. Staying hydrated, sitting with your legs elevated, and spending time in a cool place should bring on recovery.

• Heat cramps in your stomach, arms or legs can result from hard work or exercise in the heat. Cramps are one way your body tells you that it’s too hot.When you cramp up, go where it’s cool or find shade and hydrate.

• Heat edema, the swelling of ankles and feet due to heat, should be relieved by elevating your legs. If the swelling doesn’t pass soon, is warm or red to the touch, or you have a fever, see your doctor immediately.

• Heat exhaustion can arise when your body cannot cool itself, and as a result you feel thirsty, dizzy, weak, uncoordinated and nauseated.Your skin may feel cold and clammy and your pulse rate may go up. Get yourself to a cool spot and drink fluids.

• Heat stroke is a potentially lifethreatening emergency condition to which an elderly loved one in your care may be particularly susceptible.

Heat stroke can occur when the body, overwhelmed by heat, cannot control

Thinkstock photo

its temperature, which may rise above 104 degrees. Heat stroke is usually associated with a temperature of 105 degrees. It is characterized by fainting, confusion, staggering, a rapid or weak pulse, an inability to sweat, flushed skin or even coma. Seek immediate emergency medical attention for a person with any of these symptoms.

If you’re looking after a loved one

When you know that a heat wave is coming, it’s critical to make sure that loved ones living alone are being checked on regularly, and that they have the means to keep cool.

“Prevention is always better than treatment.When it comes to hyperthermia, you never want to find yourself having to react when you may not have the resources to react appropriately,” Eldadah says. “Pay attention to the elder’s living situation. Make sure that if they have an air conditioner, it’s actually conditioning the air and not just being a fan, and that the compressor is actually working.That’s not always a given.”

When you’re with a loved one during a heat wave, he says, take action to cool off more quickly than you might on your own. “In your car, you may feel perfectly comfortable just rolling down the window,” he says. “But if an older person is with you, have a lower threshold for running the air conditioning.”

Summer heat wave continued on page 4 CLAY CENTER PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

Vespers

4 p.m. on Sundays in the Health Care Dining Room

Chapel

August 2 – Pastor Graham August 9 – Pastor Stewart August 16 – Pastor Lynch August 23 – Pastor Schoneweis August 30– Pastor Coleman

Off to the band concert!

Activity Director Dawn Langvardt took a van load of residents to the local city band concert in Clay Center. The community band is directed by C.L. Snodgrass, a frequent volunteer at Clay Center Presbyterian Manor. The community band is celebrating 100 years this year.

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Clay Center Presbyterian Manor 924 Eighth St. Clay Center, KS 67432-2620

Resident Survey Results will be available Aug. 15 at your campus. Watch your resident mailbox or ask at the reception desk for a copy.

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Summer heat wave continued from page 3

How to keep yourself cool

• Drink liquids.You know what you need – eight glasses of water a day.

Fruit or vegetable juices can also cool you. “Hydration is essential,” Eldadah says. “We’ve all heard the advice that you need to keep hydrated before you get thirsty, because once you feel thirsty, you’re drinking to catch up.”

But you should avoid drinks with alcohol and caffeine. “They have a diuretic effect,” he says.

• Limit the use of your oven and keep your shades low.

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• If your home is not air conditioned, spend time in a place that is, especially in the afternoon when temperature are at a peak.

• Dress for the weather. Loose-fitting clothing is best, Eldadah says, because “the more surface area one has to dissipate that heat, the better.” Some people find natural fabrics such as cotton to be more comfortable in the heat,” he says, “but some athletic clothing is made to conduct water vapor … so heat can transfer through those clothes more efficiently.”

• In high heat, “take a common-sense approach” to your exercise routine, Eldadah says, and modify your workout accordingly, especially if it involves running outside.

• Shower or bathe to cool off, or get some faster relief by applying a cold, wet cloth to your wrists, neck or armpits, where blood passes close to the surface of the skin.

By Gary Drevitch for Next Avenue

© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016.

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