Aberdeen Heights
DECEMBER 2020
Great Pumpkin visits Aberdeen Heights No Halloween is complete without the Great Pumpkin — and thanks to the combined effort of residents and staff, Aberdeen Heights got to enjoy their own papier-mâché version. The celebration included preparing the pumpkin for display, as well as a grill out, led by dietary manager Tony Ralphs. Social Services Director Kristine Pancer said that in addition to the pumpkin, staff led their own version of another Halloween classic: the grade-school student costume parade. “Because we were not able to have a Halloween party, the staff decided to dress up and we did have a Halloween parade,” Pancer said. “Normally we have the kids come through from the elementary school with their costumes, but we weren’t able to do that this year because of the pandemic. The residents really have been missing the engagement from the kids. So we decided to do our own parade.” The parade included a decorated cart that delivered punch, cookies and cupcakes. “They loved it,” Pancer said. “There were a lot of smiles from people seeing the costumes.”u
Jean Gibbons and Ellen Umlauf competed in scarecrow bowling while Laney Liefer cheered.
Fall festival filled with food and fun Aberdeen Heights staff and residents enjoyed games and tasty snacks during a recent fall festival. “We wanted to make something really special for the residents to enjoy during the pandemic,” said Kristine Pancer, social services director. “Our life enrichment staff has done a tremendous job continuing to offer engaging and stimulating activities for our residents.” The fall festival included scarecrow bowling, which involved rolling a small pumpkin in the hopes of knocking down the straw-man “pins.” It also included a sweet-andsalty snack bar, where residents could pick their favorite treats and mix them all together in a snack bag. They also had the chance to indulge in cupcakes, funnel cakes and caramel apples. Residents took home door prizes,
Fay Prince poses with her snacks and The Great Pumpkin!
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Fall festival – continued from page 1 and even staff got in on the action with a raffle. “They really enjoyed getting the little gifts,” Kristine said. “It’s just something to bring some cheer into their day. Who doesn’t like thinking Dana Jacobs delivers snacks to that they won?”u residents.
Cakewalk, left to right, resident Mary Riegel, David Evans, director of life enrichment; Hannah LeFort, activity assistant; Nicole Lawson, resident Fay Prince, resident Jack Macke and Chaplain Julie Berger.
COVID-19 updates continue Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID-19 on your community website, AberdeenSeniorLiving.com/ covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays for the week ending the following Sunday. Visitation status is updated as needed in between due to outbreak or health department orders. You can also send your loved one a digital Christmas Card from our Art is Ageless® card collection. Email the card to your campus contact for delivery, or send directly to your loved one via their email address.
you to practice basic safety measures to keep yourselves and others safe from COVID-19. Whenever you leave your residence or are in the presence of others, wear a cloth mask or face covering over your nose and mouth, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcoholbased gel, and maintain a safe social distance of six feet or more between yourself and others with
whom you do not live. Practicing these simple safety measures can help stop the spread of COVID-19.u
With cases on the rise, we remind Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.
Community Matters 314-909-6010 ◆ Fax: 913-599-3810 505 Couch Ave. Kirkwood, MO 63122-5536 AberdeenSeniorLiving.com
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020
is published monthly for residents and friends of Aberdeen Heights by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: llandy@pmma.org Rick Cumberland, executive director Lily Landy, health care administrator
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
The Glen at Aberdeen Heights on U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Home list Aberdeen Heights’ skilled nursing center is making another appearance on the U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Homes 2020-21 list. For the third consecutive year, the campus will appear on the longterm care list and on the short-term rehabilitation list for the second consecutive year. The senior living community’s The Glen health care center received the highest score of High Performing to make the lists, available October 27 at www.usnews.com/best-nursinghomes/search. The Glen at Aberdeen Heights has 38 health care rooms and offers both long-term care and short-term rehabilitation. The Aberdeen Heights campus also offers independent living, assisted living and memory care in Kirkwood. The senior living community is part of the PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) network of senior living communities.
long-term care. The 10 quality measures focus on staffing, outcomes, resident complaints and processes of care. Some of the measures used by U.S. News are not included in the CMS approach to determining 5-star ratings. U.S. News added the Short-Term Rehabilitation rating in 2018 evaluating the care delivered to patients after a hospitalization for surgery, heart attack, stroke, injury or similar condition. In 2019, U.S. News added a Long-Term Care rating evaluating the care delivered to residents who are no longer able to live independently and need help with daily activities such as eating, getting in or out of bed or a wheelchair, using stairs, or getting dressed, as well as administering needed medical care.
U.S. News uses information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the government agency that sets and enforces standards for nursing homes and skilled nursing centers. CMS assigns one to five stars to each community for how well it performs in health inspections, nurse staffing and level of quality care.
In order to be included on the U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Homes list, a skilled nursing center had to receive the High Performing designation in either the short-term rehabilitation or longterm care categories. In 2020, CMS awarded 5-stars to 3,689 skilled nursing centers. A total of 3,277 skilled nursing centers were recognized as Best Nursing Homes in 2020 – 2,362 in short-term rehabilitation and 1,623 in longterm care. Just 708 skilled nursing communities received this designation in both short-term rehabilitation and long-term care.
Over the past two years, U.S. News changed its focus from the CMS star ratings to specific quality measures for short-term rehabilitation and
Aberdeen Heights has appeared on the new short-term rehabilitation list twice, and on the long-term care list seven times since 2011. Aberdeen
Heights is a community in the PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) system. “Our employees continue to focus their efforts on delivering quality care every day,” said PMMA President and CEO Bruce Shogren. “The High Performing designation confirms their good work.” In addition to Aberdeen Heights, six PMMA locations are on the honoree list with the High Performing designation for long-term care: Aberdeen Village (Olathe), Arkansas City, Emporia, Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita in Kansas. Communities recognized on the short-stay rehab list in addition to Aberdeen Heights are Aberdeen Village (Olathe), Manor of the Plains (Dodge City) and Wichita in Kansas. Wichita, Aberdeen Village, Manor of the Plains and Aberdeen Heights were among 708 communities that received the high performing designation in both categories. All Medicare- and Medicaidcertified health care centers were evaluated by U.S. News. To be eligible for an overall rating, a center must have received reimbursement from CMS in July 2020 and had sufficient data to evaluate quality in that rating. u
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505 Couch Ave. Kirkwood, MO 63122 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020