Lawrence Presbyterian Manor
COVID-19 updates continue DECEMBER 2020
Meet Dinah Dutta, our new chaplain What’s your title? A life of transformation from cancer research scientist at the University of Kansas, clergy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA), oncology chaplain at KU Medical Center, to Presbyterian Manor chaplain. How long have you been with PMMA? Five months What’s your favorite Bible verse for the holidays? “Bless the Lord O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2). What are your favorite holiday foods? During holidays, my grandmother and mother used to make a lot of traditional sweet treats. After I came to the U.S., I learned to cook turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I love cornbread. I could not master the pumpkin pie, so I buy it always. What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? I grew up in India in a deeply spiritual, Christian family. Going to midnight worship all dressed up is one of my fond memories. We lived in a community where most of our neighbors were not Christians. As a family, we prepared baskets with fruit and sweet treats and delivered door-to-door. We also used to have an open house on Christmas day after the worship. Many colleagues and friends of my parents used to come to wish us well. Here in the U.S. we (my husband is a professor at KU) invite our students who cannot go home for holidays. Most of them are not Christians. Buying gifts for them and cooking traditional Indian food gives us great JOY. We do not have kids of our own. We deliver baskets to our neighbors, wishing them merry Christmas and happy holidays. Our neighborhood where we live now is very diverse.
Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID19 on your community website, LawrencePresbyterianManor.org/ 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. With cases on the rise, we remind 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 alcohol-based 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
What inspired you to become a chaplain? My dad, the late Rev. Dr. Pooranchand, was an ordained pastor in India.
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When I was young, I used to go with him to visit people in the hospitals. At a young age, I was attracted to the pastoral care ministry. During my time as a pastor, visiting elder members and those that were sick blessed me in many ways. I always envisioned Jesus as a chaplain, a shepherd caring for people. After serving in two churches as a pastor, I feel called to do this ministry at such time as this. I am passionate about pastoral care ministry and preaching the Word of God (Psalm 119:105). Can you share some thoughts about your work during the pandemic? My ministry at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor once again has been a blessing during this COVID time. It is very natural for us to feel depressed and hopeless, since we cannot predict the end. However, everything, even holiday time, looks different and more meaningful. My faith in Christ assures me that we are not alone, God is with us and His promises are true (Isaiah 43: 12). Though we are not able to do normal things like visiting family or friends, I want to encourage everyone as I encourage myself to take time to reflect on the wonderful way the Lord is sustaining us. I continue to pray that the Lord will keep us as an apple of His eye and bless us to be a blessing.u
Celebration brings out the ghoulishness in everyone Halloween might be a time for witches’ brews and scary spells, but there was nothing terrifying about the good times at our Halloween celebration. Staff and residents donned their favorite Halloween costumes for a costume contest. We enjoyed the opportunity to see this display of creative fun. We also enjoyed pumpkin decorating, as well as an assortment of snacks and treats. We’d also like to congratulate our own “red devil” Cynthia Browning, who was crowned winner of the costume contest. Cynthia is a dining services assistant. Thanks to everyone who participated in the celebration for working to make it such a fun time.u
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Community Matters 785-841-4262 ◆ Fax: 785-841-0923 1429 Kasold Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 LawrencePresbyterianManor.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020
is published monthly for residents and friends of Lawrence Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: cpatrick@PMMA.org. Christie Patrick, executive director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
U.S. News and World Report says Lawrence Presbyterian Manor is among best in nation U.S. News and World Report has named Lawrence Presbyterian Manor to the Best Nursing Homes 2020-21 list. The senior living community received the highest score of High Performing in the long-term care category to make the list, available at www.usnews.com/best-nursinghomes/search. Lawrence Presbyterian Manor can serve 40 residents in the health care center. Both short-term rehabilitation and long-term care are available. The campus also offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. Including Lawrence Presbyterian Manor, six PMMA locations are on the honoree list with high performing designations for longterm care: Aberdeen Village (Olathe), Arkansas City, Manor of the Plains (Dodge City) and Wichita in Kansas and Aberdeen Heights (Kirkwood) in Missouri. 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. 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. 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 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 to evaluate 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. 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. “Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica employees continue to focus their efforts on delivering quality caring every day,” said PMMA President and CEO Bruce Shogren. “The High Performing designation confirms their good work.” This is the 10th consecutive year Lawrence Presbyterian Manor has appeared on the U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Homes List. Aberdeen Village (Olathe), Manor of the Plains (Dodge City), and Wichita in Kansas and Aberdeen Heights (Kirkwood) in Missouri were named High Performing in the Short-Term Rehabiliation category. To learn more about the U.S. News and World Report rating system, visit their FAQ page: https://health.usnews.com/healthnews/best-nursing-homes/articles/ faq-how-we-rate-nursing-homes. u
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1429 Kasold Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
It might be a house divided, but we’re all family With the annual Sunflower Showdown drawing out the feverish football fans for the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, we decided to have fun with football themed decorations and KU and KSU cupcakes. It was a fun way to get in a little light-hearted ribbing about our favorite teams. In the end, KSU routed KU 55-14. Nevertheless, everyone walked away friends.u
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020