Manor of the Plains
FEBRUARY 2021
Covid-19 vaccination clinic gives residents, staff a shot in the arm before the new year At the end of December, Walgreens employees from Liberal and one pharmacist from Olathe came to Manor of the Plains to distribute the first round of Covid-19 vaccine
COVID-19 updates continue
Jane Tyler was among the first residents to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in late December.
injections for long-term care communities in Dodge City.
A member of the clinical team gets the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in late December.
Assisted living resident Jane Tyler was among the first of our residents to receive the first dose. Jane said she was not scared to get the vaccine, and she hopes it will save lives and stop the virus. She’s looking forward to being able to hug and visit her family again. u
Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID19 on your community website or send an Art is Ageless® greeting to a resident or staff member by visiting ManorOfThePlains.org/ covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays and as needed as our COVID status changes. Vaccine distribution has begun in our community. Every person who receives the vaccine will strengthen the protection for all residents, staff and the community at-large. PMMA strongly encourages our families, employees and residents to carefully consider obtaining a vaccine for themselves as well as their loved ones.u
Employees waited for their turn to sign up to receive the vaccine in late December. Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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What we love about Manor of the Plains Residents Ella Mae Dale and Paul Slaven share what they love about living at Manor of the Plains. It warms our heart to hear all these reasons. Ella Mae Dale, resident for 8 years Why did you choose to live at Manor of the Plains? I come from a small town and neither one of my children live there. I thought I should get somewhere close to them. My daughter and son-in-law live here. I came up here and thought this was a good opportunity. I looked it over, and it had everything I wanted. So, I just moved in. I had no idea how many years I’d be here. Eight years later, I’m surprised and glad, too. What is your favorite thing about living here? I enjoy the companionship, the friends that I have here. They’re all good people. I like the things we do, like we play games in the afternoon if we want to. I think that’s great.
Ella Mae Dale
Paul Slaven
of myself. If I wanted to just walk around all I had to do was grab my cart and away I went. They would watch me, of course, but I did just fine. Rather than sit and be waited on, I could do it myself.
I enjoyed it more before the Coronavirus because we could eat together. I like it because the people are so friendly. I like the activities – the activities lady, Lisa Montoya, does a great job and makes it interesting. I like the food – I was living by myself, so it’s great to get one good meal a day. We’ve been voted the best senior living residence in Dodge City so that’s good. And my neighbor’s bringing me my newspaper, so that’s great! It’s a great place to be!
Paul Slaven, resident for almost 3 years
What are the benefits of living in a community during a pandemic?
Why did you choose to live at Manor of the Plains?
I don’t know if there are any benefits, but I do know that we all feel the same way. We’ll be glad when it’s all over.
I sold my house in Cimarron when a young couple wanted to buy it – I wasn’t quite ready but put a price on it and they took it! I thought I needed an apartment. I knew a little about this place because I came over for an open house when a CNA that I knew encouraged me. The time was right.
Tell me about the convenience you experienced of being able to recover for your knee replacement surgery from the comfort of your apartment. It was fine because when they took me out of the hospital and to a private room (at manor) it was nice because people were in and out alike and visited with me. But I could take care
What is your favorite thing about living here? There are a lot of things I like about it.
What are the benefits of living in a community during a pandemic? One of the best things – I got my first vaccination two or three days ago. It was a good experience. I didn’t have any side effects. And nobody here that I knew of had any. I think we’ll start loosening up now and doing a few things again.u
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Community Matters 620-225-1928 ◆ Fax: 620-225-3982 200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 ManorOfThePlains.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | February 2021
is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: jvanhook@pmma.org John Van Hook, executive director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Watering project earns Boy Scout top honor An innovative watering system created for the community’s recently rebuilt garden beds has resulted in a local Boy Scout receiving the organization’s highest rank of Eagle Scout.
While the project may have taken Allen longer than expected, he appreciated the opportunity it provided him to connect with a few of the community’s residents. “I got to hang out with some of the residents who were outside gardening,” said Allen. “It was fun just getting a chance to talk to them and listen to their stories.”
The watering system, created by Allen Richter, was the final piece needed to complete the beds that were rebuilt last spring by Girl Scout Misty Cole—whose dad also happened to be Allen’s troop leader. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do and then one day Misty’s dad said, ‘hey, there’s this project someone can do’ and it just popped up at the right time,” said Allen. Allen’s design for the project consisted of running pipes from overhead beams that led to small spickets and watering nozzles below—a system he worked on with Val Henson, a plumber for the community. “We did a lot of planning ahead of
The watering system uses a overhead beams and pipes to get the water to the different raised beds.
time so that I could show up, work it out and get it done,” said Allen. “COVID made it a little bit harder because we couldn’t have everyone show up all on one day and bust it out, we had to work a little more slowly in small groups to get it done.”
Becoming an Eagle Scout is a tradition in Allen’s family with his dad and all five of his uncles also obtaining the prestigious rank. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Allen’s family has yet to be able to celebrate the achievement together. “My grandparents want to be at the ceremony and they haven’t been able to because of the risk of COVID,” said Allen. “I am the first grandchild who has gotten this.” Now, with his scouting days behind him, Allen is attending Wichita State University majoring in mechanical engineering.u
Allen gets help: COVID made bringing a larger group together to knock the project out impossible. However, smaller groups worked on the project over several visits to the campus to complete the watering system.
Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Art is Ageless® call for entries underway at Manor of the Plains Manor of the Plains is seeking artists age 65 and older for is annual juried art exhibit and competition March 11 – 17, 2021. Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 2022 Art is Ageless calendar. Due to the uncertainty created by COVID-19, Manor of the Plains plans to hold its event virtually for friends of the program on the community’s Facebook page, and to announce winners on Facebook following the event. Works will be on exhibit at the community for residents only. Artists may choose to enter works
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for exhibit only. For the competition, works are to have been completed in the past five years (since January 2016). There are nine categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Manor of the Plains by 5 p.m. March 5. Please contact Lisa Montoya to arrange to drop off pieces for the exhibit by calling 620-225-1928. The Art is Ageless® program encourages Manor of the Plains residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through its annual competition, as well as art classes, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions throughout the year. Manor of the
COMMUNITY MATTERS | February 2021
Plains is a PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) community. Local competition winners will join winners from 14 other PMMA communities to be judged at the systemwide level. Entry forms and information can be obtained by contacting Lisa Montoya at 620-225-1928 or lmontoya@pmma.org, or accessed at ArtIsAgeless.org.u