Parsons Presbyterian Manor
April 2021
PMMA Founder’s Day honors its heroes and 72 years of heritage Employees of Parsons Presbyterian Manor will observe the founding of PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) this month as the company salutes its heroes and heritage.
COVID-19 updates continue
PMMA’s roots go back to 1947. Alice Kalb, a widow from central Kansas, appealed to a Presbyterian Church organization to establish a home for seniors. Her vision laid the foundation for the first Presbyterian Manor community in Newton, Kan., and inspired others to do even more. Through the many decades, PMMA has remained true to the spirit of Alice’s vision, providing quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID-19 on your community website at ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org/covi d-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays and as needed as our COVID status changes. You can also send a message to any resident with the Art is Ageless® egreeting cards. Find a link on the COVID-19 update page.
Each Founder’s Day, staff members re-commit to live our mission by signing the “WE PROMISE” board that lists the pillars to the mission: respecting that seniors retain their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; assisting residents with specific needs; providing compassionate service; serving as a trusted resource; and advocating for seniors. “Our nearly 2,000 employees view what they do as a calling,” said Bruce Shogren, president and CEO. “Our dedicated employees make it possible for us to sustain PMMA’s mission, as well as its heritage. I believe Alice would be very proud.” Alice Kalb’s dream has turned into a network of 15 senior living communities and two hospices across Kansas and Missouri. A new senior living community is under development in Colorado Springs, Colo. PMMA remains true to its core and mission: to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. For more information about Parsons Presbyterian Manor, contact Victoria White, marketing director, at 620-421-1450 or vwhite@pmma.org. u
With vaccine distribution, internal restrictions are starting to loosen, allowing health care and assisted living residents to forgo quarantine if they leave the campus for physician appointments and other activities as long as they are not gone longer than 7 midnights. If an absence is longer than 7 days, the resident is required to quarantine and undergo COVID-19 testing. There will be no quarantine requirement for independent living residents who leave the community for an outing.u
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Parsons Presbyterian Manor receives 2021 Customer Experience Award from Pinnacle Quality Insight Parsons Presbyterian Manor is proud to announce that they are the recipient of Pinnacle Quality Insight’s 2021 Customer Experience Award.TM In qualifying for the award for the health care center in eight categories, Parsons Presbyterian Manor demonstrates a continued dedication to providing best-in-class senior health care services. “Receiving this recognition during a year that was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic is a tremendous achievement,” said Maegen Pegues, executive director. “It really shows that our residents and their families have confidence in us and the care that we provide.” Throughout its 47-year history of serving the community, Parsons Presbyterian Manor has placed a strong emphasis on ensuring that the individual needs of every resident are met. Over the course of 2020, a sampling of Parsons Presbyterian Manor’s residents and their families have participated in monthly telephone interviews that include open-ended questions, as well as the opportunity to rate
Parsons Presbyterian Manor in specific categories. Every month, Parsons Presbyterian Manor has reviewed its real-time survey results to gain a better understanding of residents’ needs and make improvements when necessary. By qualifying for the Pinnacle Customer Experience Award,™ Parsons Presbyterian Manor has satisfied the rigorous demand of scoring in the top 15 percent of the nation across a 12-month average. The categories in which Parsons Presbyterian Manor was in the top 15 percent include: overall satisfaction, dining service, quality
of food, cleanliness, meeting individual needs, demonstrating dignity and respect, recommend to others and overall customer experience. For more information about living and care options at Parsons Presbyterian Manor, contact Victoria White at 620-421-1450 or vwhite@pmma.org.u
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Community Matters 620-421-1450 u Fax: 620-421-1897 3501 Dirr Ave. Parsons, KS 67357-2220 ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org
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is published monthly for residents and friends of Parsons Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: vwhite@pmma.org Maegen Pegues, executive director Victoria White, marketing and admissions counselor
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
‘Sing-a-long’ volunteer has brightened our community with song Betty Hanson’s life took a turn when she visited a friend who had recently moved into an assisted living community. “She had a beautiful grand piano, and she loved to play it,” Betty said. “And I said, ‘They have a grand piano here! Let’s go right now.’ And lo and behold, she sat right on the piano bench with me, and we started to go through some of our favorite old songs.”
Betty Hanson
Betty thought music might cheer up her homesick friend, and it worked. “She began to smile again and she would sing a little with me, and we just had a ball,” she said. Other residents came in to listen after they finished their dinner, and Betty received an invitation to return. “Then it just kind of grew,” she said. Someone would mention an aunt or an old neighbor who would appreciate a sing-a-long, and Betty would put another community on her calendar. Betty has been doing her “sing-along ministry” for 15 years now. For the past several years, she has reserved the second Thursday of every month for Parsons Presbyterian Manor. Residents can request a wide range of songs, from “She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain” to classic hymns to Betty’s favorite: big-bandera tunes.
“That’s what I play at home a lot because it makes me feel good,” said Betty, who taught herself to play by ear when she was a child. She works with a repertoire of about 150 songs, but her set list is entirely up to her audience. “If they want to do Christmas songs in the middle of June, that’s fine with me,” she said. Of course, Betty has not been able to visit since the beginning of the pandemic, and she is anxious to return. She celebrated her 92nd birthday at the end of March, and she knows she won’t be able to serve as the “sing-along lady” forever.
One thing that has given her comfort is an innovation she completed in February 2020. Prior to that, Betty had one set of songbooks, and she took them with her from community to community. She realized that germs could catch a ride on the books, so she set herself the task of making sets of songbooks for each community. Betty hopes that residents have been able to use the songbooks, even in her absence. “I’m thankful to God for giving me the idea,” she said. “And I’m thankful to Him for giving me musical ability.” u
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3501 Dirr Ave. Parsons, KS 67357-2220 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Parsons Presbyterian Manor Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists Local senior artists will be celebrated April 6 – 9 at Parsons Presbyterian Manor, 3501 Dirr Ave., as the community hosts its annual Art is Ageless® exhibit and continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Art is Ageless® program. Works will be on exhibit at the community for residents only. The Art is Ageless exhibit will be held virtually for friends of the program on the community’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/ParsonsPresbyterian Manor. Winners will be announced at 3 p.m. April 8 on Facebook Live. Art is Ageless is a trademarked program of PMMA (Presbyterian
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Manors of Mid-America). The program offers senior artists the opportunity to share and display their artwork and reaffirms the agelessness of human creativity.
has expanded to include a juried art competition open to all seniors age 65 and older.
“It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said Victoria White, marketing and admissions counselor. “The joy it brings to them and others is wonderful, and that’s something we want to celebrate and share with the entire Parsons community.”
Winning pieces at the community level move on to a masterpiece level judging to determine which artworks are featured in the annual calendar and note cards.
The first Art is Ageless calendar was published in 1981, featuring art from Presbyterian Manor community residents. Since then, the program
For more information about Art is Ageless, visit ArtIsAgeless.org. For more about Parsons Presbyterian Manor, visit ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org or contact Victoria White at 620-4211450 or vwhite@pmma.org.u