Parsons Presbyterian Manor
Chaplain’s Corner
MARCH 2022
The joy of the unexpected discovery By Greg Schmidt, chaplain, Newton Presbyterian Manor
A few tips for avoiding financial, health care scams The FBI estimates that seniors lose $3 billion each year due to financial scams, but there are many ways to protect yourself against this common form of theft. According to the National Council on Aging, older adults are often targets of scammers because of the belief they have larger reserves of cash. And anyone enrolled in an insurance program, including Medicare, can be a target of insurance fraud.
Never give out personal information to a caller.
Shanna King, administrative services director at Salina Presbyterian Manor, has talked to residents who unintentionally shared private information, such as a Medicare number.
“Most folks trickle into the business office after they realize what happened,” she says. In the case of the resident who gave out their Medicare number, Shanna contacted a family member of the resident, who advised them to call Medicare to get a replacement card. Anyone can contact Medicare with questions about potential scams by calling 1800 MEDICARE. The key to responding to a potential scam is to act quickly to let people know what might have happened. The fact is, people of all ages fall
Scam – continued on page 4
Editor’s Note: We continue to share chaplain messages from sister PMMA® communities in a nod to our roots in the Presbyterian Church. This month, we feature Greg Schmidt, chaplain at Newton Presbyterian Manor. Do you love the spring as much as I do? I hope so! The thing I enjoy most about spring is discovery. I love watching plants begin to poke their little “heads” up through the soil. I love watching little buds as they emerge from barren branches. And I can’t wait to buy the first of many flats of annuals and perennials and begin planting in the 25 or more pots I have around my house. In the same vein, I love discovering “new” things about “old” stories. For instance, all I’d ever enjoyed about St. Patrick’s Day was searching for three- and four-leaf clovers. As a child my friends and I would walk and crawl over tufts of grass in search of a three-leaf clover … always secretly hoping to find a
Joy – continued on page 3
Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at ParsonsPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.
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Parsons Presbyterian Manor receives customer experience award Parsons Presbyterian Manor is proud to announce that they are again a recipient of Pinnacle Quality Insight’s Customer Experience Award™. Qualifying for the award for the health care center in 12 categories, Parsons Presbyterian Manor displays a continued dedication to providing best in class senior healthcare services. “This award means so much because it comes from our residents and their families,” 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 48-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 2021, a sampling of Parsons Presbyterian Manor’s customers and their families have participated in monthly telephone
Presbyterian Manor was in the top 15 percent include: admission process, cleanliness, demonstrating dignity and respect, meeting individual needs, laundry service, overall customer experience, overall satisfaction, quality of food, response to problems, safety and security and willingness to recommend to others.
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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 gathered its real-time survey results to gain a better understanding of the 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
A customer satisfaction measurement firm with 25 years of experience in post-acute healthcare, Pinnacle conducts over 150,000 phone surveys each year and works with more than 2,500 care providers in all 50 US states, Canada and Puerto Rico. Parsons Presbyterian Manor offers independent living, assisted living, long-term health care and shortterm rehabilitation. For more information about Parsons Presbyterian Manor, contact Natae Nash, marketing and sales counselor, at 620-421-1450 or nnash@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: nnash@pmma.org Maegen Pegues, executive director Natae Nash, marketing counselor
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
Joy – continued from page 1 four-leaf one. Why? Just to be that lucky one who finds something few others can discover. A few years ago I began to search for the meaning behind the day and the person so many celebrated. What I discovered was a beautiful, faith-building story of a Scottish-born boy named Maewyn Succat … turned captive of Irish raiders at the age of 16 … turned slave shepherd … turned Christian convert on the run from the law … turned Catholic Priest who was known as Patrick … turned sometimes imprisoned Catholic bishop … turned
missionary to Ireland who used the three-leaf shamrock to teach about the Holy Trinity … who ministered for 30+ years … who one day died on March 17 in 461 A.D. Whew! While I don’t know for sure, I choose to believe St. Patrick was spiritually driven by Matthew 28:19-20 where Jesus is recorded as having said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember,
I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Did you know 2,000+ years ago, the later an idea came in the structure of a sentence, the more important the thought or teaching? That would mean “… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you …” was the most important teaching Jesus offered in this set of commands. I believe St. Patrick knew that. Teaching Irish converts became his greatest passion. It drove his life with little or no thought given to his personal comfort. Spending time in prison, for St. Patrick and someone long before him, namely, the Apostle Paul, was understood to be a part of the process, not the problem. God used that life, that priestbishop, that testimony, to transform the Irish people who had once enslaved him. What an unexpected and mercy-driven “pay back!” We should all long to pay back our enemies with love, kindness and compassion. Sounds like something Jesus would do, doesn’t it? Perhaps forgetting self in order to serve others is exactly what becoming the lucky-one-who-finds-somethingfew-others-can-discover is what our faith is all about. Humble yourself before the Lord … and crawl … or walk bowed … into the presence of the Almighty. And discover God discovering those at your doorstep who need to obediently follow His commands. u
Parsons Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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3501 Dirr Ave. Parsons, KS 67357-2220 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Scam – continued from page 1 victim to scams every day— it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Reputable companies will allow you to take your time.
We spoke to Debra Wood, a family and consumer sciences agent for K-State Research and Extension— Central Kansas District, about how to avoid common scams.
Debra suggests steering clear of trouble by not purchasing items that are advertised on television and not answering unknown phone calls.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” she says. If someone is pressuring you to act immediately, it’s safe to assume that’s a scam, too. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests asking for offers in writing and comparing prices before making any financial decisions.
To potentially cut down on the number of calls you receive, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests adding your number to the National Do Not Call List by calling (888) 382-1222. Debra also recommends using a spam blocking service if your phone carrier provides one. If you do speak to someone on the
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phone, don’t give your personal information, and take notes, Debra advises. Write down whom you spoke with, the time and day, and the nature of your conversation. Similar commonsense advice is reiterated on in-house channel 1960 at Presbyterian Manor, which carries a reminder to “never give out your information to a caller,” Shanna notes. If someone tries to scam you, the FTC also recommends letting your friends know. We can all use the reminder to be careful with our personal information. u