Rolla Community Matters - May 2022

Rolla Presbyterian Manor

We rise MAY 2022

Nurses a key part of the Presbyterian Manor team National Nurses Week is celebrated in May (6-12), and it’s a great time to acknowledge the important role nurses play in the mission of Rolla Presbyterian Manor to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

This year, we checked in with two important members of our nursing team. Read on to learn more about these valued employees.

Dolly Smith, medical records clerk Dolly Smith began working as a Dolly Smith certified nursing assistant after she graduated from high school in 1998, and it turned into a lifelong career. She became certified as a licensed practical nurse in 2014 after studying at Rolla Technical College.

“I have always been drawn to geriatrics,” Dolly said. “It is my passion, and my heart feels whole in long term care. I have tried along the way to do clinic work, but it just isn’t the same. The connection I am able to form with residents and their families is the most rewarding.”

Dolly says her favorite part of her job is the relationships she has formed with residents. Those bonds, plus a strong ethic of teamwork, have sustained her through the challenges of the last two years.

“Our team is just that — a team,” she said. “We all pull together and cover the shifts and the positions needed so our residents are cared for the best.”

Nursing – continued on page 2

Editor’s Note: In a nod to our Presbyterian heritage, we regularly feature a column from a PMMA® chaplain in our newsletter. This month’s column comes from Rev. Dinah Dutta, chaplain at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor® The month of May brings memories of the men and women who died while serving in Dinah Dutta the U.S. military. Memorial Day 2022 will occur on Monday, May 30.

Many of our resident friends are sharing their thoughts and experiences of World War II since the war against Ukraine started. As a chaplain and pastor when I counsel people I hear a lot of anxiety and fear. Many wonder if there will be a World War III. While we are getting ready to start a new normal after COVID, we are plunged into a different situation. How can we cope with all this?

As a Christian believer, my faith encourages me to trust in the risen Christ and remember His word: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or

We rise – continued on page 3

Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at RollaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.

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Nursing – continued from page 1 Dolly is a single mother of three, whose youngest child will graduate from high school this May. In her free time, she enjoys photography and traveling, especially going on cruises.

Taylor Hance, LPN “I knew that I wanted to become a nurse from a young age,” said Taylor Hance, who works night and weekends as a licensed practical nurse at Presbyterian Manor.

Taylor was inspired to enter the field because her twin brother and sister were premature and spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit.

She planned to work in obstetrics, but she also enjoyed her clinical rotation in a senior living community when she was studying to become a certified nursing assistant.

She earned that credential through Rolla Technical Institute when she was still in high school. Taylor graduated in 2016 and went on to become a licensed practical nurse in 2017. She is currently studying to become a registered nurse.

“My favorite thing about my job is getting to help people complete daily living tasks, putting a smile on their faces and learning about their lives,” she said. “I wish people knew how rewarding nursing can be — not because of the money, but because of the feeling you get when you help someone or listen to someone.”

Like Dolly, Taylor emphasizes the role of teamwork in addressing the challenges of staffing

Taylor Hance shortages and following coronavirus protocols.

“Our staff does an amazing job in working together, but it still can be difficult,” she said.

Taylor is one of five siblings. In her free time, she enjoys playing softball on a co-ed team, fishing, and duck hunting with her brother Tanner. She and her siblings often ride horses and go camping together, and she enjoys visiting family in Colorado. Taylor is also a past volunteer for the Rolla Fire Department. u

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Community Matters 573-364-7336 ◆ Fax: 573-364-7495 1200 Homelife Plaza Rolla, MO 65401-2595 RollaPresbyterianManor.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | May 2022

is published monthly for residents and friends of Rolla Presbyterian Manor

by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

To submit or suggest articles: lfreeland@PMMA.org Ann Caudill, executive director Joelle Freeland, marketing director

OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

We rise

– continued from page 1 nakedness, or peril, or sword?

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 38-39, NKJV).

My dear PMMA family, I want to encourage that no matter what goes around us we will rise. While I think of what it means to rise Maya Angelou’s encouraging poem, “I Rise” comes to my mind that I want to share with you.

Let us continue to rise with hope, let us continue to remember those who sacrificed their lives to build this great nation. Let us Rejoice and Be Glad!

Happy Memorial Day!

I rise.

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own back yard.

by Maya Angelou

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise I rise I rise.

Welcome Summer! u

A special thanks on Mother’s Day to all who have been loving caregivers.

You are so important.

Rolla Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | May 2022