Fulton Community Matters March 2020

Fulton Presbyterian Manor

MARCH 2020

Local senior artists will be celebrated March 9 through 15 at Fulton Presbyterian Manor, as the community hosts its annual Art is Ageless® exhibit and observes the 40th anniversary of the Art is Ageless® program.

Nursing is a family tradition Nursing runs in Brittany Kempker’s blood. So does working at Fulton Presbyterian Manor, as it turns out.

“My mom (Elinda Trower) worked in the building, and that’s how I knew I wanted to work here, too,” Brittany said.

“She worked here about seven or eight years as a nurse, and about two years ago, she moved to medical records and is the unit coordinator.”

Her mother’s experience, as well as her own during her formative years, helped Brittany realize that Presbyterian Manor is more than a place — it is a community of connected, caring people.

Presbyterian Manor Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists

Art is Ageless is a trademarked program of PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America). The program offers senior artists the opportunity to share and display their artwork and reaffirms the agelessness of human creativity.

Brittany Kempker, Fulton Presbyterian Manor nurse.

“My mom came home with some really good stories, and she had really great relationships with these residents,” Brittany said. “I wanted to build those relationships — that’s my favorite part of the job.”

When she was young, Brittany would sometimes visit her mom at work. Through those visits, she came to understand why her mom felt so strongly about her

NURSE – continued on page 2

“It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said Tresa Allen, marketing director.

“The joy it brings to them and others is wonderful, and that’s something we want to celebrate and share with the entire Fulton community.”

The first Art is Ageless calendar was published in 1981, featuring art from Presbyterian Manor community residents. Since then, the program has expanded to include a juried art competition open to all seniors age 65 and older.

The Art is Ageless exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 9 through 15 and feature works from local artists. The public is welcome to visit the community to view the

Art is Ageless®– continued on page 3

Fulton Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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NURSE – continued from page 1 work — and the people.

“She’d introduce us to residents and let us get to know them,” Brittany said. “There was one in particular that I really got to know, since I was 15 or so. She got to see me grow up, saw me graduate school, saw me work here. She got to hold my baby and meet my dog.”

Brittany, who is a licensed practical nurse, helps residents meet their care needs while also serving as the quality assurance coordinator and the infection control nurse. These roles allow her to investigate any incidents, create appropriate interventions, and ensure that anyone with an infection is closely monitored with appropriate antibiotic treatment.

my family, it was kind of expected that I’d become a nurse. I knew from the time I had my daughter that I wanted to go to nursing school and that I had the intention of working at Presbyterian Manor.”

Along with the natural ease Brittany feels with being a nurse, she also feels a family-like comfort in her interactions with residents at Presbyterian Manor.

Brittany married her high school sweetheart, and together they have one daughter and three dogs.

“I like to make family with people,” she said. ‘I like grandmas and grandpas. I like to stay busy, and I get to do lots of fun stuff here.”

“I love, love, love dogs,” Brittany said. “But my daughter is my favorite person in the world.”

March 9 is Brittany’s birthday — so be sure to say happy birthday if you see her in the building. u

“We have higher acuity patients, and they require more care from us,” Brittany said.

The long tradition of nursing in Brittany’s family has helped it seem natural for her to do her work at Presbyterian Manor. Aside from her mother’s experience, Brittany said her greatgrandmother used to ride by horse across Missouri to deliver babies.

“Nursing has been in my family for years and years,” she said. “In

Change to compliance hotline PMMA’s corporate compliance program provides a mechanism for the organization to guard against misconduct by employees, service partners, volunteers and others who are regularly in PMMA’s communities in compliance with federal and state laws governing providers of health care services.

It is everyone’s responsibility to report suspected misconduct without fear of retaliation or retribution. PMMA uses a third party provider to manage the compliance hotline to ensure anonymity of those who report suspected misconduct. This company recently made upgrades to its system, which have changed the way people can report suspected misconduct, offering both telephone and online options.

The new toll free number is 1-844-973-0049. A new web portal offers the ability to make a report via the internet at www.pmma.ethicspoint.com. u

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FULTON Presbyterian Manor

573-642-6646 u Fax: 573-642-2202 811 Center St. Fulton, MO 65251-1922 FultonPresbyterianManor.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Fulton Presbyterian Manor

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

To submit or suggest articles: tallen2@PMMA.org Dawn Smith, executive director Tresa Allen, marketing director

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

Social workers lay the foundation for success The work of social workers isn’t always visible to those who benefit from it. There’s no medical equipment or other obvious signs that work is being done — but nearly everything that goes into caring for residents involves the hands of a social worker.

There’s also incredible reward in helping residents — not solely due to the feeling of helping someone solve a problem. The residents Tresa works with are eager to recount stories of their lives and brighten her day with a few kind words or warm conversation.

“We do a lot of things,” said Social Services Director Tresa Allen. “We make sure they have what they need for their care.”

“The residents — they’re awesome,” Tresa said. “They have such wonderful stories, and if they like you, they’ll come ask you for different things they might not ask others for. They’ll share things with you and tell you things. They’re just awesome.”

That might mean handling admission paperwork, scheduling and staffing care plan meetings, working between the patient and specialists — such as dentists, podiatrists, and audiologists — to access the unique care each patient needs.

“I take care of a lot of Medicaid applications, and setting them up with the library for the blind to help pull in those services. We help them access the resources they need,” Tresa said.

Without an understanding of the systems or familiarity with the processes, it would be an overwhelming task for families to manage on their own. Social workers, who deal with a variety of organizations on a daily basis, are uniquely positioned to help identify needs and successfully find resources to meet them.

“It is rewarding work,” Tresa said.

“You can help them with things they can’t understand, or can’t do themselves. And we can help them get what they need to be taken care of.”

Tresa Allen, social services director

When she’s not at Presbyterian Manor, Tresa spends time with her Tresa said it’s good to stop and recognize the work of social workers two sons and daughter as well as her because they care about the results of six grandchildren. She also makes diamond paintings, a type of work their work, even if it’s never in which an artist places small outwardly seen. diamond-shaped beads in a pattern “There’s so much we do that people to create a piece of art. don’t realize we do,” Tresa said. “It’s sort of overlooked a lot. People don’t “I have like 25 of them,” Tresa said. “I have two Boston terriers — I have a realize we’re doing it. Being terrier named Cloe. I’ve done the recognized is not so important, but knowing that you helped a person is Titanic, a “Starry Night” version, and one of “Cafe at Night” — that’s my the main thing. That’s why people favorite. I have quite a few.” u become social workers.”

Art is Ageless® – continued from page 1 exhibit of acrylics, oils, photography and various other mediums, ranging from amateur to professional levels. Winning pieces at the community level move on to a masterpiece level judging to determine which pieces are featured in the annual calendar and note cards.

In addition to the exhibit, Fulton Presbyterian Manor will honor local senior artists during a reception at the community at 2 p.m. March 16.

For more information about Art is Ageless, visit ArtIsAgeless.org. For more about Fulton Presbyterian Manor, visit FultonPresbyterianManor.org or contact Tresa at 573-642-6646 or tallen2@pmma.org. u Fulton Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided

by Christian values.

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