Salina Presbyterian Manor
MAY 2020
Almita Augustine celebrated her 88th birthday with a cake and a window visit from her family.
Activities staff keeps residents connected despite ‘social distancing’ Activities Director Lacey Buhler spent the month of March thinking about how to keep residents engaged in the absence of group activities.
Desi Flerlage
Outgoing executive director a strong leader and mentor
She has used every tool in her toolbox including technology, individual outreach and increasing the services available to residents.
“One of the things I always say is when I landed at Salina Presbyterian Manor, I felt I had been led here,” Desi said. “This is where I was supposed to be.”
“One big thing we were missing out on when we stopped group activities was exercise,” Lacey said.
Desi Flerlage began her career at Salina Presbyterian Manor in 2008 as an evening floor nurse. During the day, she attended classes at Kansas Wesleyan University.
Desi considered moving to a hospital setting after earning her bachelor of science in nursing and passing the nursing board. Ultimately, she MENTOR - continued on page 2
When possible, Salina Presbyterian Manor is using technology as a substitute for gatherings.
Presbyterian Manor began broadcasting weekday exercise STAFF - continued on page 2
Salina Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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decided to remain at Presbyterian Manor. Desi became the executive director in 2017 after serving in multiple roles, including charge nurse, Medicare case manager and director of nursing (DON). She was DON when Brad Radatz led the community, and Desi completed her administrator training under his leadership.
nursing, has worked with Desi since 2008. “She has always been a huge advocate for person-centered care and helping the residents live how they want to live,” Stephanie said. “Residents are always her number one focus.” Stephanie says she has also benefitted from Desi’s leadership style.
“Desi’s always been a strong leader,” said Brad, who is now a regional director of operations for PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica). “She worked really well with the clinical team when she was DON, but she really blossomed in her health care administrator and executive director roles.”
“As she grew in roles, she became more of a mentor,” Stephanie said. “She always listens to ideas or problems and helps me reach the right conclusion without telling me what to do.”
He credits Desi with working well with donors, making strong hires and investing in her staff.
“The leadership here saw potential from within,” she said. “They chose to invest in people already committed to the mission.” S
Stephanie Goetz, director of
Desi credits the culture at Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica for her own career growth.
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videos on Presbyterian Manor’s Touchtown TV channel, which is available in each resident’s apartment.
Pete Peterson visits with his family from a safe distance on his balcony.
“People who have never exercised before are using it,” Lacey said. She plans to continue the broadcasts even after social distancing guidelines relax.
he credits former executive directors Brad Radatz and Bill Taylor for teaching her about leadership and the business side of her industry. In May, Desi will leave Presbyterian Manor in order to move to the Kansas City area, where her husband recently accepted a new job. Although she and her husband Rodney graduated from high school in Minneapolis, Kan., their siblings have migrated to the Kansas City area over the years. Desi and Rodney want their children, 8-year-old Kohen and 5-year-old Micah, to grow up with their cousins. Her colleagues say she has left her mark on Presbyterian Manor. “Desi has done a good job growing the team and the community,” Brad said. “I can’t say enough positive things about her. She will be missed by everyone at PMMA.” ◆ using video chat apps such as FaceTime to visit with their friends and family. Staff are also scheduling “window visits” between residents and their visitors. Lacey and her staff are making an effort to touch base with each resident on a regular basis. Once a week, Presbyterian Manor broadcasts a feature film on
Like many people, residents are
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SALINA Presbyterian Manor 785-825-1366 ◆ Fax: 785-825-6554 2601 E. Crawford Salina, KS 67401-3898 SalinaPresbyterianManor.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | May 2020
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Salina Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizaton.
To submit or suggest articles: mmccoy@PMMA.org Desi Flerlage, executive director Melissa McCoy, marketing director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
April 15, 2020
Dear Residents and Family,
We continue to “Stay the Course” despite the challenges of restricting all visitors to our PMMA communities. It has been a key prevention measure in the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 virus across the United States. In addition, the CDC guidelines and the emergency “Stay-at-Home” orders for the general public in Kansas and Missouri and the guidance to social distance issued by almost all of the states, has helped our employees to protect those entrusted to our care.
Just last week, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) released revised models that included a strong statement as to what social distancing is doing to decrease the number of expected cases of COVID-19. The revised projections simply indicate that the policy of social distancing is working to reduce both hospitalizations and deaths, not only in the U.S., but also around the world.
What does this mean for all of the senior living communities in the PMMA system? It means that taking the stance to implement these extreme measures by the PMMA leadership, but one required by CDC guideline, remains the right thing to do to keep all our residents and employees COVID-19 free.
To this point, PMMA has a resident population of approximately 2,400 that are – as of today – COVID-19 free. In addition, we have had only one non-direct care employee out of almost 2,500 total employees that tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, and appropriate steps were put in place to assure no other employee or resident was affected. It is difficult with these outcomes, to argue with the PMMA System success due to the key prevention measures implemented in March. I sincerely thank you for your cooperation, patience and grace during this pandemic and please let me end with a personnel experience I had this past Easter weekend.
Most Easter mornings, I usually attend a Sunrise service at my local church. Unfortunately, this opportunity was not available due to the “Stay at Home” orders in Kansas. Therefore, I sat in my driveway, looking at the cloudy morning and listening to a Christian podcast of the readings from all of the gospels of the very first Easter morning. At the end of the podcast, the presenter read the following chorus from the Hymn, “Because He Lives.” The words were very reassuring to me in this very trying time. I hope this speaks to you also. Because He lives I can face tomorrow Because He lives all fear is gone Because I know He holds the future And life is worth the living just because He lives God’s Blessings, Bruce H. Shogren President/CEO Salina Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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Resident completes quilt begun in the 1950s In 1955, Leona Randolf ’s sister Zella began hand-stitching a fan quilt. She completed a third of the blocks before going into labor with a son. Tragically, Zella died in childbirth.
Included on the back of quilt is the number 153, because it is the 153rd large quilt Jean has made.
Eventually, the quilt pieces came into Leona’s possession. In addition to the blocks Zella made, an unknown needleworker had machine-stitched more blocks using Zella’s cardboard pattern.
She has completed one T-shirt quilt already this year and was working on another at the time of this writing.
A resident of the assisted living neighborhood at Salina Presbyterian Manor, Leona kept the box with the partially finished quilt for years. Then she met Jean Hamilton, a veteran quilter who lives in one of the tower’s independent living apartments. The two women got to know one another over dinner in the dining room. “She heard that I quilt, and she told me she had a quilt partially made and wondered if I would finish it,” Jean said.
“I’ve been quilting since 1957,” Jean said. “I was quilting when quilting wasn’t cool.”
“I can make about every kind of quilt there is,” said Jean, who is a charter member of the Kansas Quilter’s Organization. Jean completed Zella’s quilt on March 21, after Presbyterian Manor canceled gatherings. However, a few days beforehand, Jean was able to share the nearly finished quilt with Leona and her family, who had gathered for a visit.
Jean Hamilton finished this fan quilt that Leona Randolf ’s sister began stitching 65 years ago, before she died in childbirth.
A staff member brought the completed quilt to Leona. She will pass it on to her nephew, Greg Padgett. After 65 years, he will be given the quilt his mother began before his birth. ◆
Jean began the project of finishing the quilt on January 8. She machine-stitched the final third of the 42 blocks needed for the quilt and placed each block. Then Jean used her own fabric for the sashing and the back. Some of the blocks weren’t finished with white fabric, but Jean was able to match the color with some fabric from her own stash. Jean’s final touch was to turn one of Zella’s hand-pieced blocks into a pocket, on which she wrote the story of the quilt. Tucked inside the pocket are the original cardboard stencils and some leftover pieces.
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | May 2020
Jean used one of the original handstitched quilt blocks to make a pocket for the back of the quilt. Inside, she tucked the original cardboard stencils and some of the leftover pieces. The history of the quilt is written on the outside.
Mary’s Musings By Mary Bridges, chaplain
My April article focused on Easter, a much-anticipated yearly event. Easter did happen, of course. However, it happened without large crowds of people in their new Easter garb and sanctuaries filled with flowers, friends and beautiful music. Reality found us connected to worship services through various electronic gadgets. The one constant between our plans and our reality is the message of Easter, which is always one of hope for a heartbroken world. Our world is evolving to meet the needs of the entire planet at this time. What will our new normal look like in the coming months and years? The Chinese word for crisis implies both danger and opportunity. A new normal will happen, and the exciting thing is each person on the planet will help to create it through their personal choices. What an opportunity. When you think of the color red, what comes to your mind? You probably think of things such as power, a stop sign, an apple or even maybe a drop of blood. What comes to mind when you think of the color blue? Do you think of the sky, water or feel calm? Before the novel coronavirus, these two colors also defined our states, our political parties and the separation between people with different views. This is only one piece of the puzzle, though. Today, printer ink
cartridges are labeled RGB and CYMK. By combining additive colors and subtractive colors (made by combining primary colors) our printers, phones, and televisions are able to reproduce hues as close to nature as possible. What happens if you use the RGB color wheel model when you mix red and blue? You get magenta. According to the website Empowered by Color, magenta indicates “universal harmony and emotional balance. “A combination of red and violet, magenta contains the passion, power and energy of red, restrained by the introspection and quiet energy of violet. Magenta influences our whole personal and spiritual development. It strengthens our intuition and psychic ability while assisting us to rise above the everyday dramas of our daily life to experience a greater level of awareness and knowledge.” My prayer for our “new normal” is: 1. That our country will turn magenta and our hearts and minds will come to understand that we can agree to disagree on many subjects but work together for the common good. That we will live out those words “the land of the free and the home of the brave” by
respecting the beliefs of everyone. 2. We will recognize the value of each person no matter what their job is and no matter where they live. 3. We will realize that our children are our future and we will do whatever it takes to not only educate them but also enable them to live in safe homes and have adequate and nutritious food to help them develop sound bodies and minds. 4. And that these words by Parker J. Palmer will live within our hearts and minds: “Community does not necessarily mean living face-to-face with others; rather, it means never losing the awareness that we are connected to each other.” At times life is uncertain at best, but when we lean on our faith, we can come back from deepest and darkest of times to a life filled with light and joy. Never underestimate the power of hope, which is the message of Easter. And remember this: “Nothing should go back to normal. Normal was not working. If we go back to the way things were, we will have lost the lesson. May each one of us rise up and do better.” — Unknown Author ◆
Salina Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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SALINA Presbyterian Manor
2601 E. Crawford Salina, KS 67401-3898 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
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Touchtown, and staff deliver fresh popcorn to each resident. On Easter, Activities Assistant Alycia Ruvalcaba dressed up as the Easter bunny and delivered Easter baskets to each unit. Activities staff are also doing oneon-one crafts with residents and playing “hallway bingo.” “That hallway stuff is so good because you can see other people’s faces,” Lacey said. “We want to make sure residents see someone else’s face every single day.”
Alycia Ruvalcaba, activities assistant delivers goodies to resident Pat Tomlins for Easter. Previously, she worked as an activities assistant at Presbyterian Manor.
This experience has been difficult, Lacey has served as the activities Lacey said, but staff is learning a director since the end of September. lot about how to better serve the
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community. “Even though this has been a trying time for both staff and residents, everyone’s spirits have been so high,” Lacey said. “It’s refreshing to see.” ◆