Sterling Community Matters March 2016

Commun ty Matters March 2016

Sterling Presbyterian Manor

Sterling Presbyterian Manor’s Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists COMING UP IN COMMUNITY MATTERS:

Everyone has a story to tell

It’s time to celebrate volunteerism.

How have you answered the call to be a volunteer? How have volunteers helped you in a time of need? Why do you think volunteers are so important? How have you benefited from being a volunteer?

If you’ve got a story to share about volunteering, contact Cindy Moore and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.

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SterlingPresbyterianManor.org

Since the beginning of time, creative expression has brought joy to both its creators and those who experience their art. The Art is Ageless® program offers senior artists the opportunity to share and display their artwork and reaffirms the agelessness of human creativity.

Some have resumed art after putting it aside for a career, others have been creating beautiful pieces throughout their lives, and others never picked up a brush until after they retired, but all are now expressing themselves through art. This month, their works are on display at Sterling Presbyterian Manor.

“It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said Cindy Moore, 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 Sterling community.”

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ENTRY DEADLINE: MARCH 18, 2016

Partnership between college and manor blooms

While the history between the two spans many years, Sterling Presbyterian Manor and the “Character in the Community” class at Sterling College recently joined forces to provide one another with some unique experiences. In addition to time in the classroom the students spend part of their week helping grade school kids in the library and also spent time with the residents at Presbyterian Manor.

“The purpose of the class is to build, share, and grow character traits that

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benefit all involved in the community,” said instructor Jack Dillard, who also serves as Head Cross Country and Track coach at the college.

While it is benefitting the students as well, it is a great service to the residents. Service is nothing new for Sterling College; their educational model is built on the foundation of Servant leadership. This current partnership is not the first time the two have worked hand in hand.

Sterling College hosts an annual “love Sterling” event from which Presbyterian Manor has benefited several times. Many college students are employed at Presbyterian Manor in federal work study positions, and

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Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Sterling Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of

501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

Mike Rajewski, executive director Cindy Moore, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact cmoore@pmma.org.

Telephone: 620-278-3651 Fax: 620-278-3581 Address: 204 W. Washington, Sterling, KS 67579-1614 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

SterlingPresbyterianManor.org

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ART IS AgElESS® ontinued from page 1

The Art is Ageless exhibit will feature works from local artists who are 65 and older, including a few Presbyterian Manor residents. The public is welcome to visit the community to view the exhibit of acrylics, oils, photography and various other mediums, ranging from amateur to professional levels. The exhibit is open 1:30 to 4 p.m. March 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

March 22 and 23, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. March 24 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25.

In addition to the exhibit, Presbyterian Manor will honor local senior artists during a reception at the community at 1 p.m.

Friday, March 25.

many others volunteer in the activity department.

Dillard reached out to former Activity Director Jon Van Veldhuizen in early December insisting he had a “great idea” the two got together in early January and fleshed out the details.

“While it does seem a little hectic when all of a sudden 20 visitors walk into the building, I have heard great conversations taking place, and I know both the residents and the students have enjoyed their time together,” said Van Veldhuizen. “I have heard nothing but good things from the residents involved. I hope this is a relationship that continues in the future.”

Works to be entered for judging need to be at Presbyterian Manor by 3 p.m. March 18, 2016.

The Art is Ageless program has been encouraging creativity in seniors for more than 35 years, and is sponsored by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America (PMMA), which is a nonprofit organization that owns and operates 18 senior living communities in Missouri and Kansas. Each year the organization publishes an Art is Ageless calendar, featuring works by amateur senior artists. Proceeds from the sale of calendars are reinvested into new art programs and opportunities for PMMA residents.

Why keeping a good relationship with your doctor is key

By Sarah C. Bauer, M.D.

“It’s all about relationships.”

That’s what a mentor told me during my medical training. Every day, as a pediatrician, I realize how true this is.

With the recent emergence and increasing popularity of virtual doctor visits due to convenience and lower costs, it is necessary to examine the nature of the interaction between doctor and patient.

As patients, we go to our doctors in our most vulnerable states. We want them to tell us what we want to hear — that nothing is wrong and our deepest fears are unsubstantiated.

Sometimes that happens, and unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t.

In medicine, a guiding principle is to “first, do no harm.” Even when you disagree with a patient over his or her practices, behaviors and beliefs, you still must do your best to build these relationships and “first do no harm.”

Areas of disagreement may include refusal of blood transfusions due to religious reasons and withdrawing life support. It is important to consider whether it would be best for a patient to find another doctor. This issue is an area that requires further study.

The doctor-patient relationship, 2015 version

Over time, I have started to think of the doctor-patient relationship as one that also involves extended family members that can, and often do, cause dysfunction. Partnering with these sometimes-dysfunctional aunts, uncles, and in-laws are the Internet,

Medicine is all about relationships.

media, insurance companies and the lack of time.

As a child, I watched the relationship between my grandfather and his doctor, who treated him for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (AlS). This experience was at the core of my own calling into medicine. I wonder what his journey would have looked like today.

My grandfather did not want to be kept alive by extraordinary measures, and this was discussed with his longtime doctor and our family. His wishes were honored, and his doctor was at the center of the experience for everyone.

At the core of my grandfather’s relationship with his doctor was trust. Trust develops over time, listening and shared experiences. It is fundamental to every relationship, including the ones between doctors, patients, and families. This was in the 1980s, and perhaps I was young and naïve. However, it did not seem as complicated as what happens in medicine today.

Thinkstock photo

Dr. Google

The Internet is another extended family member in the doctor-patient relationship, acting as an acknowledged or unacknowledged guest. In my clinics, many families come to visits after researching symptoms of autism, as well as treatments. They also have an idea of what autism is, purely based on characters they have seen in movies such as Rain Man or on television, including Max on NBC’s nowdiscontinued show, Parenthood.

I go online to diagnose for myself, and I went to medical school. If I have a symptom, I look it up online and have an idea of a plan before I go to my own doctor. Sometimes my doctor will agree, and sometimes not. I trust her judgment, and this trust has been built with time. She is also open to discussion.

Reputable medical sites such as the Centers for Disease Control and

YOUR DOCTOR

continued on page 4

STERLING PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

YOUR DOCTOR continued from page 3 Prevention, Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of Health are fine sources of information when we have a question, but they offer just that: information. Sites do not have the ability to discern, observe and assimilate all of the facts — especially individual considerations for the patient. Sites cannot develop and sustain relationships no matter how often we visit them.

As so many are discovering with the ongoing discussions about the

Affordable Care Act, insurance companies have also become critical to doctor-patient relationships.

Each day I see children and their families and recommend treatment.

We then talk about checking with their insurance company to see if the recommended treatment is covered. This is a particular challenge for families with children who have developmental disorders such as autism.

Negotiating with the insurance company is another full-time job for many families, in addition to caring for their children and supporting their families.

Time is another party to the doctorpatient relationship. Recently in the United Kingdom, family doctors demanded doubling of their patient visit times — to 15 minutes. In the United States, insurers will not pay for a visit if it is less than 15

YOUR DOCTOR continued below

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Sterling Presbyterian Manor 204 W. Washington Sterling, KS 67579-1614

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YOUR DOCTOR continued from above

minutes. Doctors want to spend time with their patients and families, but they also have to make a living.

Medicine is all about relationships, regardless of the age of the patient, parent or caregiver. And these are relationships we choose and the relatives whose behavior we cannot choose or control.

Doctor-patient relationships are becoming more complicated, and we need to consider and advocate for how we protect them.

4 COMMUNITY MATTERS MARCH 2016

We need more time with our patients and families, and we also need improved reimbursement from insurance programs so we can spend time with them. Equally important,

improved reimbursements also allow us to develop programs to support patients and families in the journeys they did not choose.

© Twin Cities Public Television - 2016.

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