Topeka Community Matters December 2019

Topeka Presbyterian Manor

DECEMBER 2019

Topeka Presbyterian Manor on U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Home list Topeka Presbyterian Manor is on the U.S. News and World Report Best Nursing Homes 2019 short-stay rehabilitation list. The senior living community received the highest score of High Performing to make the lists, available today at www.usnews.com/bestnursing-homes/search.

Thank you to our donors

The U.S. News and World Report list uses information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency that sets and enforces standards for nursing homes. CMS assigns one to five stars to each community for how well it performs in health inspections, nurse staffing and level of quality care.

U.S. News now uses the CMS star rating for staffing rather than the overall star rating to determine which communities are given the High Performing designation. This decision reflects expert opinion on the importance of staffing in quality of care, as well as the availability since April 2018 of more accurate data on nurse staffing levels in each community or center.

New in 2018 was a Short-Stay Rehabilitation rating evaluating the care delivered to patients after a hospitalization for surgery, heart attack, stroke or similar condition. To be eligible for a short-stay rating, a center’s performance on at least one outcome measure and data on either physical therapy time or RN and total nurse staffing must have been available from

Every gift to Presbyterian Manor makes a difference. As we enter this holiday season, we recognize the gifts of our many donors across the PMMA system. Below are the names of donors who have given $50 or more to Topeka Presbyterian Manor between July 1 and September 30, 2019.

Mrs. Arliss R. Douglass Mr. and Mrs. Ronald F. Miller Ms. Joy Newkirk Mr. Tilman Newkirk Mr. John Nichols Topeka Presbyterian Manor Resident Council Fund You, too, can leave a mark on Topeka Presbyterian Manor with your gift during this holiday season. Stop by the front desk or make a gift online, www.giving. presbyterianmanors.org. â—†

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CMS. Outcome measures included the percentages of short-stay patients who were rehospitalized within 30 days, had an emergency room visit within 30 days and were successfully discharged to their home or community.

Topeka, Manor of the Plains (Dodge City), Parsons and Wichita in Kansas and Aberdeen Heights (Kirkwood) in Missouri were named High Performing in the Short-Stay category, placing them among the top 2,250 short-term rehabilitation communities in the country according to U.S. News.

“Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica employees continue to focus their efforts on delivering quality care every day,” said PMMA President and CEO Bruce Shogren.

“The High Performing designation confirms their good work.”

All Medicare- and Medicaidcertified health care centers were evaluated by U.S. News. To be eligible for an overall rating, a center must have received reimbursement from CMS in July 2019 and had sufficient data to evaluate quality in that rating.

To learn more about the U.S. News and World Report rating system, visit their FAQ page: https:// health.usnews.com/health-news/ best-nursing-homes/articles/faqhow-we-rate-nursing-homes. ◆

Sel flessLove c e l e b r a t i n g

This holiday season, be an angel to a senior in need.

Make a donation to our Good Samaritan Program, which assists PMMA residents who have outlived their financial resources through no fault of their own.

To earn your wings, stop by our front desk or visit giving.presbyterianmanors.org. A bell will be added to our Christmas tree in your honor.

Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.

TOPEKA Presbyterian Manor

785-272-6510 ◆ Fax: 785-272-0496 4712 S.W. Sixth Ave. Topeka, KS 66606-2284 TopekaPresbyterianManor.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2019

Community Matters

is published monthly for residents and friends of Topeka Presbyterian Manor

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

Heather Pilkinton, executive director

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

How to live with purpose at any age

By Angela Burton for Next Avenue

“Make yourself useful,” my dad used to say to me when I was seven, standing around, twisting my arms into skinny pretzels while he washed our family station wagon.

The suds splashed around the blue plastic bucket, his strong forearms scrubbing the baby blue front fenders. The sun shone later as every inch of the car gleamed.

His work was meticulous and efficient. Whether washing the car or trimming the front hedge that lined our house or folding the newspaper after he read it, he was “useful.” In his presence, I always felt the need to “do something.”

Sitting idly by didn’t seem to work in his world. He was a busy man, a stoic provider for a family of seven children and my mother. He worked and expected the world to give him nothing in return. It was how he operated.

When my father was forced to retire due to flagging health at 78, he found himself unmoored.

He had started and ran his own business, a driving force for years.

His whole identity was swaddled around his “purpose” of being Mr. Music (his customers affectionately gave him the moniker which was also the name of his business, a home hi-fidelity/record & tape store which still operates today).

What happened in the months that followed his retirement was watching a man roam around restless as a caged cat. He had no idea what to do with himself, how to “make himself useful.”

And then he found writing.

He found a way to self-propel into a world of meaning by writing, at his own direction, his life stories—through essays and poems and stories. He became consumed by it at times and all of us, his children, stood back in amazement that our father, whom we’d always known to be a savvy business owner, a smart cookie, an ace at poker and pool and golf, suddenly also was a damn good writer.

He penned, literally, his life in words. He had voice, authority and suddenly, a “repurpose.”

It brought him joy and safety in a new world of aging that he had to traverse.

Purpose can be defined in many ways Studies now show that having a purpose in life is not just enjoyable, it can make us healthier and more resilient, even affecting our very mortality. Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Department of Public Health found strong evidence that associates life purpose and mortality based on data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS). HRS participants 50 and older with the lowest life purpose had a 2.4-fold increased risk of death compared to those with the highest life purpose.

The good news is that purpose can

be defined in many ways.

Some people find purpose in their jobs, raising children, all kinds of hobbies and passions—from quilting to painting to playing music to being of service to others as volunteers. For my father, writing saved him from the dark tunnel of purposelessness and brought him out into the light.

As people move into their later years, there might be a temptation just to let go of the passions they’d once held dear. Perhaps they feel they no longer are “able” to do the things that brought them joy.

Sometimes physical limitations do prevent that. My dad’s macular degeneration and progressive COPD eventually put a stop to his golfing and later driving a car altogether. With that went his independence, a huge loss.

Writing became his way of keeping his mind churning, his autonomy intact and his voice heard—his saving grace in so many ways. ◆

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TOPEKA Presbyterian Manor

4712 S.W. Sixth Ave. Topeka, KS 66606-2284 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Our Mission: to provide quality senior services guided

by Christian values Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.

Food, fun planned for annual Presbyterian Manor open house Mark your calendars for two dates you won’t want to miss—the annual Topeka Presbyterian Manor Open House on December 11 and 12.

This festive celebration will showcase our independent living and assisted living areas, as well as our health care center.

and assisted living campus from 4 to 6 p.m.

Food stations will be set up throughout the dining and multipurpose rooms for visitors enjoyment.

Come enjoy food, open seating, music, photo opportunities with your family, and the opportunity to celebrate with Presbyterian Manor residents and their families.

On December 12, will feature our health care center from 2 to 4 p.m.

Food stations will be set up in the main dining rooms and will include a full Christmas buffet.

On December 11, we will offer informal tours of our independent

Family and friends are welcome at both events. ◆

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2019