Wichita Community Matters March 2020

Wichita Presbyterian Manor

MARCH 2020

Ernie Love with one of the memes he posted outside his apartment door. Last year he began to download his favorite jokes and share them with the community.

Ernie Love’s meme project inspires laughter

Occasionally, Ernie and Judy Love hear laughter right outside the door.

Judy will turn to Ernie and say, “Well, that was a success.”

For the past year, Ernie has been printing memes and posting them outside their apartment door in the Westerly, where they’ve lived since 2015. Memes are image-based jokes popular on social media. Digital platforms make it easy to share them, and popular memes might be reposted thousands and even millions of times.

Ernie finds the memes on Facebook, which he joined to keep in touch with his children and other friends and family.

“Some of them strike a chord with me, or I think other people will relate to them,” Ernie said. “Hopefully some of the others here enjoy them.”

Many residents do, and some have even knocked on the Loves’ door to say so. One of their neighbors even gave Ernie several printouts to share.

MEME – continued on page 3

Presbyterian Manor Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists Local senior artists will be celebrated March 13 – 27 at Wichita Presbyterian Manor, as the community hosts its annual Art is Ageless® exhibit and observes the 40th anniversary of the Art is Ageless® program.

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 AIA – continued on page 3

Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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‘Never a dull moment’ for LPN Megan Sellers “Early in life, I knew I wanted to help people and have some positive impact on their lives,” said Megan Sellers, a member of the nursing team at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. “But I wasn’t sure in what capacity.”

Megan earned a bachelor’s degree in health promotion from Emporia State University. After graduation she returned to her hometown to intern at the Greater Wichita YMCA. “I enjoyed personal training, but it wasn’t something I could see myself doing long-term,” Megan said.

She decided to pursue a career in nursing and became a certified nursing assistant first. She went on to attend WSU Tech in order to earn her status as a licensed practical nurse six years ago. She joined Presbyterian Manor more than a year ago.

Though nursing is “not as easy as it looks,” Megan enjoys her chosen career.

“My favorite thing about my job is that no two days are the same,” she said. “Things change so much, you never know what you’re going to get. Each day is a surprise.”

Like so many of our employees, Megan appreciates the relationships she has built with residents and their families.

“I also enjoy the stories and histories that each individual shares,” she said.

Megan Sellers

Megan and her significant other keep busy running after their two children: Dwayne Jr., age 3 and Maliyah, age 2.

“There’s never a dull moment with these two,” she said.

In her free time, Megan also enjoys cooking and baking, particularly

Italian food. She likes watching movies as a family, listening to music and writing. ◆

Take advantage of our transportation service In addition to transportation for scheduled events, personal transportation is available to residents Monday through Friday, subject to driver and schedule availability. Please allow a few days’ notice when making a request to ensure you are able to schedule the time you need.

If you are in assisted living, memory care or the health care center, let the charge nurse know you need personal transportation.

If you live in the Westerly or Westwinds, notify the staff member at the concierge desk; they will connect you with transportation personnel.

Transportation costs $25 round trip plus the state-mandated cost for mileage, which is currently 58 cents per mile. These charges will be added to your monthly bill.

Please note that personal transportation services are not available in the evening or on weekends. ◆

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

WICHITA Presbyterian Manor

316-942-7456 ◆ Fax: 316-941-3806 4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 WichitaPresbyterianManor.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020

Community Matters

is published monthly for residents and friends of Wichita Presbyterian Manor

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

To submit or suggest articles: awatson@PMMA.org Amy Watson, life enrichment dir.

Courtney Wolfe, executive director Stephanie Bergman, marketing and sales director

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

Former newscaster joins Wichita Presbyterian Manor The new marketing and sales director at Wichita Presbyterian Manor has a familiar face.

In January, Stephanie Bergmann joined the staff after a 30-year career in the KSN newsroom. She will focus on independent living at Presbyterian Manor. Cherree Hudspeth remains the marketing and sales director for assisted living and health care.

In her three decades with KSN, Stephanie anchored every news program. She also covered major local and national stories, including the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Stephanie has filed stories

on everything from crime to severe weather to Kansas travel destinations. She is the recipient of multiple state broadcasting awards.

In her spare time, Stephanie serves as a tour guide for Village Travel of Wichita. She graduated summa cum laude from Colorado State with a bachelor’s degree in technical journalism. Stephanie serves on the board of directors for the Wichita Cancer Foundation, HumanKind Ministries (formerly Interfaith Ministries), and the Kansas Firefighter’s Alliance. She also volunteers at her church.

Stephanie is excited to begin a new phase of her career at Presbyterian Manor.

“It’s fun doing something different

MEME – continued from page 1

AIA – continued from page 1

Another resident was so tickled by one of the memes, he mentioned it to Ernie several times. It read, “Yesterday I bought gas for $1.35.

Unfortunately, it was at Taco Bell.”

agelessness of human creativity.

Ernie sees his project as a small service. In a senior living community, death is a fact of life.

“It could get dark for us very easily,” he said. “That won’t do me or Judy any good. Maybe this will lighten the load a bit. I hope so.”

Though it’s a solo project, Judy sees the value in her husband’s “posts.”

“There’s so much heavy stuff in the world,” Judy said. “We need to smile about something. Laughter is the best medicine there is.” ◆

“It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said Amy Watson, life enrichment director. “The joy it brings to them and others is wonderful, and that’s something we want to celebrate and share with the entire Wichita 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 daily from 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Stephanie Bergmann after all these years,” Stephanie said.

“Old dogs can learn new tricks, and I love getting to know all the residents and staff here. They’ve made me feel so welcome!” ◆

March 13 through 27 and feature works from local artists.

The public is welcome to visit the community to view the exhibit of acrylics, oils, photography and various other mediums, by amateur and professional artists.

Winning pieces at the community level move on to masterpiece level judging, which determines the pieces featured in the annual calendar and note cards.

In addition to the exhibit, Wichita Presbyterian Manor will honor local senior artists during a reception at the community from 4 to 6 p.m. March 27.

For more information about Art is Ageless, visit ArtIsAgeless.org or contact Amy Watson at 316-9427456 or awatson@pmma.org. ◆

Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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Social work team excels in the ‘gray area’ “You name it, we do it.”

That’s Shawna Stucky’s informal job description, both for herself and fellow social worker Glynice Webb.

March is social work month, which makes it the perfect time to highlight these important members of the Wichita Presbyterian Manor team.

Shawna and Glynice coordinate the admissions process for each new resident. They work to resolve complaints, communicate with family members about resident needs, conduct cognition testing and perform depression screenings.

Above all, they ensure residents’ rights are upheld.

Glynice has worked at Presbyterian Manor for almost 12 years, and Shawna joined the staff as social services director less than a year ago. She brings 13 years of experience in the field and has worked in both child welfare and geriatric care.

The pair function as a team and appreciate each other’s strengths.

“Glynice knows the residents inside and out — and their families,” Shawna said.

“Shawna has been a real asset in that she has worked in all these different areas (of social work) and has all kinds of resources,” Glynice said. “We have a really good system worked out.”

Glynice came to the social work profession later in life after working in the medical field as a phlebotomist and receptionist and raising two children. She went back to school after her mother passed away.

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020

Social workers Glynice Webb and Shawna Stucky.

“I decided I was going to drive myself out to Butler and enroll in college because I didn’t just want a job, I wanted a career,” Glynice said.

Though she initially planned to work with victims of domestic violence, a work-study opportunity at the Kansas Masonic Home helped Glynice realize she enjoyed working with older adults.

Glynice enjoys crafting and keeps busy making decorations for events at church. She has two adult children: daughter RaShawn, 39, works in dining services at Presbyterian Manor. Son Dabann, 27, works in juvenile corrections.

Shawna always wanted to work with seniors, but first spent many years in child welfare. She and her husband of nearly 10 years moved from Garden City to Wichita six years ago to be closer to family.

They have a “smart and sassy” two-year-old daughter and three dogs. The family enjoys cheering on KU, the Chiefs and the Royals and taking trips to the lake.

Both women embrace the need to “have the hard conversations.” They spend a lot of their time working through thorny issues for which there may be no obvious solution.

“We have to be the gray in between,” Shawna said. ◆

The inspiring influence of an art lover

By Lauren Stiller Rikleen for Next Avenue

My husband’s mother, Rebecca Frank Rikleen, celebrated her 96th birthday on Halloween, but likely did not have a lot of time for festivities. Most days, she walks down the steep hill behind the rent-controlled New York City apartment where she’s lived for the past 68 years to catch a bus that takes her to an art workshop or poetry class. After returning by bus and walking up that same hill, she may spend some of her afternoon attending a memoir class at a neighborhood complex or walking to the Riverside Church for a lecture or going to another senior center for an additional art class.

Rebecca would describe herself as a mother, grandmother and wife of a husband whose void was never filled, 42 years after his passing and notwithstanding the company of a kind companion for more than 30 of those years.

Even as she maintained all of these roles — and met each with loving responsibility — the description is relational, and offers little insight into her complexity, her life struggles and her passion for art in all its forms.

Art, to Rebecca, is the oxygen that keeps her alive and vibrant, even in a 96-year-old frame that often frustrates her with its slower pace and occasional malfunctions.

She found her joy in creating art Her passion for art and poetry does not stem from a life of privilege where exposure to the masters solidified her talent. Rather, it was her escape from a life of scarcity

that started when she was born on the boat that carried her parents who were fleeing Russia.

That her parents were able to disembark on American soil with their infant was likely due to the compassion of their boat captain. Cognizant that the United States was close to reaching its annual quota on Russian immigrants, he rerouted his ship to Providence, thereby avoiding the larger queue of vessels waiting at Ellis Island in New York City.

Had he instead waited his turn in New York waters, the annual quota may have been reached before they landed and the newborn and her parents would have been denied entry and sent back to Russia.

But Rebecca’s good fortune to be born an American citizen did not alter her family’s difficult economic circumstances. The family moved from their port of entry to Philadelphia, where they lived above a hardware store. Rebecca became the dutiful daughter who retreated within, excelled in school, and found her joy in creating art.

Art also brought her love When an uncle moved to the Catskills region of New York, her family followed, and Rebecca finished her high school years in a small town. Her grades propelled her to the top of her class, but she was told by the principal that the honor of being valedictorian should fall to the No. 2 student who had

grown up in the town.

Subsequently, Rebecca obtained the highest score in the county on a statewide exam, an achievement that brought her an automatic acceptance into Cornell University.

Her parents dismissed the idea without even exploring whether scholarship support was possible.

College for their daughter made no sense, they felt, when she really needed to learn to cook, sew and type. Not to be deterred, Rebecca ultimately earned a B.A. at Temple University and, nearly two decades later, her masters degree.

When circumstances brought her to New York City, she found refuge by spending spare time in museums. There, she met a Russian immigrant 17 years her senior who came to America as a young teenager. Rebecca marveled in the opportunity, for the first time in her life, to have conversations with someone who seemed genuinely interested in her thoughts and ideas. Together, they built a life and raised four children in an atmosphere where their intellectual nourishment made up for their precarious financial circumstances. ◆

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WICHITA Presbyterian Manor

4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 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.

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. ◆

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2020