Wichita Community Matters November 2020

Wichita Presbyterian Manor

NOVEMBER 2020

Celebrating our nurses

The World Health Organization has declared 2020 the Year of the Nurse, and we honor ours.

Meet Michelle Russell, business office director Michelle Russell had a pretty good idea that she would enjoy working at Wichita Presbyterian Manor.

She thought she would appreciate the structure and teamwork of a large organization. She was also attracted to working for a non-forprofit, faith-based institution.

Karissa Broadley, LPN

“I have heard good things about the work culture here, and I am also so impressed with the care provided to residents,” Michelle said. “It’s one thing to gain a five-star rating, but to both earn and keep a five-star rating speaks volumes.”

“I chose nursing because it’s a way I can help people,” said Karissa Broadley. “I have always had a heart for helping people in need, and nursing is a practical way of doing that.”

Michelle Russell Michelle brings a diverse background in business operations and human resources, and she has spent the past four years in the senior living sector.

She is a graduate of Grand Canyon University, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in business. She earned her Professional in Human Resources certification in 2019.

Michelle and her husband Michael have six children and eight grandchildren between them. Her husband works for the fire department, and he also owns a small home inspection business. They are involved in their church and enjoy camping, but otherwise they mostly enjoy spending time at home as a family.

“We’re kind of homebodies. We like to play games and watch movies,” Michelle said. “COVID has just given us time to refocus and be together.” ◆

Karissa has worked at Presbyterian Manor since July 2018. Her favorite things about working here are the population she works for and the staff she works with.

“My coworkers are all so kind and encouraging,” Karissa said.

Karissa was born in California and lived in Pennsylvania for a few years, but she has been in Kansas since she was a middle schooler.

She shares her home with three dogs and a fish.

She is currently working the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift in the memory NURSE - continued on page 2

Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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care neighborhood, but she has worked “almost every hall” since the pandemic began, filling in wherever there is a need.

“I have had the opportunity to see all the areas in this community,” Karissa said. “Learning about the residents and becoming a more diverse nurse is going to help me in my career.”

been married for 25 years and have three children, two grandchildren and two dogs. In her free time, she enjoys caring for her grandbabies and traveling to the Caribbean. So far, she has visited the Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.

In addition to her work as a nurse, Lupe assists her husband in his general contracting business.

degree in nursing. He started at Presbyterian Manor in April and works the day shift in the health care area.

Christopher worked previously as a nurse in a correctional facility, where contact between medical staff and the patients they cared for was limited for safety and security reasons. One of the things he appreciates about his job is being able to hold someone’s hand and show compassion.

In his free time, Christopher enjoys gardening, baking, and reading a good book, especially if it’s about archeology or history. He and his husband Michael have been married for five years and together for 20.

Lupe Garcia, LPN Lupe Garcia has worked at Presbyterian Manor for more than six years.

She was motivated to go into nursing because of the opportunity to be a patient advocate and caretaker.

Currently, she works on an asneeded basis. Lupe has been excellent at training and staying on top of auditing our charts.

Lupe and her husband Alonso have

Christopher Adams, LPN “My goal in life is to make a difference, which is why I pursued nursing as a second career,” Christopher Adams said. “I love being able to get to know the residents while providing them care, and I cherish them as my own family.”

Christopher grew up in a little town called Roscoe, the “wind farm capital of Texas.” He studied at Stephen F. Austin University and Wichita Area Technical College, where he earned an associate

Teresa Scoles, RN Teresa Scoles first worked for PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) in 1998, when she NURSE - continued on page 5

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

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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) organization.

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

Courtney Wolfe, executive director Stephanie Bergmann, marketing dir.

Cherree Hudspeth, health care sales and marketing

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

50th anniversary memories

Wichita Presbyterian Manor opened its doors in 1970. We’re looking back on community history all year as part of our 50th anniversary festivities. ◆

The photos above serve as a reminder of what Presbyterian Manor looked like before the renovation. Several duplexes and buildings came down to make way for the Westerly and the main building, which were built in 2015. The health center dining room was used often for large events.

Left: Amy Watson, Angela Page, Glynice Webb and other Presbyterian Manor staff show their Shocker spirit in the fall of 2013. They must have brought the Wichita State men’s basketball team good luck, because the Shockers went on to an undefeated regular season.

Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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School nurse enjoyed challenge of working with students For Eva Murphy, the decision to pursue nursing as a career was an easy one.

“I didn’t want to be a teacher or a secretary, and that’s about all the options there were for women in the 1950s,” she said.

The Westwinds independent living resident had two nursing careers.

She worked for a pediatrician in Wichita until her sons were born.

When her youngest was in school, Eva received an unusual job offer.

“My son’s elementary school principal kept saying, ‘We need school nurses—you need to go back to work,’” she said.

Eva wound up working in several Wichita public schools for more than 20 years.

She was responsible for conducting vision and hearing screenings, and she followed up with parents whose children were missing required vaccines. When she worked in alternative high schools, she was often involved in the individual educational programs for students who had special needs.

Eva Murphy pictured on the patio of her Westwinds apartment and below left with her late husband Dale. Eva has lived in the Westwinds for the past three years. it was renovated in the early 2000s.

Though she had never really considered school nursing, in some ways the educational system was a natural fit for Eva, whose mother was a teacher and county superintendent.

She also loved working with that age group. She remembers her first day in a high school when a student came to her office looking unwell. He was dressed like a punk, and when she asked him what was wrong, he said his mom made him six pancakes for breakfast and he used too much syrup.

Working in a school setting combined Eva’s interest in pediatrics with her passion for public health. She remembers learning about some of the conditions her students had to deal with.

The moment made her realize he was just a kid, like her two boys.

Eva helped treat everything from athlete’s foot to head lice. She never tired of working with the “wonderful” kids whose creativity made her laugh.

When she worked at West High School, a few students lived on their own in the old Eaton Hotel, before

Once, during the era of hip-hugger jeans, her principal threatened to send home students whose navels

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were showing.

They stopped by her office to pick up adhesive bandages to cover their belly buttons.

“We had no trouble with creativity in the Wichita Public Schools,” Eva said, laughing. ◆

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took a job as an activities assistant at Sterling Presbyterian Manor.

She joined the nursing team after studying at Dodge City Community College, then went on to become director of nursing, a position she held for 10 years.

She took a quality assurance position at Wichita Presbyterian Manor after she and her exhusband divorced.

We respect the privacy of residents and ask that you respect their privacy, too.

“It was kind of a Lord thing,” Teresa said. “I was tired of spending all my time scheduling.”

Check the background.

If your photograph, video or Snap includes residents who are not a relative, don’t post it to social media.

Friends helped her load her possessions on a cow manure trailer and transport them to her new home.

Posting this?

Three months after her transfer, the director of nursing left. Teresa assumed the role on an interim basis, then for two years. After “retirement,” she continues to work as part of the nursing team.

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PMMA

“I love it because I’m back on the floor,” Teresa said.

When she was little, Teresa wanted to be a “professional waitress,” before she realized that wasn’t really a career path.

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Presbyterian Manors Of Mid-America

“They really care about the residents.”

“Nursing is kind of like waitressing,” she points out.

“You’re taking care of people’s needs and you have to anticipate them.”

She also appreciates the opportunity to live out her faith. “One of the things I like about working here is that it’s a Christian-based organization, so there’s no problem with me praying with a resident or family member, if they are open to that.”

Her favorite part of her job is working with the residents and her coworkers. “There’s a lot of good people at Wichita Presbyterian Manor,” Teresa said.

In her free time, Teresa is a competitive contract bridge player, and she is also active in the lay ministry program, Stephen Ministries. ◆ Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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

COVID-19 updates continue Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID-19 on your community website, WichitaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19. If there is a COVID-19 outbreak (positive COVID-19 test) at your community, your leadership team will contact employees, residents and their designated family representatives via telephone, email or mail with information about the outbreak and the recommendations of the local health department. ◆

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