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1 al e r 2 r c e 20 ne len inn e l G ce W x d E ar w A
Vol 43 • No. 4
www.theactiveage.com Kansas’ Largest Newspaper
March 2022
A refuge rises
Nursing homes lag on staff vaccinations
Afghan refugees welcomed to new homes in Kansas
ACTIVE AGING PUBLISHING, INC 125 S West St., Suite 105 Wichita, Ks 67213
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By Mary Clarkin In a span of months last year, a 26-year-old Afghanistan native named Wissa flew from his homeland to Qatar, then to Germany, next to Virginia and finally to Wichita. Wissa fled the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan along with his parents and three younger brothers, who range in age down to 14. He did not choose Kansas and knew no one here, but he now knows most of his fellow Afghan refugees who were flown from a U.S. military base to Wichita. “We are like a community,” Wissa said. The federal government is helping resettle up to 95,000 Afghan refugees in the U.S., according to the State Department. Kansas is receiving about 650 of them, with 400 of those having
Linda Bode, left, and Kathy Sexton sort Rotary Club donations for Afghan refugees. Bode and her husband, John, made available storage space at their business, BRG Precision Products. arrived in Wichita by February. mat, too. It’s not only a government effort. A multicounty Rotary Club drive Organizations such as area Rotary is providing kitchenware, dinnerware, Clubs and Catholic Charities in See Refugee, page 6 Kansas are rolling out the welcome
The Active Age With less than a month to go, it appears unlikely that some area nursing homes will meet the federal government’s March 15 deadline for having all healthcare workers fully vaccinated against COVID-19. According to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, only four nursing homes in Sedgwick and Butler counties had achieved a 100% vaccination rate for their staffs by Feb. 10. They were Via Christi Village McClean, Via Christi Villa Ridge in Wichita, Derby Health & Rehabilitation and El Dorado Care and Rehab. No homes in Harvey County reported that all employees were vaccinated. At the other end of the spectrum were three homes reporting less than
See Vaccine, page 23
Boeing ‘gypsies’ moved between missile sites By Joe Stumpe DERBY — Myrna and Ray Messer knew they were doing something important for the nation's Minuteman nuclear missile defense program in the 1960s and 70s. Otherwise, they might not have been willing to pack up and move 15 times as part of a group who called themselves the “Boeing gypsies.” “Considering the amount of pressure that was put on us for scheduling and perfection, and technology and security, everybody was pretty well aware that they were a piece of the puzzle — and that they were necessary,” said Ray, who worked in construction management for Boeing. The truth is, the Derby couple enjoyed much of their wandering lifestyle, even with the added
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Members of a Minuteman crew pose in South Dakota. These employees were part of a working group that tried, but failed, to simulate a nuclear bomb exploding in the air. challenge of raising four young sons. “The people we traveled with became our family away from home,” Myrna said. The Air Force launched the Minuteman program in 1958 when
Central Plains Area Agency on Aging/Sedgwick County Department on Aging: 1-855-200-2372
the Cold War was at its peak. Boeing was selected to build, test and deploy the missiles, which were armed with nuclear warheads capable of reaching the Soviet Union across the ocean. The See Gypsies, page 9
Butler County: (316) 775-0500 or 1-800-279-3655 Harvey County: (316) 284-6880 or 1-800-279-3655