caring - Lutheran Senior Services

Service
Caring
Belonging
Purpose
2009 annual report

Simply the Best
At Lutheran Senior Services, we
help older adults improve their lives
through a wide array of resources and
options. We deliver value and security
through our network of senior living
communities, affordable housing,
and in-home services. In living our
Christian mission, we offer seniors a
complete continuum of life choices in
loving, person-centered environments.
Whether a person lives in one of our
communities or at home, we offer
multiple levels of care.
Letter From the President and the Chairman of the Board
Not long ago, the executive director of one of Lutheran Senior Services’ senior living
communities received a letter from a family member. His mother Hazel had recently
passed away, and he wanted to share some insight with the staff who had served her at
St. Joseph’s Home (an LSS community in Jefferson City). He writes:
“One of the most precious things that I will never forget about her stay [there]
is the name you gave her — Grandma. She was always Grandma in our family,
but suddenly she was Grandma to everyone at St. Joseph’s. May God bless all
of you who put the words of Jesus into action every day.”
As we touch the lives of older adults and their families, we are blessed and we are honored to
become part of their stories. Hazel became part of our family. She found what she needed —
a sense of belonging.
At LSS, we are the stewards of a 150-year legacy of devoted service in Christ’s name. We
serve older adults as He would serve them. We create homes and we help seniors live in
their homes as independently as possible. We help them to make their stories joyful ones.
In this publication, you will read about only a few of the people we’ve had the privilege
of serving over the past year. We’ve shared their struggles, and we’ve shared their triumphs.
We cherish their stories — they are at the heart of all we do.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. John R. Kotovsky
LSS President
A. Earl Wendt
Chairman of the Board
2009 annual report
1

Service
is at the Heart of All We Do.
2
Service
Elsie Fruend
As a wise man once said, “All pleasures
pale before service rendered in a spirit
of joy.” If the laughter coming from
the craft room at LSS’ Breeze Park
community is any indication, he may
have been onto something.
“We love quilting,” grins Gloria Kersten
as she tacks three layers of a newly sewn
quilt together. “It keeps us out of the
taverns.” At that, fresh peals of giggles
go up around the room. Each week,
Gloria and eight of her friends gather to
laugh, tell stories, and create quilts for
the Ronald McDonald House.
“We started in the Spring of 2007,” says
Elsie Fruend, whose daughter-in-law
volunteers for the local charity. The
initial order was for 39 quilts, but the
young recipients liked the gifts so much,
they all wanted to keep them when they
were discharged. So, the ladies kept on
sewing.
“By the end of 2009, we had sent them
200 quilts. As of today (February 23),
we’re up to 232, with 11 more in the
making,” she says. Though Elsie and
company are too modest to do the
math, that’s 43 quilts, sewn almost
entirely by hand in under two months.
Fabric comes pouring in from local
churches, family members, and most
voluminously, other Breeze Park
residents. Whether or not they’re handy
with a thimble, the quilters’ neighbors
are their biggest supporters.
After all, the quilters are just one service
group of many at Breeze Park. The
residents turn out to support charities
both local (Woodward School for atrisk
children and the Missouri Veterans
Home among others) and global
(Haitian relief efforts, the Alzheimer’s
Association, and the United Way, just
for starters).
All for service rendered in a spirit of joy.

“How Do We Serve?”
In 2009, LSS’ Breeze Park and
Heisinger Bluffs communities were
cited by US News & World Report
for operating two of the finest skilled
nursing care centers in the country.
Awarded five stars each by the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services,
the two locations account for half the
communities so honored in Missouri.
These accolades are among the latest
in a long line of honors for Lutheran
Senior Services. In 2009, LSS was
named one of the Best Places to
Work by the St. Louis Business
Journal. Money Magazine listed LSS
communities among the best places to
retire in the United States. And Ziegler
Financial named LSS the 12th largest
organization of its type in America.
So, if the question is “How do we
serve?”, then the answer, according
to many who observe the industry, is
“With great skill and care.”
But a better question to ask is “Why
do we serve?” Why does LSS commit
such resources to improving and
expanding its communities and
programs?
The answer to those questions can
be found in our Christian mission.
Each year, we find new ways to help
older adults live life to the fullest.
We maintain a continuous drive to
better ourselves, and to improve what
we’ve done before, not to increase our
financial standings, but to provide
ever-improving care for those we serve.
And it is our joy to be so driven.
As a wise man once said,
“All pleasures pale before service
rendered in a spirit of Joy.”
2009 annual report
3

Caring
is at the Heart of All We Do.
4
CARING
Jennifer Ronzio
Late in 2009, Jennifer Ronzio, an
outreach worker with LSS’ Outreach
Social Services agency, got word of a
letter sent to her supervisor.
“I am writing,” began the letter from
Wayne Hunicke, “to express the most
sincere appreciation for the assistance
our family has received from Lutheran
Senior Services. My Mom, Marion,
moved to Laclede Groves on Oct. 20
and seems to be thriving in the
environment there.”
But it was the next part that made
Jennifer catch her breath. “The
highlight of our family’s experience
has been Jennifer Ronzio. She has
shown a level of care, knowledge,
enthusiasm, and professionalism that
must be recognized. Her energy and
capabilities have helped our family turn
an unbelievably stressful situation into a
survivable one.”
Jennifer had been working with Wayne
for some time, helping him arrange LSS
in-home health care and private duty
visits for his mother. “Marion loved
being at home,” Jennifer remembers,
“but she needed 24/7 care.” Soon, she
was assisting Marion as she moved into
her new home at an LSS community.
“Oh, it’s just lovely here,” Marion says.
“The staff are fun — they ALL are. I just
love it here.”
Today, Jennifer keeps a copy of
Wayne’s letter on the wall of her office.
It concludes, “The facilities and staff
(at Laclede Groves) offer Mom and
our family a dramatically improved
situation, support for continued
recovery, and peace of mind.”
“In Marion’s case, you see the benefit of
LSS’ continuum of care,” Jennifer says.
“It’s easy to go the extra mile for those
we serve when we have someone there
to help every step of the way.”

“What Does It Mean to Care?”
Jennifer said it best — at LSS, caring
means “going the extra mile for those
we serve.”
In the St. Louis area, you can see this
lived out through the growth of LSS’
In-Home Services, which added
three new programs in 2009: Senior
LIFEsteps TM , Home For Life
Solutions TM , and LSS At Work. From
in-home need assessments to urgent
medical response systems to senior care
counseling for the adult children of
seniors, LSS has expanded the breadth
of its services, both for seniors and
for their families.
In central Illinois, you can see our
devotion to going the extra mile at
Concordia Village, which opened the
$34 million first phase of its expansion
project last year. Upon its completion,
this community will offer the most
comprehensive selection of senior
services and housing options in the
Springfield area.
“Caring isn’t just what we do;
It’s who we are.”
And at every LSS location, you can
see our devotion through the efforts
of those who support the Benevolent
Care Fund. In 2009, residents, staff,
and family members alike helped raise
a record $3.4 million to help residents
who have outlived their ability to pay
for the care they need.
In this, we can see what sets LSS apart.
We build communities in the truest
sense of the word — places where
people come together to care for one
another.
Because caring isn’t just what we do;
it’s who we are.
In 2009...
LSS moved into its new
Home Office. Located in
Brentwood, Missouri, this
30,000 sq. ft. facility
houses our top executives,
along with staff to support
our communities and
programs. The building
was blessed in May
during a special ceremony
led by LSS Director of
Church Relations
Rev. Walt Schoedel.
2009 annual report
5

Belonging
is at the Heart of All We Do.
belonging
6 Peggy Trachi &
Lyabo Winjobi
Anyone who has had a loved in one a
long-term care center knows the awful
feeling – the sudden realization that,
after coming to visit day after day,
there’s just nothing left to talk about.
Peggy Trachi knew that feeling all
too well. Her mother Lois King was
diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and
moved into the care center at Heisinger
Bluffs in Jefferson City. “Life changed
dramatically for us,” she says. “We used
to talk about the neighbors or things
around the house. The things we used
to talk about weren’t there anymore.”
Peggy desperately wanted to continue
to be active in her mother’s life, but they
could both sense a gap starting to form.
As Lois began to settle into her new
home, Heisinger Bluffs, like all LSS
communities, began implementing new
person-centered practices. The staff
began to employ teamwork in new and
exciting ways. And in those changes,
Peggy saw an opportunity.
Peggy began volunteering as an
activities assistant at the care center
and set to work tailoring the activities
she offered to her mother’s tastes. “She’s
homebound, so it takes a lot of effort for
her to get out of her room,” Peggy says,
“but by creating a few activities I know
she likes, I’ve been able to entice her to
come out of her room and interact with
her new neighbors.”
Peggy’s efforts have gone a long way to
helping Lois feel at home in her new
surroundings. “It helps her cope, not
being so isolated,” Peggy says. “It helps
her focus on things besides her situation.
The other residents are her community
now. And Mom’s home is my home, too.”
Perhaps best of all, Peggy and her mom
now have a lot to talk about. “She and I
talk about the other residents and some
of the things they go through. She’s
realized her situation could be better,
but it could be worse, and there is still so
much to be grateful for.”

“Where Do I Belong?”
It’s a question everyone has asked
themselves at one point or another.
And the answer is simple — “Home.”
LSS is at the heart of the Culture
Change movement, which works to
create true homes for older adults
within senior communities. This means
rethinking the processes, structures,
and even the language of senior
care. The result: person-centered
communities that can become true
homes for their residents.
To see what person-centered care and
services looks like, just visit Meridian
Village. In 2009, this community
opened Hummingbird Lane, the
first assisted living memory care
neighborhood in Illinois built on a
revolutionary new ‘household’ model.
Here, a small, self-contained group
of flexible caregivers serve all of the
residents’ needs, helping seniors see the
staff less like ‘help’ and more like family.
“We’re helping seniors see our staff
less like help and
more like family.”
Last year, Meridian Village also broke
ground on a new $6 million care center
expansion, which will include three
new households dedicated to skilled
nursing. St. Joseph’s Home in Jefferson
City will also follow suit, opening four
new households upon the completion of
its $6.5 million renovation project.
These are but a few examples of the
changes we’re making as we help longterm
senior care continue its move away
from the look and feel of the traditional
nursing home. With each passing year,
we’re helping more and more seniors
find new places where they truly belong.
In 2009...
Nearly 1,300 LSS residents,
staff, and family members
turned out for the first
annual LSS Night at the
Ballpark.
Throughout the year, twice
that many participated in
fundraising activities
for the Multiple Sclerosis
Society, Alzheimer’s
Association, and United
Way, raising more than
$100,000 for local charities.
2009 annual report
7

Purpose
is at the Heart of All We Do.
purpose
“I didn’t know much about God when
I was a child,” smiles Sister Bennie
Stevens, “but His Son got my attention.
The Lord touched me where I was.”
Sister Bennie serves her fellow residents
as a volunteer chaplain at Hylton
Point Apartments, one of nine HUD
202 Affordable Housing communities
operated by LSS. For her, working with
her neighbors is just another step in a
journey of ministry that began the day
she was born.
“My whole life has been a call to
evangelism,” she says. “I wrote my first
hymn on a piece of cardboard when I
was eight years old.” At 14, her pastor
had entrusted her with a key to the
church so she could let herself in and
lead Bible classes for her cousins. And
it wasn’t many years after that when
she and her husband began a musical
ministry for “the very young and the
very old.”
Active in mission work since the 1950s,
Sister Bennie founded Mercy Ministry,
which reaches out to prison inmates
through one-on-one visits and through
a weekly radio show on KXEN-AM.
Now in her 80s, she passed Mercy’s
torch of leadership to a new CEO in
2008. But it’s gratifying, she says, to see
her life’s work continue on now that
she’s retired. “There’s never a time God
gives us something that should die in
our hands,” she says. “A good work
needs to be passed on.”
Today, Sister Bennie continues to touch
lives through her efforts at Hylton Point.
“Serving the residents is a privilege,” she
says, “and I appreciate the privilege of
serving. In the last year, my health has
been challenged; my activities are more
limited now. So I appreciate living here.
Here, I can still serve God.”
8
Sister Bennie Stevens

“What’s My Purpose?”
Sister Bennie wisely and elegantly sums
up the theme that stretches through our
four stories: “A good work needs to be
passed on.”
At Lutheran Senior Services, we believe
that God’s grace is a gift to us all. And
we feel so blessed by that gift that we are
compelled to serve others as a means of
expressing our gratitude.
In 2009, LSS introduced a new strategic
plan, stressing our desire to help
older adults “maximize their potential
physically, mentally, socially, spiritually,
and emotionally.”
This desire is at the core of our mission
— because a full life begins with having
a purpose and the means to pursue it.
Through our communities and
programs, we help seniors alleviate
their worries — about health, safety,
and property management.
“A good work needs
to be passed on.”
Thus freed, our residents, clients,
and patients are able to pursue their
own purpose. They are free to find
it in charity work like the quilters of
Breeze Park. Or in volunteerism like
Peggy Trachi. Or in ministry like Sister
Bennie. Or in pursuit of relief from
illness like Marion Hunicke.
God’s good work is ours to pass on. At
LSS, our purpose — our passion — is
to serve seniors as His Son taught us.
We are blessed to have the privilege of
helping others find value in life, and to
live every day to the fullest.
In 2009...
LSS Pastoral Care tended
to the spiritual needs of
thousands of our residents,
clients, staff, and family
members.
Assisting our chaplains
were the students of
our Clinical Pastoral
Education program. Last
year, LSS CPE graduated
10 ministry workers who
will go on to serve around
the country.
2009 annual report
9

Board of Directors*
A. Earl Wendt
Chairperson;
Chapel of the Cross -
St. Louis County
Dr. Robert M. Nauss
Vice Chairperson;
St. John’s - Ellisville
Nancy Merila
Secretary;
Our Redeemer - Overland
Franklin P. Mosley, Jr.
Assistant Secretary;
Chapel of the Cross -
St. Louis County
Lee H. Bodendieck
St. Thomas -
Holy Spirit - Sunset Hills
Dr. Micheal Chehval
Glendale - Glendale
James R. Dankenbring
Concordia - Kirkwood
Karl A. Dunajcik
Webster Gardens -
Webster Groves
Rev. Vernon D. Gundermann
Concordia - Kirkwood
Janet S. Kraemer
Trinity - Soulard
St. Louis City
Carla Robinson-Rainey
Chapel of the Cross -
St. Louis County
William F. Roth
St. Mark’s - Eureka
Rev. Williams T. Simmons
Christ Memorial -
St. Louis County
Roger H. Volk
Peace -
St. Louis County
Dr. Douglas H. Walden
Webster Gardens -
Webster Groves
*As elected to represent our 103 member congregations.
Executive Officers
Rev. John R. Kotovsky
President and CEO
Linda M. Detring
Vice President
of Operations
Paul J. Ogier
Chief Financial Officer
Mark W. Schoedel
Vice President of
Construction & IT
Dale E. Kreienkamp
Vice President of
Human Resources

Senior Living
Communities
Breeze Park
St. Charles, MO
Concordia Village
Springfield, IL
Heisinger Bluffs &
St. Joseph’s Home
Jefferson City, MO
Hidden Lake
St. Louis, MO
Laclede Groves
St. Louis, MO
Lenoir Woods
Columbia, MO
Lutheran Hillside Village
Peoria, IL
Meramec Bluffs
Ballwin, MO
Meridian Village
Glen Carbon, IL
Richmond Terrace
St. Louis, MO
Affordable
Housing
Centennial Plaza
St. Louis, MO
Dunn Road Manor
Florissant, MO
Halls Ferry Manor
St. Louis, MO
Hilltop Manor
Eureka, MO
Hylton Point Apartments
St. Louis, MO
Hylton Point II Apartments
St. Louis, MO
Rose Hill House &
Rose Hill House II
Kirkwood, MO
Westfield Manor
Belleville, IL
In-Home
Services
Serving St. Louis, St. Charles,
and Jefferson Counties
Home Health
LSS Hospice Care
Private Duty
Home for Life Solutions
Outreach Social Services
Good Neighbor Program
Volunteer Money Management
Spiritual
Support &
Resources
Pastoral Care
Clinical Pastoral Education
1150 Hanley Industrial Ct. < St. Louis, MO 63144
ph 314.968.9313 < LSSLiving.org
EQUAL HOUSING
OPPORTUNITY