Updated Surroundings, New Approaches to ... - Phoebe Ministries

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2 Messenger A Calling to Caring The Better Jobs Better Care pilot at Phoebe Home wrapped up May 30 with a memorable celebration. As you may recall, Phoebe Home was one of six Lehigh Valley demonstration sites selected for this program, which focused on: ■ increasing recruitment and retention of direct care workers Rodney W. Wells President & CEO Phoebe Ministries ■ changing the workplace culture in long-term care to value direct care workers Sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging and the Phoebe Institute on Aging, the event featured Dr. Robyn Stone of the Institute for the Future of Aging Services. The morning session focused on the six sites and details of their participation. One highlight was the speech given by Louise Santee, CNA, who spoke about her career as a caregiver. Portions of that speech appear below. During the luncheon, direct care workers present were recognized and honored for their commitment. They were told of the appreciation and respect the sponsoring agencies had for their work. Phoebe Home honorees included Louise, Blanche Blackwin, Nancy Pendleton, Diane Ruth and Jane Schneck. The afternoon session included a keynote address on state and local project outcomes, and a briefing by the educational partners and providers. Phoebe can be very proud of the efforts of Louise and her fellow caregivers. Their desire to provide care in the best possible way is a testament to Phoebe’s reputation for quality care and service – a prime example of the “Phoebe Difference.” ■ Upper Bucks Forum on Aging Helps Phoebe Richland Learn What Seniors Need Every seven seconds, another American turns 50, a milestone that is collectively changing the face of the region Phoebe serves. Capitalizing on the success of last year’s Bucks County Summit on Aging, Phoebe Richland Health Care Center recently took part in a local effort to plan for the future, a future filled with aging people. A small focus group of representatives from Phoebe Richland and its local municipalities developed the idea of holding an Upper Bucks Forum on Aging in May as part of Older Americans Month. The forum would be an opportunity to seek public input on issues related to aging and to encourage people over 50 to learn about aging services in their community. The event was well attended and featured speakers from Phoebe Richland and organizations such as Bucks County Area Agency on Aging, St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital, Veterans Financial Services and United Way, among others. Vendor tables showcased area services and resources, including local home care providers, assisted living facilities, audiology services and visiting nurses. Staff from the offices of local legislators also were available to answer questions. According to Mary Kay McMahon, Administrator at Phoebe Richland, “Certain services may not be needed at this precise moment, but having knowledge of what is available will help seniors and their children turn to the right agencies and services when help is needed.” The other side of the forum was hearing from the community. “We definitely wanted to know what seniors are thinking,” McMahon explained. “As a provider, I think I know what seniors need, but they might have a totally different perception.” Major concerns of attendees included: ■ Cost of living increases ■ Staying in their own homes as they age ■ Affordable condos/housing communities ■ Where to turn if problems arise ■ Outliving their money ■ Tax increases ■ Healthcare and health insurance costs These concerns could provide themes for future community groups and help craft Phoebe Richland’s vision for the future. ■ Seniors at the Forum on Aging learn about local services and express their views on what is needed. Phoebe CNA Speaks About Her Career, Better Jobs Better Care The following remarks were part of the Better Jobs Better Care (BJBC) presentation referred to in Rev. Wells’ message. “My name is Louise Santee, and I am a direct care worker at Phoebe Home. I have worked here for 11 years, eight in the main building and the last three in the David A. Miller Assisted Living Community. “At Phoebe Home, my job was to care for 10-12 residents on a daily basis, providing them with care, safety, stimulation, love and a sense of belonging. In the assisted living community, Honored at the BJBC luncheon (front row) are CNAs Blanche Blackwin, Nancy Pendleton, Diane Ruth, Louise Santee and Jane Schneck. Back row: Rob Khanuja, Dir.- Human Resources, and Rev. Rodney Wells, President and CEO. I care for 55 residents a day, with one coworker and a nurse. We provide [the same things], along with activities twice a week. “I have always enjoyed older people. At Phoebe we have [cared for] the oldest person in the world, a sweet, fragile woman who loved chocolate; a district attorney, who was more than willing to share some bone chilling stories; a resident whose father and Norman Rockwell were best friends; and a homemaker with 16 children. Each deserved the exact same care and respect we had to offer. “A CNA must have love in her heart for the residents, because it is more than just a job. When you leave work at the end of the shift, you think about it all the way home, and then some. If, after you have done your care, the resident is smiling or has a twinkle in the eye, that is all the thanks you need. “When I was asked to be on the BJBC team, I wanted to know what was involved. I was told weekly meetings on my days off (I said, ‘Ohhh.’); working with CNAs from all shifts to make Phoebe a better workplace (I thought, ‘Great!’), and getting our ideas to the administration, because we all know that what works on paper doesn’t always work with residents (Again I thought, ‘Great!’) In our meetings we discussed how to make things better and how to work together as a team, constantly planning, reviewing and revising. We decided which [tasks] everyone should know and the proper ways to do them, so that on any given job the outcome is the same – safety is always first. “The Mentor Project, my favorite, will help both old and new employees make our workplace a better home. If people are sure of their jobs and training, and know that everyone on board has the same abilities, with a little mentoring our home is ‘good to go. ‘ The girls on our [BJBC] team are wonderful and caring, a true example of the new Phoebe way.” ■
Messenger 3 Resident Artist Shares Joy of Drawing at Phoebe Home Former professional artist James McKenney,a Phoebe Home resident, spends hours working in a small studio set up for him by the Activities staff in his 3 West neighborhood. In it he has his own slanted drawing table and personal supply of paints, brushes, charcoal and paper, along with a vase of flowers, books and other objects he refers to for artistic inspiration. Occasionally James invites fellow resident artists to join him in this cozy setting for drawing sessions. The first time he did so, 12 attended. “Only one had much drawing experience,” he says. “Six had never drawn at all. We decided to work in charcoal and did a still life.” James McKenney shares a current project and the photo on which it is based with other resident artists. For the majority of his working career James was employed as an artist for the Evening Bulletin in Philadelphia, where his specialties included retouching maps that illustrated news stories. Before that he worked for a firm that designed engravings and letterhead and also did freelance work. “I’ve been painting and drawing since I was 8,” McKenney says. At the age of 11, near the end of the Depression, his parents encouraged him to take free classes offered by Fleischer Art Institute in Philadelphia. There he studied charcoal drawing, figure drawing, sculpture and welding until he was 18. He then used what he had learned to train other young artists at the Institute. After serving in the Navy during WWII, he used the GI Bill to earn his BFA from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. By then he had married Anna Marie, a ballet dancer. A skilled photographer, James had his own darkroom and loved photographing his wife dancing. Formerly of Germantown, just north of Philadelphia, this talented artist has completed at least 80 paintings, as well as a number of sculptures, mainly of cats. His 6-ft. tall metal sculpture of a man, done at Tyler, still stands near his brother’s home, where James resided before coming to Phoebe. ■ RESIDENT FOCUS M*A*S*H TV Series Close to Ruth Blehm’s Heart Anyone who watched the 1970s television series “M*A*S*H” knows that the fictional 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital had a neighboring MASH unit that was a friendly rival in camp games. That unit, based on the real 8063rd MASH, was just miles from enemy lines. The units performed triage and “meatball” surgery to men injured in combat, and sent them on to the evacuation hospital in short order. For 13 months in 1951-52, Ruth Blehm,a Phoebe Apartments resident, served as a nurse in the 8063rd in the Chosin Reservoir area of Korea. “It was scary,” she now admits. “Bed Check Charlie,” single enemy planes that would fire machine guns or drop bombs in the middle of the night, made occasional visits. On those nights the nurses were quickly evacuated. The following morning they were returned to continue their duties. “A lot of combat casualties came through. We also had cases of the hemorrhagic fever epidemic ,” Ruth says. Sometimes she had to work for 24 hours straight, which she still shrugs off with a matter-of-fact “You’d be surprised what you can do when you have to.” But life wasn’t all bad in the 8063rd. The food was actually good, Ruth claims, regardless of what they said on TV. And yes, they had Hollywood stars to entertain them. Ruth’s mother even sent her a birthday cake while she was overseas. “It got there fine, but she spent a lot of money to send it.” About a year before the war ended, Ruth completed her tour of duty and was met by her parents at ABE Airport. She was honorably discharged from the Reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel and continued her career in nursing. Ruth was working at Allentown Hospital when the TV show premiered. “When my coworkers found out I had worked as a nurse in a MASH unit, they started calling me Hot Lips,” she said, referring to the head nurse of the fictional mobile hospital. As familiar as Ruth was with the show’s subject matter, she thought the writers and actors made a plausible effort in re-creating life in a MASH unit. “The show was pretty good,” she says, “but they had to add some things to make people watch.” ■ Village Resident’s Work Skills Aid Habitat for Humanity Lindsay Haman of Phoebe Berks Village was just 60 when he learned that Gilbert Associates of Shillington, his employer of many years, was going to close. A mechanical engineer with a degree from Stevens Institute of Technology, he designed cooling towers and other elements for power plants that use nuclear and fossil fuels. Lindsay accepted an early retirement package and took another job with Air Coil of Baltimore. It wasn’t until he retired from Air Coil that Lindsay seriously considered applying his skills to volunteer work. Free of the things that had demanded his attention Monday through Friday, he decided to look into an item he had seen in the worship bulletin at his church, Immanuel UCC of Shillington: Habitat for Humanity needed volunteers. It was the start of a meaningful relationship. Lindsay began as a carpenter and soon was spending 20 hours a week on the job site. Today, after 16 years of involvement, he no longer climbs on ladders and roofs, but serves as a construction manager for Habitat for Humanity’s Reading-Berks branch. He has played a role in the construction or renovation of at least 30 homes. The homes Lindsay helps to build are about 1,300 sq. ft. He schedules and supervises the work of plumbers and electricians and oversees the efforts of volunteers who assist with construction. For some time, he has been a member of the branch’s Board of Directors, representing Habitat for Humanity at meetings of the zoning board and planning commission. He also is a director and past president of the Exchange Club of Reading. Lindsay and his wife, Betty, occupy an attractive apartment at Phoebe Berks Village, in which he maintains an office filled with mementos of his work and education – even the photo of a cooling tower. Like the wellorganized engineer that he is, Lindsay creates a binder for each of his work projects. “I get satisfaction out of doing something and keeping busy,” he says, adding that he likes being able to use his skills to make a difference in the lives of others. “If you are retired, don’t sit at home. Go find something to do.” ■
Page 1: Summer 2006 • Vol. 88, No. 2 The
Page 5 and 6: Messenger 5 CONSIDERING VOLUNTEERIN
Page 7 and 8: Photo: Robin Staudt, Phoebe Berks V

Updated Surroundings, New Approaches to ... - Phoebe Ministries

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