2006 - College of Human Ecology - Kansas State University

K-STATECENTER ONAGING2006 NEWSLETTERA Manhattan sunrise...read more on page 4

Mentor – student bond formed through oil paintingsSharing A SunriseAnew friendship oftenprovides unexpected giftsand opportunities. KimberlyWing, ’06 B.S. interior design with asecondary major in gerontology, andWilma Hafenstein, of Meadowlark HillsRetirement Community, certainly foundthis to be true. A new friendship leadsto shared interests, new connections,feelings of being appreciated, intellectualstimulation and someone to talk to.But for Wing and Hafenstein, a newfriendship also led to beautiful paintingsof Kansas sunrises.In spring 2006, Wing enrolled in Dr.Gayle Doll’s Seminar in Gerontology.The focus of the course is experientiallearning as students help Manhattan,Kan., service organizations design andimplement projects to benefit older adultsliving in the area. Doll matches eachstudent with an older adult mentor; theolder mentors provide the students withthe elder perspective as the students workon semester-long projects.Wing selected “creativity and aging”as the focus of her project. Once theystarted meeting and got better acquainted,Wing and Hafenstein, who has lived atMeadowlark Hills since Nov. 2003, soondiscovered they shared an interest in oilpaintings.“We have an ‘Artist of the Month’display here (at Meadowlark) which wewent to together,” Hafenstein recalled.“We thought it would be fun to try ourhand at painting something.”“We joked around a while aboutit, but Wilma really saw this as anopportunity for me to succeed with mytopic and she helped put the idea intoaction,” Wing said.Both had dabbled in painting butdidn’t paint currently. Together theyfound inspiration in the photographsof beautiful sunrises Hafenstein hadtaken from her fourth-floor Meadowlarkbalcony (above, left and below, right).“I can only get good sunrisepictures about three months out of theyear, because of where the sun rises,”Kimberly Wing4

C. Clyde Jones is frequentlyintroduced to people of all ages as a“role model.” Few people in Manhattanare as connected, active and involved incommunity affairs as Jones. At a few yearsbeyond the traditional age for retirement,Jones is still going strong when many ofhis peers have decided to slow down.“I came to K-State in 1960 and was aprofessor of management in the Collegeof Business Administration. I retired in1986 as a professor emeritus,” Jones said.“I got involved with the Center on Agingthrough my friendship with (formerdirector) George Peters.”In 1978, Jones began studying longtermfacilities and wrote the book “Caringfor the Aged: An Appraisal of NursingHomes and Alternatives.” Thanks tohis interest in the field, he receivedgerontology faculty status and also taughtthe Introduction to Gerontology courseduring a time when instructors withexpertise were scarce.In 1980, Jones’ interest in long-termcare facilities took on a more personalnote when his mother, Goldie Jones,was one of the first two residents tomove into Meadowlark Hills RetirementCommunity. Her experience there waswonderful; one of her original caregivers,Vivian Dane, still works at MeadowlarkHills as a team leader.“Eventually I took a sabbatical to visitnursing homes in Europe,” Jones said.“This experience in England, Sweden andGermany convinced me that long-termcare could be greatly improved in theUnited States.”When he returned home, Jones beganlooking for exemplars of excellent carehere in Kansas. This work parallels theCenter on Aging’s PEAK project, a grantcontract through the Kansas Departmenton Aging that promotes excellentalternatives in Kansas nursing homes.“Howard Funston, who used tobe the administrator at Valley Viewin Junction City, was one of the earlyinnovators,” Jones recalled. “Even in themid-1970s, Valley View had an attachedchildcare center, pets in the building, anda swimming pool. Dean Throckmorton(former K-State dean of agriculture) livedat Valley View. Every day a student fromthe high school would come play checkersor a board game with him. I believeC. CLYDE JONES:Friend of the Center on Aginghis demeanor and quality of life reallyimproved thanks to this relationship.”Jones’ passion for improving thequality of care and quality of life forlong-term care residents increased againwhen his daughter, Karen Prevette, livedin a long-term care facility. After yearsof observation, Jones believes standardsare highest in organizations where theadministrator has a high “compassionquotient” and where an open-doorpolicy enables residents and communitymembers to move freely between thefacility and the larger community.“Clyde’s interest in long-termcare makes him an extremely valuablemember of the advisory group for theK-State Center on Aging and an excellentpersonal mentor to me,” Gayle Doll,director of the Center on Aging, said.“Part of his effectiveness as a mentor isbased on his philosophy about productiveaging. He believes that intellectually activepersons don’t age at the same rate as thosewho are not as active.”Jones lives out this conviction withactivities that include directing and sittingon numerous Manhattan area foundationsand boards, being active in his church,organizing a career development dinnerfor the KSU football program and findingplenty of time to be a wonderful asset tothe Center on Aging!If you’d like to be a member of the Center onAging’s advisory group, please call Gayle Doll at(785) 532-5945 or email her at gdoll@ksu.edu.6

KSU Center on Aging announces new partnership withManhattan’s Meadowlark Hills Retirement CommunityMany alumni and friends of thegerontology program atK-State know that MeadowlarkHills Retirement Community and theK-State Center on Aging have had along and fruitful partnership. NowMeadowlark Hills and the Center arelaying the groundwork to take theircollaborative relationship to the nextlevel, and everyone will win. MeadowlarkHills will benefit from excellenteducational opportunities for employeesand residents alike. In return, the Centeron Aging will gain an ideal work settingfor those who teach and conductresearch into the challenges and joys ofaging.In 2000, Meadowlark Hills’healthcare facility was revamped intosmaller living communities (called“houses”) of around 16 residentseach. Staff members work only with aparticular house, a set-up that cultivatesstronger connections between staff andresidents.AwardsSteve ShieldsCEO and president ofMeadowlark HillsIn spring 2007, Meadowlark Hills willbreak ground on a new building projectto enhance this “household” model it haspioneered.The new building project willcomprise several small buildings thatwill be home to groups of healthcareresidents, following the same householdmodel but with an even more homelike,small-community atmosphere.Meadowlark will also construct a shortterm-stayrecovery household for thosewho need therapy and Medicare services.A full community center with a bank,fitness facilities, swimming pool, pub,billiards room, theater, resource library,and computer lab are also part of thegrand plan.Once Meadowlark Hills healthcareresidents transition completely intothe new houses, the Center on Aginghopes to expand into freed-up space inMeadowlark’s current healthcare building,perhaps in 2009.“Basically, we’re talking aboutthe Center having a satellite facility atMeadowlark,” Gayle Doll, director of theCenter on Aging, said. “We will still haveour offices on campus, but we’d have aContinued Back PageThe Center on Aging’s ResearchCommittee and Academic AffairsCommittee were able to support newcourse development and gerontologyresearch through faculty developmentawards given in spring 2006. As moneyis available, we hope to continue tosupport development of grant proposals,research and new courses related to aging,particularly online courses.Research AwardsMigette Kaup, associate professor,Department of Apparel, Textiles, andInterior Design. Exploring Strategiesfor Optimizing the Design of TherapeuticEnvironments for People with Dementia:Opportunities for Changing the Cultureof Care.Laszlo Kulcsar, assistant professor,Department of Sociology, Anthropologyand Social Work, and Eric Bernard,assistant professor, Department ofLandscape Architecture. Where the SunSets: Aging in Place in Rural Kansas.Candice Shoemaker, associate professor,Department of Horticulture, Forestry,and Recreation Resources, and MarkHaub, assistant professor, Departmentof Human Nutrition. Gardening for Healthwith Older Adults.Duy Hua, professor, Departmentof Chemistry. Mechanistic Studies ofDisaggregation of Alzheimer’s Oligomers andProtofibrils of Amyloid Beta Peptides.Steve Warren, associate professor,Department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering, Suzanne Dubnicka,assistant professor, Department ofStatistics, and David Thompson,Department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering. Light-Reflectance Signals asBiometric Authenticators for the Elderly.New CourseDevelopment AwardsTina Remig, assistant professor,Department of Human Nutrition.Nutrition and Aging Issues.Janice Dinkel, associate professor,Department of Sociology, Anthropology,and Social Work, and Kim Morgan,instructor, Department of Sociology,Anthropology, and Social Work. Aging forthe Helping Professions.Michaeline Chance-Reay, assistantprofessor, College of Education andDepartment of Women’s Studies. Womenand Aging.7

physical presence at Meadowlark. Thereis still a lot to be hammered out, but thisis such an exciting prospect for us. Ourability to conduct innovative research andprepare our students for their professionallives is just going to take off.”“More and more, Meadowlark Hillsis becoming a learning and teachingorganization,” echoed Steve Shields,CEO and president of Meadowlark Hills.“We want to have more educationalopportunities available for our employees,for K-State students and for ourresidents. We want to be engaged incontinual learning, including even moreintergenerational and experiential classes.”While details of the spaceconfiguration are still to be worked out,most of the spaces in the new facility willbe designed to serve dual purposes. Forinstance, classrooms would be used onweeknight evenings for college courses,during the day for continuing educationand workforce development, and onweekends as a social center for residents.Doll and Shields also envision thatthe proposed Center satellite office willoperate as a research facility.“We’ll provide space for researchersfrom all over the country, and K-Statefaculty will have the opportunity toconduct research with people from otheruniversities,” Shields said.“Both the Center on Aging andMeadowlark Hills are seen as leaders in theculture change movement (in long-termcare),” Doll said. “Because MeadowlarkHills Health Care is set up in distinct,separate households, it’s possible toconduct some very controlled research onthe outcomes of this model and furthersolidify this perception.”Another part of the effort to enhanceteaching and learning opportunitiesfor students will involve bolstering theinternship program. Meadowlark Hillshosts K-State student interns whostudy dietetics, social work, marketing,kinesiology, long-term care administration,business, and hotel and restaurantmanagement. The current plan is to bringall these students together periodically atthe new satellite facility for joint leadershiptraining to help them build collaborativeproblem-solving skills.“We hope that we can better integratethe internship program,” Shields said. “Wewant our interns to see how their particulardiscipline fits into the whole picture.People should understand how their fieldinteracts with all the other fields that areimportant in a resident’s life.”Shields commented on the strongsupport for this venture from theadministration of the College of HumanEcology.“(Interim dean) Virginia Moxley hasbeen remarkable,” Shields said. “She ismaking this process as effortless andbureaucracy-free as it can be. She asks,‘How can I help make this happen?’ It’sbeen wonderful.”“Meadowlark and the Center have hadsuch a great partnership over the years, andit’s just going to get better,” Doll said.Writing and designNew Boston Creative Groupwww.newbostoncreative.comContributing writersDr. Gayle DollAmber WeaverPhotographyDan DonnertUniversity Photography ServicesVisit us on the web!www.k-state.edu/gerontologyK-State Center on Aging103 Leasure HallManhattan, KS 66506-3501181Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. PostagePAIDPermit # 525Manhattan, Kan. 66502Notice of NondiscriminationKansas State University is committed to nondiscriminationon the basis of race, sex, national origin, disability,religion, age, sexual orientation, or other nonmerit reasons,in admissions, educational programs or activities andemployment (including employment of disabled veteransand veterans of the Vietnam Era), as required by applicablelaws and regulations. Responsibility for coordination ofcompliance efforts and receipt of inquiries concerningTitle VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX ofthe Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act of1975, and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, hasbeen delegated to Clyde Howard, Director of AffirmativeAction, Kansas State University, 214 Anderson Hall,Manhattan, KS 66506-0124, 785-532-6220