UCC Churches Make the Difference - Phoebe Ministries

18 The Messenger/Annual Report IssuePeople Make the Differenceat WYNCOTE CHURCH HOME■■■■■Volunteer Appreciation Open House recognizescontributions of time and talent.Health Fair on National Senior Health and FitnessDay teaches participants how to age successfully.Now full-time, Chaplain Jo Ellen Mauger dedicatesherself to residents’ spiritual needs.Donors to the Vintage Vignette fundraiser cover the costof a new spa tub for Wyncote residents.Teamwork around new standards for quality assuranceand reporting leads to improved resident satisfaction andsafety.Medicare CertificationMeans Continuityof Care for WyncoteWyncote Church Home has receivedMedicare Certification for all of its skillednursing beds. “The certification means that wecan provide for a higher level of acuity and offermore continuity of care,” said Administrator,Maria Fletcher, NHA.An added benefit to the surrounding communityis the Center’s ability to offer short-termrehab. In addition to being able to provide thisservice to non-residents who live nearby, residentsof Wyncote Church Home who requirehospitalization can return to Wyncote for theirrehab.To attract new clients, major renovationsare planned for the rehabilitation area andthroughout the Wyncote campus. ExplainedFletcher, “We are designating a specific unit forshort-term rehab.”The plan is similar to the successfulredesign of Phoebe Richland last year, in which awing of private rooms was refurbished next tothe rehab gym. The change will allow rehab residentsto become their own support group andshare common experiences, which often shortensrecovery time. ■Phoebe’s Holiday Card Features Art by Wyncote ResidentWhen Tillie Provence moved to Wyncote Church Home from herapartment at the Jersey shore, she decided to take part in allthe activities to get to know other residents. One resident invited herto Wyncote’s painting group, which meets for two hours bi-weekly.Ever since, she has been an active participant.While Provence doesn’t consider herself an artist, she enjoysthe group because “It occupies your mind. Sometimes you can hear apin drop in there because everyone is concentrating on their paintings.”Harriet Sommers, the group’s volunteer instructor for more thana decade, is another reason Provence paints. “She explains thingsand will help you, but she wants you to complete the painting yourself,”she says.Recently, Provence was honored to have one of her winterscenes chosen for the front of Phoebe Ministries’ 2008 holiday card.“My daughter was so proud, she took me shopping to pick out aframe,” she said. “The watercolor now hangs on my wall.” The cardwill be mailed to friends and donors of many Phoebe communities,including Wyncote Church Home.A resident of Summer’s Point, NJ, for 35 years, Provenceworked at the famous Steele’s Fudge on the Atlantic City Boardwalkfollowing the death of her husband. Both of them had retired 12years earlier.She was hiredon the spotand trained tobe the manager.Provenceremembers her2½ years atSteele’s Fudgefondly. “It wasa fun job becausethe customers Iserved were on vacation and happy.”Tillie Provence andher paintingWhile she misses the ocean and theboardwalk, this artistic resident is glad tohave found Wyncote Church Home. It isonly a short distance from her daughter’shome, making it possible for the two ofthem to have lunch together and go shoppingonce a week. “I was told that ‘Whenyou see Wyncote, you’ll love it,’” Provence muses. She couldn’t agreemore. ■