Manor of the Plains
Giving thanks to those who give back
APRIL 2021
April is volunteer appreciation month and to show our gratitude to those who help make Manor of the Plains such a great place to live, we’re spotlighting just a few of the residents who so graciously share their time and talents with others.
PMMA Founder’s Day honors its heroes and 72 years of heritage Employees of Manor of the Plains, a PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) community, will observe the founding of PMMA this month as the company salutes its heroes and heritage. PMMA’s roots go back to 1947. Alice Kalb, a widow from central Kansas, appealed to a Presbyterian Church organization to establish a home for seniors. Her vision laid the foundation for the first Presbyterian Manor community in Newton, Kan., and inspired others to do even more. Through the many decades, PMMA remained true to the spirit of Alice’s vision, providing quality senior services guided by Christian values. Each Founder’s Day, staff members re-commit to live our mission by signing the “WE PROMISE” board that lists the pillars to the mission: respecting that seniors retain their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; assisting residents with specific needs; providing compassionate service; serve as a trusted resource; and, advocating for seniors.
Bobbie McNair, bunny caretaker About a year ago, Bobbie McNair was volunteered to become, “bunny caretaker,” a job that requires her to feed and socialize with the bunny who has lived in the enclosed courtyard for the past several years. With what Bobbie calls a three-story house and plenty of carrots, apples and some nice green lettuce provided by the community’s kitchen, the bunny has everything it needs—except one thing—a name. “We just call him ‘Bunny,” said Bobbie. “Nobody seems to know why he doesn’t have a name. In fact, we all call him a ‘him’ but nobody seems to know if he’s a him or a her.”
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“Our nearly 2,000 employees view what they do as a calling,” said Bruce Shogren, president and CEO. “Our dedicated employees make it possible for us to sustain PMMA’s mission, as well as its heritage. I believe Alice would be very proud.” Alice Kalb’s dream has turned into a network of 15 senior living communities and two hospices across Kansas and Missouri. A new senior living community is under development in Colorado Spring, Colo. PMMA remains true to its core and mission: to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. For more information about Manor of the Plains, contact John Van Hook, executive director, at 620-225-1928 or jvanhook@pmma.org.u
Resident Bobbie McNair socializes and feeds “bunny” in the courtyard.
Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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Manor of the Plains Receives 2021 Customer Experience Award from Pinnacle Quality Insight Manor of the Plains, a PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of MidAmerica) senior living community, is proud to announce that they are the recipient of Pinnacle Quality Insight’s 2021 Customer Experience AwardTM. Qualifying for the award in both independent living and health care, Manor of the Plains displays a continued dedication to providing Best in Class senior healthcare services. “This recognition is truly a reflection of our employees’ dedication to our mission to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values,” said John Van Hook, executive director. “The award shows how much faith our residents and their families have placed in us.” Throughout its 31-year history of serving the community, Manor of the Plains has placed a strong emphasis on ensuring that the individual needs of every resident are met. Health care residents and their families rated Manor of the Plains in the top 15-percent in overall satisfaction, nursing care, dining service, quality of food, cleanliness, meeting individual needs, laundry service, admission process, safety and security, willingness to
recommend to others and overall customer experience. In addition, independent living residents rated the community highly in dining service, move-in process and safety and security. For more information about Manor of the Plains, contact John Van Hook, executive director, at 620-225-1928 or jvanhook@pmma.org. u
COVID-19 updates continue Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID-19 on your community website at ManorOfThePlains.org/covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays and as needed as our COVID status changes. You can also send a message to any resident with the Art is Ageless® e-greeting cards. Find a link on the COVID-19 update page. With vaccine distribution, internal restrictions are starting to loosen, allowing health care and assisted living residents to forgo quarantine if they leave the campus for physician appointments and other activities as long as they are not gone longer than 7 midnights. If an absence is longer than 7 days, the resident is required to quarantine and undergo COVID-19 testing. There will be no quarantine requirement for independent living residents who leave the community for an outing.u
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Community Matters 620-225-1928 ◆ Fax: 620-225-3982 200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 ManorOfThePlains.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | April 2021
is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: jvanhook@pmma.org John Van Hook, executive director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
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Residents Donna Imel (left) and Donna Penner (right) take temperatures as residents enter the dining room.
Resident Maxine Sexton enjoys calling bingo every other Saturday.
Regardless of his (or her) name, Bobbie does her best to make sure the bunny is always well taken care of because as she puts it, “I’ve been a sucker to like animals all my life.” Maxine Sexton, bingo caller Like Bobbie, Maxine Sexton stumbled into her volunteer job almost by accident. Disappointed that the regular bingo caller was away one Saturday, Maxine commented to Activity Director Clara Contreras that she wished she could call bingo, to which Clara replied, “why can’t you?” And the rest is history. Maxine now trades off with the community’s other bingo caller every Saturday. Besides loving the game, Maxine has other—more altruistic— reasons for volunteering. “It’s important to me to give my time and help other residents have a good time,” said Maxine.
Donna Imel and Donna Penner, temperature takers Donna Imel and Donna Penner (or “the Donnas” as they are known around the community) have been helping take the temperatures of residents since early on in the pandemic.
Monsignor Brian Moore places ashes on resident Sandra Schartz during lent.
The two friends set up during each lunch service on the weekends and the noon service on the weekdays where they keep a log of everyone’s temperature who enters the dining room. It’s a job that both Donnas enjoy while providing them with a little extra incentive.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to give that service to the people who come,” said Monsignor Moore. “It reflects the Presbyterian Manor’s Christian heritage, which I’m always glad to reinforce.”
“I like to volunteer because it gets me out of the apartment seeing people and talking to them,” said Donna Penner.
fellow Christians in worship is something that Monsignor Moore is thankful for while confirming his appreciation for the place he calls home.
Shirley Ballard, menu cutter For more than a year, Shirley Ballard has been preparing the lunch and dinner menus for every resident in
For Donna Imel, the work is just an extenuation of what she’s been doing for more than 20 years. “It’s just something I’ve always done,” said Donna Imel. “When I retired in ‘97 I just said, ‘you’re going to volunteer.’” Monsignor Brian Moore, mass officiant Since arriving in 2018, Monsignor Brian Moore has held mass for residents in Independent Living and communion service for those in Health Care and Assisted Living. The opportunity to continue to lead his
Resident Shirley Ballard cuts and sorts lunch and dinner menus every week for every resident in the community.
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Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Volunteers – continued from page 3 the community. Starting with a stack of papers hot off the copier, Shirley cuts each one then sorts them based on where an individual lives—a process that requires quite a bit of brainpower. “I had to memorize all these people’s names and where they lived,” said Shirley. “It keeps me busy and takes a while to do, but I like it because the more I do, the more alert I stay.” Before taking on her current duties, Shirley helped out in the kitchen and called bingo among various other jobs. “I try to keep busy,” said Shirley. “The more you do the more you’re able to do.”
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Alverna Cantrell, plant caretaker Alverna Cantrell possesses one of the community’s greenest thumbs – she worked in the flower business for 35 years and even had her own shop. So, the moment she became a resident, she also became the community’s de facto plant caretaker. Among her duties, Alverna waters all of the plants in D hall and, when the weather allows, plants and maintains everything in the community’s courtyard. “I’ve enjoyed it tremendously and I know so many people enjoy the plants we’ve planted in the courtyard,” said Alverna. “The way the building is shaped the people in Assisted Living can look out on the courtyard. I’ve just enjoyed it tremendously.”
Resident Alverna Cantrell shows off her green thumb.
Beyond seeing the fruits of her labor, Alverna also enjoys the opportunity that working in the courtyard and tending to the community’s plants provides her to lend others a hand. “It’s just important to me to help people,” said Alverna.u