Upload
others
View
2
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The INFORMER December 2019
Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Mayflower-Community-164019130292098/
Mayflower’s Langerud Named to Governing Board
Steve Langerud has now served since August 1, 2018 as the Executive Director of The
Mayflower Community in Grinnell, Iowa. Steve and his wife, Director of the Grinnell College
Laboratory Preschool Karen Veerhusen-Langerud, have lived in Grinnell since 1986.
After serving as dean of experiential education at Grinnell College, Steve traveled the United
States as a workplace consultant, providing training, guidance, and facilitation for numerous
companies and organizations.
Recently, Steve was elected to the
governing board of directors of
LeadingAge Iowa, a statewide
membership organization of non-profit
providers of aging services and
supports. The Mayflower Community
is a 50-year member of the
organization, which has a unique focus
on advancement and innovation in
senior living and healthcare services. In
addition to the LeadingAge Iowa
volunteer role, Steve serves as a
Director of the Grinnell Chamber of
Commerce, member of the Grinnell
Heritage Center Project, member of
the Grinnell Community Homelessness task force, facilitator for the Grinnell-Newburg Schools
building plans focus groups, founding member of the Healthy Grinnell task force and chief
administrator of its Iowa Health Collaborative grant, and member of the Grinnell Music Therapy
task force.
Steve is a Trustee of Maharishi University, Fairfield, Iowa and has facilitated programs for the
Iowa Association of Business and Industry Foundation and Leadership Iowa. He coordinates
numerous Mayflower collaborations with Grinnell College faculty and students, including a
resident database project, a wellness and spirituality study, the open dining software program to
organize and present varied menus at Mayflower, various Applied Anthropology research
Mayflower Executive Director Steve Langerud
studies, the “Reading with Retirees” program at Davis School, and the utilization of the College-
based AmeriCorps Work Study student.
So, why does Steve involve Mayflower is so many community collaborations? Easy. According to
Steve, “These endeavors help to strengthen the Grinnell community and, as a result, provide a
healthier environment for Mayflower residents and staff members.”
- Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director
Poets in The Mayflower Community
Five Grinnell poets have had their pieces chosen for
publication in “Lyrical Iowa 2019.” This select
anthology is published annually by The Iowa Poetry
Association, an affiliate Society of The Academy of
American Poets and the National Federation of State
Poetry Societies, Inc (NFSPS).
1,835 poems were submitted in various categories for
the 2019 publication. 381 were chosen. The
contributions came from over 100 Iowa cities and 77
of Iowa’s 99 counties.
Gene Rohr was named 3rd Honorable Mention in the
National & World Affairs category. Others who were
published include Pasha Buck, Lynn Cavanagh, Sue
Drake, and Warren Reinecke. All are residents of The
Mayflower Community, except Cavanagh, who is a
Mayflower Wait-List member. All but Pasha have been
involved in the Mayflower Poetry Club.
The Iowa Poetry Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization whose sole objective is to
promote interest in and appreciation for better poetry by Iowans. The IPA publishes a
newsletter four times a year with a message from the president, news on members of the
association, news about important NFSPS events, and information about upcoming contests.
Marilyn Baszczynski, Editor-in-Chief of “Lyrical Iowa 2019,” writes about the anthology, “There
are poems that lament loss, replenish hope, give voice to what is not easily shared.”
- Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director
Front row (left to right) – Gene Rohr, Pasha
Buck, Sue Drake. Back row (left to right) –
Lynn Cavanagh and Warren Reinecke.
Mayflower Hospitality Council Gears Up
Many volunteer residents working as part of the Mayflower Residents Association (MRA) handle
the welcoming and acclimating of new independent living residents to the community.
“Hosts” and “Guides” were feted at a brunch on Monday, December 2nd. MRA President-Elect, Gene Wubbels, who will assume the presidency in January, thanked the 40 or so attendees for the
roles they performed in 2019 and have committed to in 2020. Each of the 24 new Mayflower
residents in 2019 were support by one or two hosts and a guide.
Hosts have two general responsibilities. They personally welcome new residents to their
“neighborhoods” (apartment buildings, Watertower Square, or Harwich Terrace patio homes). Later, the host schedules time with the new resident(s) for instruction about how things work—
trash, recycling, storage lockers, mail, sources of information, staff contacts, use of common areas,
etc. The hosts also make reservations for the new residents at the monthly “Neighborhood
Luncheons,” where multiple Mayflower neighborhoods gather for lunch and conversation.
Guides are tasked with the responsibility of explaining in detail how facets of Mayflower are accessed and used. This is accomplished with a thick three-ring binder full of Mayflower information, all the
way from resident contact information to how to access nursing services in the event of a health episode. In addition, the guides take the new residents on a tour of the entire Mayflower campus—
various neighborhoods, tunnels, skywalk, Health Center, Beebe Assisted Living, dining and meeting rooms, Obermiller Fitness Center, Mini-Gift Shop, Kiesel Theatre, administrative offices, MRA
conference room and work space, book and CD libraries, lounges, and gardens.
Speaking about all the volunteer roles played at Mayflower, President-Elect Wubbels shared his own personal story of commitment. He stated that during the first three years that his wife Joyce and he
lived at Mayflower, he had limited involvement in MRA activities. When asked if he would consider becoming the President-Elect, Gene said he reminisced about the 18 years his mother lived at
Mayflower and about all the people who enhanced her life while here. Gene said, “How could I not
take a role in this?” - Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director
IN MEMORIAM
Miriam Kaye Schultz
May 20, 1933 - November 17, 2019
Don Paul Beach
November 2, 1934 – December 2, 2019
Joe Derby Named Department Head
Mayflower Community Director of Facility Operations Jack Morrison
announced that Joe Derby has been named Technology and Risk Management
Department Head. Joe has been employed at Mayflower since 2010. He is a
licensed electrician.
In the new position, Joe’s duties will include development of budgets, provision
of computer hardware support, campus audio/visual and webinar activities
assistance, emergency preparedness planning and execution, safety compliance,
supervision of information technology contractors, and federal and state
regulation compliance throughout Mayflower.
Morrison says, “The increasingly complex nature of senior living and healthcare requires significant skills
and time in meeting regulation and compliance requirements, while staying current with information
technology software and hardware. Joe’s involvement will provide an experienced resource in dealing
with this environment.”
Joe will be based in Mayflower’s “Vosburg building,” 2nd Avenue and Park Street, and will report to
Jack Morrison.
- Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director
College Psychology Class Converses with
Mayflower Residents
Professor Ann Ellis, PhD brought 13 Grinnell College
students back to The Mayflower Community on
Monday, December 9th to again participate in small
group discussions with Mayflower residents. They
previously worked with residents last October.
As an assignment for Professor Ellis’ Adult
Development class, the students gathered information
about social and family changes in the lives of the
residents. Specifically, residents were asked how events
in their lives—marriage and partnerships, family,
friendships, parenthood, social events, and life
challenges—have influenced the course of their adult lives.
Professor Ellis, a Grinnell College faculty member since 1994, teaches classes on psychology and child
development in addition to supervising the operation of the Grinnell College Preschool Laboratory.
The event resulted in engrossing conversations…and the gist for papers the students will be writing.
One student shared that she will be exploring how adults adapt and adjust as they age. Professor Ellis
noted later that on the return bus trip to the College, the students talked enthusiastically about the
information they gleaned.
Grinnell College Students’ Spirituality
Project Presentation
Two Grinnell College students have been conducting
focus groups of residents on the Mayflower
Community campus. This is a follow-up project to a
wellness study performed during the spring semester
2019, both for the Advanced Anthropology class
taught by Professor Monty Roper.
The new results will be discussed in a drop-by poster presentation on Wednesday, December
18th from 2:00 to 4:00pm in the second-floor atrium (top of the stairs) at the JRC (Joseph
Rosenfield Center) on the College campus. This is the large building on the north side of 8th
Avenue between Park and East streets. In addition, the students will deliver a final copy of the
report to Steve Langerud, Mayflower’s Executive Director.
The goal of this study was to explore one of the original study’s initial findings that senior citizens
are desirous of exploring their spirituality in the later stages of life.
Ruby Romero is a third-year student from Los Angeles and Leo Ewing is a senior from Columbia,
Missouri. They conducted six focus groups of independent living and healthcare residents,
interviewing over 40 Mayflower residents. In addition, the students have interviewed over 20
nursing staff members.
- Bob Mann, Sales & Marketing Director
STILL NEED A SECRET SANTA GIFT?
The Mini-Gift Shop is a charitable operation of the Mayflower Residents Association that accepts donations and sells them for minimal prices with
the proceeds being contributed to the care of residents whose funds have been depleted. It is managed and staffed by Mayflower residents, about 40
different volunteers doing something in support. It is open six days a week, two hours a day at 9:30am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and
Saturday and 2:00pm on Thursdays.
CHRISTMAS DINNER December 25, 2018 • 12:00 Noon
Ham
Roast Beef Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Scalloped Corn
Green Bean Casserole
Dinner Roll Fruit Compote
Cranberry Apple Salad
Cheesecake
Reservations are required by Sunday December 22 (noon). Cost: $12. Call Buckley kitchen or e-mail Scott: [email protected].
ARMCHAIR TRAVEL
Dec 17 - Alberta, Canada and 3 Islands in Hawaii
Dec 24 - Idaho, Chicago, Illinois, and The Alps
(Italy and Austria)
Dec 31 - New Zealand, Indiana, and Adams &
Clayton Counties (Iowa)
Are YOU in the Mayflower Directory?
As new residents are welcomed into Mayflower, one of the forms they are given is a consent
form for the on-line directory to be filled out and returned to Mayflower Facilities Assistant Rita
McVey. This form contains the information each new resident wants to have available to other
Mayflower residents on line. It also gives each person the option to have limited or no
information on the directory. Once the form is filled out, what happens next? Rita then creates
the on-line profile for the new resident if they have given consent, and uploads it on to the site.
Unfortunately, it often ends there and the new resident never gives it another thought. Because
the site is password protected, many new residents do not know how to access the site and
never even see it.
The team developing the on-line directory would like to help every member of the Mayflower
community develop a password and become familiar with the site. We also encourage all
residents who are listed on the site to place a short biography of themselves on their personal
page along with the information already listed there by Rita. To help with this, Karen Phillips will
hold several “Help Desk” sessions in the MRA Conference Room in Pearson beginning in January
2020. These are drop-in times when residents can learn more about the on-line directory,
actually see the directory on a laptop there, set a personal password, and learn about how to
write a biography that can be uploaded by the team members. You are encouraged to bring a
laptop or personal device with you to these sessions. However, if your computer is a table top
model, we can also help you in your apartment or home.
The Help Sessions are scheduled for Saturday January 4th 10 am, Thursday January 16th 10 am,
Tuesday January 28th 3pm, and Friday February 7th 3 pm. The sessions will last 2 hours or until
all the drop-ins have been helped. Questions? Please contact Karen Phillips at 236-8114.
Tekkie Tutors!
Grinnell College students are again volunteering their skills and time to Mayflower residents who
would like help with computers, cell phones and other electronic devices. They can provide help weekly or as needed only. This semester 3 come to Mayflower on Wednesdays between 4 and 5
pm. Others are available for other days and times.
Please contact Rey Evans (236-5503) to arrange a visit from one of our six student volunteers
this year.
NOROVIRUS: WHAT THE CDC WANTS YOU TO KNOW
The Mayflower Community recently experienced what’s commonly referred to as “the stomach
flu.” It’s actually not an influenza at all, but a highly contagious bug called norovirus.
For most people, norovirus causes diarrhea and vomiting which lasts a few days but, the symptoms can be serious for some people, especially young children and older adults. Each year in the United States, norovirus causes 19 to 21 million illnesses and contributes to 56,000 to 71,000
hospitalizations and 570 to 800 deaths.
While there is hope for a norovirus vaccine in the future, there are steps you can take now to
prevent norovirus.
Additionally, norovirus is increasingly being recognized as a major cause of diarrheal disease around
the globe, accounting for nearly 20% of all diarrheal cases. In developing countries, it is associated
with approximately 50,000 to 100,000 child deaths every year. Because it is so infectious, hand washing and improvements in sanitation and hygiene can only go so far in preventing people from
getting infected and sick with norovirus.
This is why efforts to develop a vaccine are so
important and why in February 2015 the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, CDC Foundation, and CDC
brought together norovirus experts from around the
world to discuss how to make the norovirus vaccine
a reality. Participants were from 17 countries on 6
continents and included
representatives from academia, industry, government, and private charitable foundations.
Important questions remain regarding how humans develop immunity to norovirus, how long
immunity lasts, and whether immunity to one norovirus strain protects against infection from other
strains. There are also relevant questions as to how a norovirus vaccine would be used to prevent
the most disease and protect those at highest risk for severe illness. These are all critical questions for a vaccine, and this meeting was a step toward finding answers to these questions and making a
norovirus vaccine a reality.
For more information on norovirus visit CDC’s webpage: http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/
The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons
As this historical novel begins, Elise Landau is a young, privileged Jewish teen
in Vienna in 1938. Her mother is an opera singer and her father a novelist. Although her parents are not ready to leave Austria, they fear for Elise’s safety and arrange for her to become a parlor maid in England. (The story is
based on the historical fact that young Jews could get work visas to come to England in the late 30s if they were willing to work as domestic servants.)
While her adjustment is traumatic, over time Elise learns to love the rural southern coast of England, and she makes friends with the son of the house
and several villagers of her own age. The book is set in a village clearly fashioned after the real English hamlet of Tyneham in Dorset, which was commandeered by the British government in
1943 for use by the military in preparation for D-Day. Sadly, the inhabitants have never been allowed to return. You can look up Tyneham, England in Google Maps and see the shells of
empty houses that still remain. In this book, the house and hamlet almost seem like another main character. For another good read, look for a second of Solomon’s books, The House of Gold,
among the new books in Pearson. - Katherine McClelland
Far From The Tree by Robin Benway
Far From the Tree is a believable, moving novel about three semi-siblings. Grace, adopted as an infant, gives her own baby up for adoption. Maya,
adopted a year before her parents realized they were going to have a ‘bio’ child, is gay. Joaquin lives with his foster parents—who badly want to adopt
him. Author Robin Benway describes what happens when these three young people discover they share a biological mother—and begin to share their
own lives with each other. - Betty Moffett
New Library Acquisitions:
The Body by Bill Bryson the Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris The New Iberian Blues by James Lee Burke The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes Next Year In Havana by Chanel Cleeton Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett A Bitter Feast, by Deboarah Crombie The 19th Christmas, by James Patterson The Guardians, by John Grisham Nanaville, by Anna Quindlen Unto Us A Son Is Born, by Donna Leon The House at Tyneford, by Natasha Solomons The House of Gold, by Natasha Solomons Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again, by Elizabeth Strout
Journey to Munich, by Jacqueline Winspear In This Grave Hour, by Jacqueline Winspear To Die But Once, by Jacqueline Winspear The American Agent, by Jacqueline Winspear
On the Podium: The National Geography of Religion
KIESEL THEATER SATURDAY MATINEES
A Christmas Story • Rated PG – December 21 • 2:00pm
Based on the humorous writings of author Jean Shepherd, this
beloved holiday movie follows the wintry exploits of youngster
Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley), who spends most of his time
dodging a bully (Zack Ward) and dreaming of his ideal
Christmas gift, a "Red Ryder air rifle." Frequently at odds with
his cranky dad (Darren McGavin) but comforted by his doting
mother (Melinda Dillon), Ralphie struggles to make it to
Christmas Day with his glasses and his hopes intact.
First Man • Rated PG • December 28 • 2:00pm
Hoping to reach the moon by the end of the decade, NASA
plans a series of extremely dangerous, unprecedented missions
in the early 1960s. Engineer Neil Armstrong joins the space
program, spending years in training and risking his life during
test flights. On July 16, 1969, the nation and world watch in
wonder as Armstrong and fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and
Michael Collins embark on the historic Apollo 11 spaceflight.
CATCH A RIDE ON LESTER!
Grocery Shopping
December 18 – Sig Barber
DOCUMENTARY AND DISCUSSION
“MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE”
KIESEL THEATER
Third Thursdays 2:30 pm
Discussion Leader: Harley Henry
SEX TRAFFICKING IN AMERICA • December 19 PBS FRONTLINE: 60 Minutes with Subtitles
FRONTINE tells the unimaginable stories of young women coerced into prostitution
and follows one police unit combatting trafficking.
RISE OF THE SUPERSTORMS • January 16, 2020 PBS NOVA: 60 Minutes with Subtitles
In just one month, Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean were changed forever. In the
summer of 2017, three monster hurricanes swept in from the Atlantic one after
another, shattering storm records and killing hundreds of people.
BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS • February 20, 2020 PURPLE TURTLE FILMS & PBS : 90 Minutes (CC)
Wars of the future will be fought over water, as today they are over oil, as the source
of all life enters the global and political arena. [Winner: Best Ecological
Film, Toronto Film Festival]
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Roger Long, Dona Emmert 19 Netia Worley
7 Mary Schuchmann 20 Gerald Adams
8 Gaye Van Hamme 21 Jenny Erickson
14 Dick Schild – 100 YEARS! 24 Betty Anne Francis
15 Joyce Hintermeister 29 Verlene Mitchell
17 Lorna Caulkins 30 Harold Kasimow
UPCOMING EVENTS
NEIGHBORHOOD LUNCH GROUPS
(Mondays at 12 noon in Buckley Dining Room)
December 9: Buckley 3rd, Pearson, Watertower 1st
December 16: Buckley 2nd floor, Watertower 2nd & 3rd floors, Harwich Terrace East
December 23: Altemeier, Harwich Terrace Southeast, & Harwich Terrace North
December 30: Buckley 1st, Harwich Terrace South, Edwards, Montgomery
Book Club: Friday December 20 at 1:00 in the Game Room Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. All are welcome!
Kiesel Theatre Documentary - Discussion Leader: Harley Henry
SEX TRAFFICKING IN AMERICA • December 19
FRONTINE tells the unimaginable stories of young women coerced into prostitution and
follows one police unit combatting trafficking.
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES Theraband Mon, Wed, Fri - 11am Beebe Activity Room Senior Strength Mon, Wed - 2:15pm Sports Center Women’s Table Tennis Monday - 4pm Table Tennis Center Walking Warriors Tues, Thurs 8:15am Buckley 2nd Floor Lounge Chair Yoga Tues, Thurs 11am Montgomery Lounge Game Night Wednesday - 6:30pm Anchor Room Koffee & Konversation Friday - 9:30am Buckley Dining Room Men’s Coffee Group Thursdays - 8:30am Buckley 3rd Floor Lounge Senior Strength Friday - 11am Sports Center
WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Sunday Worship Sunday - 10am Carman Center MRA Chapel Tuesday - 10am Carman Center
December 17- Father Ross Epping - St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Unitarian Service 2nd & 4th Sunday - 10:30am Montgomery Lounge Eucharist (BCP) 1st Sunday - 3pm Fireside Room
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO OUR WONDERFUL MAYFLOWER FAMILY AND FRIENDS!