ContentsEditorial ....................2Chester Lowrie, Vice-President of Building Management

Around the Block .....2A series featuring our amazing residents

Letters of Appreciation.............7Notes of thanks

Doris L. Patrick Campus, Norwich, NY(607) 336-3915Independent living (HUD-subsidized), skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation Elizabeth Church Campus, Binghamton, NY(607) 722-3463Independent living, adult care, assisted living, skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation Hilltop Campus, Johnson City, NY(607) 798-7818Independent living, adult care, assisted living, skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation Tunkhannock Campus, Tunkhannock, PA(570) 836-2983Personal care Wesley Village Campus, Pittston, PA(570) 655-2891Independent living, personal care, skilled nursing, short-term rehabilitation

A newsletter for stAff, residents & friends of United Methodist hoMes

December 2010

United Methodist hoMes

Continued on page 4

Interact with us on

Do you see things in black and white?If so, it’s not your imagination. Photos in Seasons are usually printed in a combination of two ink colors (green and blue) in a process called duotone. In this issue, photos are printed in black and white to see if this improves the crispness. We need your input: Do you prefer black and white or duotone photos? Let us know via our Facebook page, the Contact Us page on our website, by calling (607) 775-6400, ext. 288 or by emailing ssoden@umhwc.org.

Light It Up!

Each United Methodist Homes campus is beautifully lit for the holidays, and most of us never see the maintenance or activity “elves” who put the lights in place before the season is fully under way. This year, however, Seasons caught up with Highlands Plant Operations General Maintenance employee Mark Tabor (foreground, with pole) and Highlands Plant Operations Supervisor Oscar Slater (background) as they strung lights on a blustery day just before Thanksgiving. They lit the Highlands gazebo with more than 450 lights, and covered four large evergreens with 700 bulbs apiece. Thank you to those who hang lights at each campus for making our holidays bright!

A Terrific Tunkhannock Thanksgiving

Twenty-six Tunkhannock Campus residents and three guests enjoyed a home-cooked turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Shown getting ready to enjoy the food are (from left) residents Eva Balassa and Geraldine Mattocks. Special thanks to the dietary staff for making such an amazing meal!

Gobble When You Fill Your Card!

If it’s Thanksgiving at Hilltop, there’s no yelling “bingo” – you have to gobble to announce your win! Just before

Turkey Day, residents of the James G. Johnston Memorial Nursing Home played their annual game of turkey bingo, with a variety of snack- and holiday-related prizes. After the bingo tournament wrapped, six residents participated in a gobbling contest – non-gobblers in attendance voted

for a six-way tie as they could not pick a favorite! Resident Fred Ondreyko is shown accepting his tasty prize.

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I guess I look at things differently.

When asked how to describe United Methodist Homes buildings and grounds, the word

that comes to mind is “iceberg”: You only see the 10% that floats above the surface. You don’t see the hundreds of miles of piping, the thousands of miles of wiring, the hundreds of square feet of roofing or all the other building components. Each system needs a varying degree of attention that can range from a quick glance to an in-depth service rebuild or replacement.

The annual capital budget for the Homes is approximately $3 million,

which varies depending on the size and number of projects necessary to keep our buildings in good shape, not to mention the ongoing outdoor work that keeps our grounds looking great year-round. With the guidance of the Board of Directors’ Property Committee, the facility administrator, the plant operations directors and me, all the required projects get done. All these constituents meet annually to review the projects completed during the year and consider proposals for the year to come. We have property walk-through tours to help decide which capital projects need to be completed at each campus. After approval by the Board, I facilitate specifications, bidding and contract awards and then schedule work. The Homes deals with a vast number

of outside contractors to complete projects, and some work is completed by in-house staff. We have talent within our own maintenance departments that never ceases to amaze me – in addition to keeping the campus “ships” operating and moving in the right direction, our maintenance department employees make time to handle capital projects or other repairs and retrofits.

In closing, remember that what sank the Titanic was not what the crew could see, but the 90% below the surface. That’s what everyone involved in maintenance at United Methodist Homes manages. Thanks to them all for keeping our ship afloat.

AroundBlock

Our “Around the Block” series profiles United Methodist Homes residents who explain what their lives have been like, what their big adventures have been, how they’ve made a difference, and how they want to be remembered.

Reverend William Parsons Tunkhannock Campus

Reverend William Parsons was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1912, and spent summers camping, swimming and canoeing in the Adirondacks. This strong, positive association with adventure and the outdoors would shape his life, leading to camping trips throughout the United States, and travel and living abroad.

William pursued his undergraduate studies at Penn State, and during his sophomore year felt a call to the ministry. He went on to study at the Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. When he graduated, he served a Presbyterian congregation in Sugar Run,

Pennsylvania, where he met his future wife Jane. After their marriage, William served a series of small churches in central Pennsylvania as the couple grew their family, which would eventually include four boys and two girls. Each summer, the family traveled all over the United States to camp, visiting all but two states.

In 1948, the Parsons family traveled to New Mexico to help build an adobe church. Already comfortable as travelers, the experience changed their lives and led them to seek out additional opportunities to live and travel abroad. In the summer of 1963, Jane participated in a Fulbright exchange program, trading homes and teaching positions with a family in Germany. In early 1964, the ink on their passports barely dry, the family was on the move again when William accepted an exchange pastorate position in Bo’ness, Scotland. After this, Jane took a job teaching English in the city of Kanazawa, Japan, located on the western side of the north island of Hokkaido. William accompanied her.

Next, William sought out an opportunity for international ministry: He secured a year-long placement at a Presbyterian church in Pukerau, New Zealand, and they headed for the southern hemisphere. The couple enjoyed the country so much that they returned three more times to live and work in various areas, at one point traveling around New Zealand by van.

William retired in the mid-1970s, and he and Jane continued to enjoy traveling, visiting Switzerland, Europe and Japan to see new things and visit old friends.

Jane died in 2009, and William moved to the Tunkhannock Campus in March 2010.

To make a suggestion for the Around the Block series, contact Sarah Soden, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at (607) 775-6400, ext. 288. Amazing stories don’t have to involve international travel or living abroad. Residents are welcome to suggest themselves!

The

A series featuring our amazing residents

EDITorIAL Chester Lowrie, Vice-President of Building Management

Rev. Parsons and his wife Jane in New Mexico circa the 1960s.

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Staff Announcements

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Monica Clark Monica Clark has accepted the position of Resident Account Specialist in the Resident Financial Services department in the Corporate Office. She will be the Account Specialist for the Elizabeth Church Campus and will also help cover resident billing for the Pearl and Everett Gilmour Health Care Facility. She comes to the Homes from MedUS Services in Binghamton, New York, where she was a grievance appeal representative.

Clark has an extensive background in Medicare and insurance billing and in collections.

Eileen Drake, rD, LDNEileen Drake, RD, LDN, has joined the Hilltop Campus as a Dietician. She comes to the Homes from Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, New York, where she was a clinical dietician.

Drake earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Mansfield University in Mansfield, Pennsylvania, and completed her dietetic internship at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association and the Southern Tier Dietetic Association.

Kathy Harrington, rNKathy Harrington, RN, recently accepted the position of Assistant Director of Nursing at the Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility on the Wesley Village Campus. She has been with the Homes since 1995, most recently as the 3 to 11 shift supervisor.

Harrington earned her certified nursing assistant credential and her licensed practical nursing certification from Wilkes-Barre Area Vo-Tech and her associate’s degree in nursing from Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, PA.

David Lake David Lake has joined United Methodist Homes as a Network Support Technician in the Information Technology Department in the Corporate Office. Lake comes to the Homes from Lockheed Martin, where he was an engineering planner/laboratory technician.

Lake earned his associate’s degree in electronic and computer technology from the Electronics Institutes in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and completed additional training at IBM and Lockheed Martin. His Microsoft certification studies are ongoing.

Wireless Internet Access Now Available at Campuses

On December 10, United Methodist Homes launched public access to wireless internet (WiFi) at the Elizabeth Church, Hilltop and Wesley Village Campuses. This will enable visitors and residents with internet-capable computers to go online – no password required – without plugging into an internet cable. The wireless network is completely separate from the United Methodist Homes data network, eliminating concerns about privacy or security related to resident or organizational information.

In the last few years, WiFi – short for wireless fidelity – has become increasingly available in public spaces such as airports, coffee shops like Starbucks and Panera and other locations. Said Janine Savage, RN, RAC-CT, CHC, Vice-President of Operations and Corporate Compliance Officer, “We felt this was a timely value-added amenity for visitors, family members and residents, offering access to sites that are currently blocked for security reasons, such as Skype and Facebook, on the United Methodist Homes network.”

Due to organizational work volume, information technology

department staff members are unable to provide assistance or troubleshooting related to use of personal machines on the wireless network. Additionally, WiFi is an open network, and United Methodist Homes is not responsible for the safety of machines connected to it. Said Information Technology Director Randy Reynolds, “While we’re pleased to make this available, we ask users to be responsible in the sites they visit and the materials they download.” The speed of the WiFi connection at each campus will depend on the number of users active at that particular location, and the type of content people are accessing.

WiFi is also available at United Methodist Homes’ Corporate Office in Kirkwood. Said Savage, “This is especially helpful when we host meetings requiring participants to use online resources or references.”

The Doris L. Patrick Campus was not included in the project because its sale is pending. The Tunkhannock Campus is located in an area with a communications infrastructure that is at this time insufficient to support public WiFi. The independent living units at Manor House, the Highlands and Brooks Estates are also not included.

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The Holidays at the Homes Continued from page 1

Hanukkah Lights Shine Bright

The day before Hanukkah began, St. Louise Manor residents were treated to a presentation about the holiday by (from left) volunteer Sylvia Diamond and Temple Concord’s Rabbi Barbara Goldman-Wartell. They were accompanied by seven Hillel Academy students who performed a variety of Hanukkah songs – one number featured sections in English, Hebrew and Yiddish! Goldman-Wartell has given presentations like this for more than three decades.

old-Fashioned Christmas at Wesley Village

In the lead-up to the Myers Manor Christmas dinner and the annual Old-Fashioned Christmas event at the Wesley Village Campus, Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility residents helped decorate the tree in the Activity Room. Shown getting into the spirit are (standing, left to right) Rose DeAlba and Mary Francis and (seated, left to right) Mary Yurkanin and Yolanda Tancredi.

Making Christmas Bright for Children

Members of the Elizabeth Church and Hilltop Campus communities gave gifts, stocking stuffers and monetary donations to the Children’s Home of the Wyoming Conference in Hillcrest, New York. Elizabeth Church Campus Chaplain Janet Abel (shown at left) collected the items and delivered them to the Children’s Home in early December. This is the second year both campuses have participated in this project. Said Abel, “We hope to make some children’s Christmas a little bit brighter.”

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ShortsFarewell to Lou Shiber, Director of Reimbursement/Privacy Officer, who left the Homes at the end of December. He had been with the organization since 2002.

On December 14, members of the Wesley Village family assisted in wrapping gifts for Home Instead Senior Care’s “Be a Santa to a Senior” program.

Hilltop rehab recognized for ExcellenceThe rehabilitation program at James G. Johnston Memorial Nursing Home on the Hilltop Campus was recently recognized as “excellent” by the SunDance Rehabilitation Corporation, the rehabilitation vendor that serves United Methodist Homes’ New York skilled nursing facilities. Said United Methodist Homes Director of Quality Management and Clinical Services Kate McHugh, RN, RAC-CT, “We’re very proud of the hard work our rehab staff members put in that made this accomplishment possible.”

The rating was awarded following a complete audit of services by SunDance’s compliance director. The audit included an extensive review of all program aspects, including environment and equipment, patient services, documentation, internal quality assurance measures and implementation of SunDance clinical models. Auditors applied a set of clinical compliance standards that measured 24 different areas.

According to Kathleen Usher, SunDance’s Vice-President of Compliance, “Based on audit scores, rehabilitation programs are judged as excellent, acceptable, minimally conforming or non-conformant. Because of the high standards and the broad nature of the audit, it is a significant achievement to reach even the ‘acceptable’ level of review, and those who exceed this level are truly to be commended. Excellence can only be achieved when center managers, SunDance managers and therapists work together for the good of the patients. This level of excellence does not come without a great deal of hard work, flexibility and creativity. We are pleased to have the James G. Johnston program as part of the SunDance team.”

Only a few SunDance rehabilitation programs nationwide qualify for this award each year.

Nichole Wright, LPN, has been named the Doris L. Patrick Campus Employee of the Month for December. According to her coworkers, she provides exceptional resident

care and is always willing to help others. Said her nominator, “Her positive attitude and sense of teamwork help create a great work environment. She always puts our residents’ best interests first.”

Wright has been with the Homes for more than four years. Congratulations, Nichole!

Doris L. Patrick Campus Names Employee of the Month

Nichole Wright, LPN

Holiday Shopping at Hilltop

The Hilltop Campus hosted its annual craft fair on November 11. Residents, staff, family members and the public were able to browse selections from more than 50 vendors, ranging from fabric crafts, jewelry and holiday decorations to carved wooden items and homemade jams and jellies. Participating vendors were asked to give a craft item or make a monetary donation to the Hilltop Resident Fund, which is used to provide a Christmas gift to each resident. Hilltop resident Mary Jubinksy (seated) helped her daughter Diane Bartlow staff the table for St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Binghamton, which sold matryoshka, or wooden nesting dolls.

“It is the summer of the soul in December…”

For the second year, the staff of United Methodist Homes’ Corporate Office adopted a Binghamton-area family for Christmas via radio station Mix 103.3’s “Mix Wish List.” Staff contributed more than $650 to the effort, which enabled purchase of several months’ worth of groceries for the family of four, clothing for the two elementary-school-aged children, sleds, DVDs, and an astonishing selection of books, toys and games and more. Chief elves Sarah Soden (left), Director of Marketing and Public Relations, and Lisa Nickerson (right), Accounts Payable Coordinator, shopped and wrapped in early December. Said Soden, “The outpouring of support for this year’s effort was phenomenal, and we’re pleased to have made Christmas a reality for this family.” Special thanks to the Endicott Price Chopper and Johnson City WalMart for contributing gift cards for the family to buy additional groceries, and to 10-year-old Brock Savage, son of Vice-President of Clinical Operations Janine Savage, for emptying his piggy bank and donating the $25 in coins to the project!

Help for the Homeless

Just before Thanksgiving, Wesley Village residents, staff and volunteers joined forces to pack more than 100 food bags for the Rural Health Corporation of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s McKinney Homeless Clinic in Wilkes-Barre. Shown hard at work are (clockwise from lower left) Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility resident Yolanda Tancredi, volunteer Carol Noonan, Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility residents Clara Zajulka and Melania Kuniega, Activity Aide/project organizer Mary Ann Battista, Anderson Personal Care Facility resident Ed Korczowski, Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility residents Loretta Budzelek, Sophia Stascavage and Mary Yurkanin, Assistant Activity Director Shelli Ratchford (standing) and Partridge-Tippett Nursing Facility resident Rose Worsilla.

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WISHING YOU

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On December 2, Bob Whipple of Hilton, New York – son of St. Louise Manor resident Ted Whipple and former Elizabeth Church Manor Nursing Home resident Olive Whipple, who passed away in October – visited the Elizabeth Church Campus to present 10 of his father’s paintings to Administrator Vicky Morabito. The watercolors depict scenes from around

the world, including locations in the Caribbean, England, France and North America. Whipple began painting in 1963, at the age of 50. Father (seated) and son are shown with one of the paintings the campus received.

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Airing of the Quilts in TunkhannockOn October 2, the Borough of Tunkhannock celebrated the ninth annual Airing of the Quilts event, which features a wide variety of quilt-related programs, shows and displays. Homes and businesses in the borough hang quilts on porches, fences and in yards to show off the work of local craftspeople.

Learning Financial SafetyOn November 30, St. Louise Manor residents learned about financial scams targeting seniors. Broome Community College Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Wes Warren and four of his students presented information on staying safe financially. In particular, they highlighted “the grandparent scam,” in which someone posing as a grandchild calls to say they’re in trouble and need money. Following their presentation, the group made copies of the New York State Attorney General’s “Smart Seniors” booklet available to attendees. Residents (from left) Art Dewing and Dr. Beverly Hosten Dorsey are shown after the event looking at the Smart Seniors booklet with student Rae Palmer-Jones, Warren (holding booklet) and students Sulka Valerio, Adam Wilcox and Daniel Burch.

Volunteer Tib Ruark (left) and Tunkhannock Campus resident Hazelle Brooks are shown in the front yard of Tunkhannock Manor with quilts loaned by the Endless Mountains Quilt Works hanging behind them. The annual event attracts thousands of visitors from the surrounding area and neighboring states.

resident Artist Donates Paintings

Post-Holiday Eco Tips• Savethisyear’sChristmascards–cut

them apart with pinking shears to make next year’s gift tags.

• Recycleyourwrappingpaper–mostcounty recycling programs accept all but metallic wrapping papers.

• Saveandreusebows.

This tip brought to you by the United Methodist Homes Green Team.

Doris L. Patrick

Elizabeth Church

Wesley Village

Hilltop

Tunkhannock

Corporate

Interact with us on Facebook!See additional photos from events featured in Seasons, get alerts about upcoming events and much more! Visit www.facebook.com, create an account if you don’t already have one, and interact with United Methodist Homes! If you don’t have an account, you can still view our page – go to www.companies.to/UMHFacebook.

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Resident Family Member Donates Time

Fred Hinman at work in the garden on campus this summer.

Betty Hinman has lived at Elizabeth Church Manor Nursing Home since August 2009, so her husband Fred is a regular presence. His visits used to consist of spending time in his wife’s room, watching television or leafing through a magazine. But not long after his wife became a resident, Fred Hinman approached the activity staff on campus, offering his assistance with projects or events. According to Elizabeth Church Manor Activity and Volunteer Director Diana Husnay, “Fred is now an indispensible asset to the activity department and the residents at Elizabeth Church Manor.”

For the last two summers, Hinman has kept the courtyard garden thriving with regular watering, which includes keeping the garden’s birdbaths full for the feathered friends so many residents and family members enjoy watching. He has also added a variety of special plants to the garden, and helped another family member start a resident-friendly berry patch in an unused area.

Indoors, Hinman assists in transporting residents to and from activities on campus, participates in seasonal decorating, and can often be found do-si-do-ing at wheelchair square dancing on Friday afternoons. He also accompanies activity staff on off-campus outings with residents to provide an extra set of helping hands.

Said Husnay, “Fred is now a fixture around the nursing home. He’s known as the ‘go-to’ guy for a helping hand or a great idea to make someone’s day a little easier or brighter. He possesses a gift for sharing – his joy seems to be in giving.”

Letters of Appreciation

To the Elizabeth Church CampusThank you to all the Elizabeth Church Manor staff for helping our dad, showing compassion and understanding. We’re forever in your debt.

To the Doris L. Patrick CampusIt has been several weeks since I was in rehab at Gilmour. I had such a great rehab experience. I really miss the activities and nursing staff! Thank you again.

To the Tunkhannock CampusPlease accept this gift in memory of my dad. We greatly appreciate all you have done for him over the years. Your kindness made him very happy and comfortable during a difficult time. He loved you all as family. Thanks to you, we have many wonderful memories over the years.

To the Elizabeth Church CampusThank you to Nurse Manager Ann Marschke, Social Worker Paula Roberts and the staff of the third floor. I thank you all for the wonderful, sensitive care you gave my loved one, and the support you gave to me. God bless you all.

On November 13, the Pearl and Everett Gilmour Health Care Facility on the Doris L. Patrick Campus hosted its annual Thanksgiving dinner for residents and resident family members, many of whom wrote notes of thanks.

Thank you so much for the lovely Thanksgiving dinner – it was wonderful. It was great to have a room to ourselves, and it was decorated so beautifully.The flowers from the Gilmour family were lovely. Thanks for taking good care of my mom and stepdad. God bless you all.

We are in awe of the beautiful Thanksgiving dinner you so graciouslyhosted for the entire Gilmour family. We thank you for all the hard work, love and care that went into a wonderful memory with our aunt.

On behalf of our family, we would like to thank the entire staff for the opportunity you provided us to celebrate Thanksgiving with our mother in the traditional way. Everyone involved in serving the delicious meal was enthusiastic and cordial. We can imagine the difficulty of feeding four or five times the number of people the facility usually accommodates. The festivities showed no hint of the underlying hard work necessary to produce the result. For your guests, the occasion was pure pleasure. Each resident also received a cheerful flower arrangement to enjoy for days afterward. Again, we appreciate the efforts of your whole organization to give the residents and their families a very special day.

Donating to the HomesIf you would like to make a donation or consider a planned gift to United Methodist Homes,

please call Bonnie Slocum, Director of Planned Giving, at (607) 775-6400, ext. 281.Checks may also be mailed to 10 Acre Place, Binghamton, NY 13904.

The United Methodist Homes 2010 Southern Tier Memory Walk team was recognized by representatives of the Central New York Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association during an event at the Hilltop Campus on November 30. Cathy James, CEO of the Central New York Chapter, thanked those in attendance for their hard work in fundraising at all three campuses throughout the year. Shown accepting the plaque for top fundraising team in the health care category are (front row, from left) Elizabeth Church Manor Activity Leader Ellie Johnson, Hilltop Campus Activity Director Faye Clark, (back row, left to right) United Methodist Homes President and CEO Keith Chadwick, Elizabeth Church Campus Administrative Assistant Rosemarie VanKuren, Broome County Independent Living Admissions Coordinator Teresa Felter, Broome County Adult Care and Assisted Living Admissions Coordinator Sharon Hauver, Doris L. Patrick Campus Director of Activities and Volunteers Danielle Giordano, Doris L. Patrick Campus Receptionist Robin McCarthy and James.

Recognition Event

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No. 197Binghamton, NY

is published monthly for the staff, residents, family members, friends and campus neighbors of United Methodist Homes. Please direct all inquiries about Seasons to Sarah Soden, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at 10 Acre Place, Binghamton, NY 13904. If you no longer wish to receive this publication, please call Sarah at (607) 775-6400, ext. 288. If you are receiving duplicate copies of the newsletter, please let usknow so we can amend the mailing list.

Visit our website at www.unitedmethodisthomes.org to view contact information for each campus, as well as monthly activity calendars, news releases, or to view back issues of the newsletter electronically.

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