Residents at Kaulbach Assisted Living celebrate “Senior” Prom

Residents of Kaulbach Assisted Living celebrated the “Golden Age of Hollywood” at their second annual “senior” prom on Friday night. The auditorium was transformed into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with stars lining the walkways and pictures of celebrities such as Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis covering the walls. Red, black and silver balloons and decorations filled the room and KONO Radio DJ Dave Rios played “oldies” music for the residents to enjoy. After a fun movie-themed quiz game, the prom court was announced. This year’s honors went to: Duke - Joe Adams; Duchess – Oralia “Brownie” Tijerina; Prince – Dr. Benjamin Shaver; Princess - Felicita Salazar; King -Paul Billingsley; and Queen – Anna Wood.

Congratulations to the Prom King and Queen!

Glenn Biggs honored as TAHSA’s Philanthropist of the Year on Tuesday

Glenn Biggs, a Morningside board member, was honored by the Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging as their Philanthropist of the Year. About 100 guests joined Glen as he accepted his award Tuesday evening at a reception at The Meadows Retirement Community. Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolfe presented Mr. Biggs with a proclamation from the county and City Councilman John Clamp presented one on behalf of the mayor’s office. Representatives from both State Senator Leticia Van de Putte’s office and U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s office congratulated Mr. Biggs on his honor and Senator Lamar Smith had the honor entered into the Congressional Record for Tuesday. Former Mayor Phil Hardberger and State Senator Jeff Wentworth were present to celebrate along with Mr. Biggs.

Glenn Biggs received this award because of his efforts to increase awareness, support and funding for older adults. The looming crisis in care for older adults as the Baby Boomers age has captured his interest, time and heart during the last four years that he has served on the board at Morningside. He has not only written his own check, but more importantly he has given of his time and influence to begin building a larger and better network of support for older adults and caregivers. He has introduced the organization to well-known Texans that have led to lasting relationships and initiated partnerships with public institutions and national corporations that promise to yield significant, long-term benefits to older adults in care. 

The local business journal wrote of him:  “… This gentle giant with a booming voice spends countless hours trying to get wealthy South Texans to give to causes which he believes are important. Time after time, he is called upon to advise college presidents and board chairmen who are seeking access to the network of former politicians and business millionaires who are willing to part with their fortunes for the right cause.”

Mr. Biggs has done whatever he can to strengthen this organization, build an awareness of the needs of older persons and their caregivers and to speak about the need to direct philanthropic dollars to this issue. This organization has received $750,000 in gifts and grants in the past two years that can be linked to his philanthropic work. More importantly he has helped us build a network of leaders and philanthropists who have the potential to contribute and direct millions of dollar, not just to this organization, but to many other nonprofits providing residential services to older adults in Texas. The responsibility of this organization is now to be stewards of his most generous gift to us: relationships.

Congratulations Mr. Biggs!

Lifetime Living named Newsletter of the Year by TAHSA

Lifetime Living, Morningside Ministries’ corporate newsletter, was named the Newsletter of the Year by the Texas Association of the Homes and Services for the Aging (TAHSA) for 2010. This is the third time that Lifetime Living has received this honor, also winning in 2009 and 2007.

Lifetime Living is produced in-house three times a year and showcases what happens inside Morningside Ministries' communities and portrays retirement living and senior care in a very positive light to the public.  Circulation of the full-color, glossy publication is approximately 13,000, with 10,000 mailed to donors, potential residents, board members, area churches and pastors and others in the community. The remaining 3,000 are distributed to residents, employees and visitors to the community. 

This publication is a good way for people in the community to learn about what Morningside has to offer, to inform them of what we do and how successful our organization continues to be. The magazine presents a thorough picture of life in our community and each issue includes news information from our three campuses. Content provided is relevant to residents, employees, board members and those not as familiar with our organization.

Each issue features one to two feature stories about residents, either about their contribution to the community or a relevant story about their life history, and provides stories that are relevant in today’s society, like social networking and legislative issues.

Features also include employee updates, a message from our in-house chaplain, an extensive activity calendar with events the public is invited to, an article with health information from one of our dietitians, news and updates from different departments, recognition of our donors from the previous quarter and photographs of resident events and parties. The newsletter is also used to advertise for upcoming special events and to give relevant information to our readers about senior issues.

The magazine-style newsletter is in an 8.5 by 11 inch format, so that it is easily mailed and easily handled by our readers. Each cover presents a full-color, full-bleed photograph or graphic with the title prominently featured. The newsletter is designed in mostly bright, trendy colors that are easy on the eye and very visually attractive.

All articles are written and edited in-house. For the most part, the photography is done in house, but certain stories are supplemented with stock photography or graphics. This newsletter is written, produced, designed, photographed and edited by one in-house staff member.

Eva Mata receives Environmental Services Award from TAHSA

The Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (TAHSA) has awarded Eva Mata, a laundry crew leader at Morningside Manor, with the Environmental Services Award for 2010. This award recognizes the importance of those employees in housekeeping, laundry and security. Her award will be presented during the TAHSA annual meeting in Houston during the week of May 16.

Eva is very focused on her job and is always striving for 100% customer satisfaction. She is a positive an upbeat person and instills that same attitude in those around her. Eva does everything she can to make family members satisfied with our service. She will explain the laundry operation in depth and will show families around the laundry facilities if they want a tour.

She demonstrates patience and kindness with the residents and will search tirelessly for a “missing” item for a resident, only to find it in the back of their closet. But she does it with a smile. Her sleuthing ability allows her to track down the owners of items ranging from eyeglasses to crucifixes to ensure that the resident is reunited with their property.

Eva has played a big part in Morningside Manor’s “Secret Santa” program that the laundry department provides for the residents. With the laundry staff in prime position to see which residents have clothing needs, during the holidays, Eva and her staff raise funds and buy needed clothing and other items for residents. Then Eva and her crew purchase, wrap and deliver Santa’s gifts on Christmas day. This program has enabled the laundry staff to help our residents and provides a morale boost for the department at the same time.

Eva puts tremendous effort into the Manor’s annual Celebration of Life fall festival. She coordinates the gigantic “flea market” type booth that the environmental services department prepares. It is such a hit with the residents!

Her strength is in her passion and commitment to the residents and in her leadership to her employees, especially in stressful work situations, such as equipment breakdowns or staffing shortages. Somehow, the job always gets done and clean linen and clothing is delivered to all of her customers. Her “can do” attitude and hands-on leadership is a source of inspiration to the rest of her crew.

Congrats Eva on this honor!

Meadows’ Director named Housing Professional of the Year by TAHSA

The Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (TAHSA) has awarded Jil Utterback, Executive Director at The Meadows Retirement Community, with the Housing Professional of the Year award. Jil was chosen for this award for her exemplary leadership and team building skills and her active involvement and support of the residents. Her award will be presented during the TAHSA annual meeting in Houston during the week of May 16.

Jil has been at The Meadows for more than 20 years, working first as a marketing assistant, then the director of information services, the assistant administrator and as the executive director since 1998.

The residents and staff appreciate Jil because of all that she does for them. She visits residents in the hospital and takes a personal interest in the residents who do not have family or whose family members are not involved. She has spent many nights sleeping at The Meadows when bad weather was approaching fearing that she might be not be able to make it in in the event of a weather emergency.

Every fall, Jil invites all of the residents out to her ranch in Bandera for a big barbecue dinner, hay rides and music. She buys every single employee a Christmas gift and always gives the staff a Christmas party – all with her own money. Her door is always open to residents and employees no matter how busy she is. She is extremely patient and kind with everyone.

Jil has been instrumental in bringing many new and innovative programs to The Meadows. She started a caregiver support group for those who have spouses with dementia. Jil bought a Nintendo Wii for the residents when they first came out and began a Wii Sports tournament that is still going on twice a week. She is always looking for new and creative ways to get the residents involved with activities and trips.

Often times, Jil acts not only as the executive director, but as the activities director as well. Every year, she takes the residents down to the rodeo, to the Veteran’s Day Parade, setting up the chairs for the residents herself, and throws a big Halloween party, personally dressing up and providing a fun-themed activity to go along with the costumes.

Jil is committed to the residents and the staff 24/7. Sometimes she even goes to bed with her pager on! When she is away on vacation, she always checks in to see if there is anything she can do to help. At work, at home, out shopping or at the beach, Jil is always available to provide leadership and assistance to her community. She has high standards and a strong work ethic. She supports her staff and bases her decisions on “doing what is right” and never on any personal agenda.

Jil has been active in TAHSA for more than 20 years, as a member of the Marketing Committee, Host Committee and Housing Committee. She served as the secretary of the TAHSA Central Texas Chapter for two years. Jil has a bachelor’s degree from UTSA and is a 1999 graduate of the North San Antonio Leadership Lab. She is a licensed nursing home administrator (LNFA) and a credentialed retirement housing professional (RHP).

Congratulations Jil on this honor!

Morningside Recognizes Earth Day

Today, April 22, 2010, marks the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day and Morningside has adopted some “green” ways to help out the environment.  Today, Cartridge World of San Antonio presented Morningside with its second Environmental Leadership Award. Alvin Loewenberg, president and CEO of Morningside Ministries, accepted the award from Ray Edinger, owner of Cartridge World. This award is given annually to an organization in the community that, through Cartridge World, has made a positive impact on the environment through reducing, reusing and recycling ink and toner cartridges. Since Morningside began using remanufactured cartridges in 2007, we have recycled over 2,071 of them, keeping over 7,200 pounds of e-waste from our landfills and hundreds of pounds of greenhouse gases from being generated and sent into our atmosphere.  One toner cartridge can take up to 450 years to decompose in a landfill.  

Residents of The Meadows Retirement Community are doing their part as well by recycling paper and newspapers and making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of water used throughout the 148 residences. According to the San Antonio Water System web site, toilets account for 26 percent of the water used at home. If every resident at The Meadows flushed one time less each day, it would save the community 1,095 gallons of water per year, per resident. As it is, The “Green” Committee at The Meadows was able to get 35 residents to commit to saving 78 flushes per day. This will equal a water savings of 85,410 gallons of water per year.

Old incandescent light bulbs have been replaced with the new fluorescent bulbs in most apartments and many residents are getting new thermostats in their apartments that are larger and easier to read. The administration offices at Morningside Ministries are beginning to recycle white office paper, plastics, magazines, newspapers and cardboard boxes. We’re off to a good start in our conservation efforts and hope to expand them even more in the years to come!

What to look for in a retirement community

Where are you going to live when you retire? It’s an important question to consider now, but the answer can change over time. In your home? With family members? In a retirement community?

Many people plan eventually to live in some type of retirement community, and it’s helpful to consider the various options available, from special neighborhoods to high rises to communities that offer the full continuum of care.

Good planning also includes knowing what your limits are and what you can afford. What services will insurance pay for, and how much is covered? How much do you have saved? What are the out-of-pocket expenses?

It is important to find a retirement community that best suits your needs, and one important part of that decision is to visit, get a first-hand look and ask some questions.

Here are some questions to consider when visiting:

Does the community have a mission statement? If so, how does that statement fit into the community on a daily basis?

What kind of health care and personal care does it offer? Is it on- or off-site? What support services are available? Also, ask about the community’s medical emergency procedures policy.

Will the community allow you to stay a night or two? In order to determine if this is your new home, check out all the community has to offer during your stay. Do you like the living conditions and the surroundings? Visit with current residents and find out how they like it.

What activities are offered? Find out what group activities and cultural enrichment activities are available on a weekly and monthly basis. What volunteer opportunities are available in the area? Does the community provide a shuttle service? Does the community allow pets?

How healthy and appetizing is the community’s food quality? Visit the prospective community during lunch or dinner time and ask questions about dietary needs and food preparation.

Does the community offer a full continuum of care – from independent living to hospice? You may want to ask about the transition process to each stage should the need arise.