Soaring 2023

A Creative Mind Cultivates INNOVATION

Jack has worked tirelessly through his career and has received 35 U.S. patents and other patents in eight foreign countries.

dustry. He recalls a Swedish inventor who created and patented a way to install wooden floors by creating an interlocking system that did not need glue. This particular type of flooring system continues to be used today and is the most sought after installation system used by DIYers and professionals.

Most people go about their lives walking from one flooring surface to a different flooring surface, not giving a second thought on what it takes to go from concept to reality. However, for Jack Lewicki, the science behind flooring had been the lifeblood of his professional career before retiring from Armstrong World Industries in 1998.

Lewicki’s focus has been to invent practical solutions to problems. As he says, “Necessity is the creator of invention!”

As a chemist and chemical engineer,

In the mid-1980’s Lewicki traveled to England to help a start-up flooring plant. His role as a process engineer was to co-manage the plant and make process improvements to increase their operations that were running at 50% efficiency. While he was there, solutions to the malfunctioning line equipment were found. Ultimately, he was able to make process improvements to bring the flooring lines to above 90% yield.

The photo shown above was taken In 1992 when Lewicki was presented with the Armstrong Innovation Award. This award was given to him for developing and co-inventing Fashion Tile I, which was an early version of glue-down Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT).

Once retired from Armstrong, Lewicki started his own consulting business called Lewicki International Entreprises, Inc. His skill set was to serve as an expert witness in patent litigation cases, and as a consultant to the building products in-

Today, Jack is working on a new patent he calls ‘Linoleum 3000™’. This new product is made with a variation of sustainable natural ingredients and includes a glueless installation system. Made into modular pieces of tile and plank sizes, this linoleum product is installed using today’s glueless ‘click together’ system to result in a floating floor. The other ingenious application for this product is that aside from it being installed as a flooring surface, it can be installed easily as a decorative wall covering. Since it is made from natural materials, it is mostly recyclable.

When he isn’t inventing new flooring products or serving as an expert witness, Jack spends time creating invention prototypes in the Woodcrest Villa woodshop.

Jack his wife, Pat and Nova, their Australian Labradoodle, moved to Woodcrest Villa in 2020 right before the pandemic.

Jack, who is a creative by nature, found an outlet for stress by working with his hands and creating various woodworking pieces through the years. Some of the pieces he has created have been a replica of the Washington Lantern, hope chests as wedding gifts for memvers of his family, and (pictured on the next page, top left), a sliding wooden barn door for inside their villa.

As Jack and Pat were bringing up their family, they created digital memories of their trips throughout the United States. The couple and their three children would spend summers soaking up the sun at the beach in Ocean City.

They would then venture into the mountains in Bromley, Vermont to go skiing. Their children fell in love with skiing and for 11-12 years the family would vacation in Vermont and spend time skiing. This was a wonderful activity for the Lewicki family.

On their son’s 16th birthday they headed out to the West coast to ski in Colorado. They instantly fell in love with skiing in the West and have skiied in CO, CA, NV, ID, WY, and UT. According to Jack, Utah has the best snow in the West.

The farthest that Jack traveled to ski was to Switzerland where he skiied down a glacier that was above 10,000 feet.

The excitement for adventure was

passed down to his grandchildren. Active in their lives, Lewicki would spend time with his grandchildren kayaking, going to their sporting events and finding the perfect Christmas tree at the tree farm that they owned called Lewicki’s Christmas Tree Farm.

The family owned the tree farm for 25 years with the goal of paying off their children’s college education, which they did!

Perhaps one of the most memorable moments for Jack is sharing his love of fly fishing with his children and grandchildren. It is a wonderful time to bond and share time with one another in nature.

Today, he continues to create invention protoypes in the WCV woodshop while Pat enjoys gardening. Nova loves his walks around campus.

Jack, Pat and Nova are always ready to

welcome guests into the villa when the doorbell rings.

Lewicki with his wife, Pat and their dog, Nova are pictured beside a sliding barn door that he and Pat created and brought to their villa at Woodcrest.

One of Jack’s hobbies is fly fishing and who better to go fly fishing than with your grandchildren. Pictured here left to right is Erin, Jack and Drew.

Jack skiing in Alta, Utah at age 72.

Woodcrest Villa (WCV) is excited to announce the addition of two electric car chargers that were recently installed in the VIVA Centre parking lot.

The need for the addition of electric car chargers arose due to increased requests from residents, their families and WCV guests who are making the switch to electric cars.

Though Villa residents can have a car charger installed in their garage for an additional fee, none have been available for residents who live in apartments.

Prior to installation, apartment residents, family members and guests needed to travel to Park City to access the nearest charging station.

After research, surveys, financial impli-

cation evaluations and need forecast, it was determined by the Mennonite Home Communities leadership team that Woodcrest Villa would receive two charging stations. Each charging station can charge up to two vehicles at once.

Charging station users are assessed a fee, per kWh that covers the purchase, installation and maintenance of the station.

It’s Electric Mennonite Home Increases Parking for Staff

Recently, Mennonite Home underwent a renovation to add onto the existing parking lot for staff members. For more than 20 years, daytime staff at Mennonite Home parked at Woodcrest Villa and took the campus shutttle to Mennonite Home.

The Employee Parking Lot at WCV was located where the Camellia Place villas are now built. The shuttle started every weekday at 4:50 a.m. and drove back and forth between Woodcrest Villa and Mennonite Home every 10 minutes, transporting employees to work until 9:00 a.m. The shuttle started up again at 1:05 p.m. and took employees back to their cars until 5:45 p.m.

More recently, the shuttle hours were shortened but, if an employee got caught in traffic and missed the shuttle, they had to wait 10 minutes for the next shuttle. This could make the employee

late for work. And at the end of the day the same thing could happen. The elevators might be busy and it would take longer to leave the building than expected, which would result in missing the shuttle. This impacted employees who needed to pick up children after school, day care, appointments, and just wanted to go home.

All of this changed on November 18, 2022, when Mennonite Home Communities opened the new Employee Parking Lot on the campus of Mennonite Home.

There was much planning and work that had to be done before the parking lot construction could even begin. First, the decision was made to take down the Juniata Building which once housed our Personal Care residents, to make room for the parking lot. All of the residents were moved to the Susquehanna Building. The Juniata Building was demol-

Mennonite Home Communities is excited about this new addition that answers a need for our residents. We remain committed to enriching the lives of our residents by serving together to envision a brighter future.

ished. Then in September 2022 work began on the new parking lot. D.H. Funk & Sons was the contractor for this project.

There are now 140 parking spaces in this new Employee Parking Lot at Mennonite Home. But the project isn’t finished yet, a final paving is scheduled sometime in the Spring of 2023. The project will then be complete! Employees are thankful for the ability to park on-site at Mennonite Home.

A Partnership In Sustainable Landscapes

In August 2022, Woodcrest Villa was invited by the Lancaster County Clean Water Partners to join Willow Valley and Homestead Village in a grant program, sponsored by the Kentfields Foundation, to implement sustainable landscapes on each campus.

Woodcrest Villa accepted the opportunity, especially because it complements the Little Conestoga Creek Blue/Green Corridor Project restoration process currently underway. (Little Conestoga Creek Blue/Green Corridor Project restoration is slated to reach the Woodcrest Villa/ Mennonite Home campuses in fall 2023, contingent on funding.)

The goals of the Kentfields Foundation grant are to:

1. Create a Green Master Plan that

includes educating and implementing sustain able landscaping on campus.

2. Educate and engage residents to help advocate for and support implementation of wildlife habitat, native landscaping, and practices that benefit water quality.

3. Guidance for staff members on funding, implementation and maintenance.

Two WCV residents, Steve Henning and John Carpenter, along with Woodcrest Villa staff members, are guiding Woodcrest Villa’s involvement in the project.

In fall 2022, personnel from Land Studies, a landscape architectural firm in Lancaster, PA, met with WCV residents and staff members to identify potential areas of focus on the campus. In the coming months,residents and staff will consider the recommendations of the great master plan htat has been developed by land studies.

Woodcrest Villa appreciates the opportunity to participate in this project because it will result in a plan to make the campus more sustainable, adding richness and beauty to our already beautiful acreage.

The Impact of CHaritable Gift Annuities On Your Financial Portfolio

Charitable Gift Annuitites (CGAs) have several attractive features: a lifetime of fixed regular payments, tax advantages, and the opportunity to support benevolent care at Mennonite Home Communities (MHC).

CGAs can be funded with cash, appreciated stock, or by converting an underperforming asset such as a savings account, money market fund or CD bearing little or no interest. A portion of your payments are free of income tax throughout your life expectancy! When you pass away, MHC receives the remaining gift for benevolent care.

Congress recently passed the Secure Act 2.0. You can make a once-in-a-lifetime tax-free distribution from your IRA for a gift annuity with the following restrictions:

• Maximum allowable distribution

amount of $50,000 in a single tax year (although not limited to a single gift)

• Income must be paid to the annuitant and/or to their spouse

• Annuitants must be 70 ½ or older

• All payments made to the recipients must be fully taxable (unlike traditional CGAs that include a tax-free portion)

• Payments must begin no later than one year from the date of funding, disqualifying deferred CGAs

If you would like to learn more about our Gift Annuity Program and its potential benefits for you, please contact Kim Peters, Director of Development, at kpeters@mennonitehome.org or 717-390-4105. You should consult your tax and/or legal advisors before implementing any transactions and/or strategies concerning your finances.

engaging Talent W

ORKFORCE CHALLENGES

The workforce has changed, and candidates have more requests then ever.

Employment applications dwindled during the COVID pandemic as less and less people worked or went back to work.

As an organization, Mennonite Home Communities (MHC) realized that the workforce changed during and since the pandemic, and they had to figure out how to adapt.

Team members are the key asset to Mennonite Home Communities, therefore, the MHC leader-

ship team continuously looks at ways to support current team members, and also ways to build and grow teams.

A key component to seeking the job seeker is through online involvement. The next step is to retain those new hires once they are recruited and have successfully made it in the door.

The MHC Executive Leadership Team listens to team members, doing their best to take staff suggestions into consideration, and implement those suggestions as they continue to review the workforce and needs of our residents. At the end of the day, the residents are the priority and MHC wants the best outcome and care for them.

The many non-profit continuing care retirement communities throughout Lancaster County can make recruiting difficult. The market is competitive and although the relationships are good with other communities, there is a need and each community struggles when it comes to workforce.

MHC has learned to adapt and change

the way they schedule jobs, including offering flexible scheduling or adjusting staff’s start and end time.

LANCASTER EMU PARTNERSHIP/WGAL NEWS COVERAGE

MHC strategically engages in building partnerships with organizations that share their vision and goals to provide the best care for residents.

The partnership with Lancaster Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) was in the works for a little over a year but recently become reality.

The University reached out to MHC in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic inquiring about starting up a program and partnership with a few surrounding retirement communities.

Conversation and brainstorming began about Lancaster EMU offering a program for Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA’s) but no one had an idea of what that would look like once it was up and running. It would be something they had

Once Lancaster EMU checked off all the boxes with the Department of Health & Department of Education, conversation began again with MHC.

Mennonite Home Communities had an idea to reach the community in a different way. The goal was to reach people within the community but also focus

never done at the University. Lancaster EMU would also need to gain some sort of buy-in from their corporate office which is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

EMU worked diligently with the Department of Health to meet certain criteria to be an approved program site.

When the decision was made to partner with Lancaster EMU, MHC had to figure out what that would look like for the candidate and what we could offer.

Mennonite Home pays the $1,400.00 fee that covered the entire cost of the program. Students and team members receive $18.00 per hour while learning. Participants are then ensured a position once they have completed the program and successfully pass the state exam to receive their certification.

The organization received more than 90 applications in the first few weeks. This was a challenge because there are only five spots available.

The next cohort will kick off in May of 2023. Partnerships also include Fairmount Homes and Landis Communities.

on some of the challenges in long-term care, the need of residents, and getting creative to build the Mennonite Home team.

WGAL News Anchor, Barbara Barr came to speak to staff members, residents and their EMU partners in order to promote the incentive program in an effort to help attract and retain Certified Nursing Assistants.

Since the segment aired on television, Mennonite Home received several calls from interested persons.

Mennonite Home Communities continues to explore employment trends in order to attract the best talent and those who have a desire to Be A Difference Maker®.

We strategically engage in building partnerships with organizations that share our vision and goals to enhance the best care for our residents.

Justin Lewis, MHC Recruiter, sits down with Barbara Barr, WGAL News Anchor, to discuss workforce challenges and the EMU partnership.

Mennonite Home Communities

1520 Harrisburg Pike

Lancaster, PA 17601

www.mennonitehome.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

“Soaring” is published three times a year by Mennonite Home Communities, 1520 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601. Mennonite Home Communities is a Pennsylvania non-profit organziation. A copy of the official registration and financial information of Mennonite Home Communities may be obtained from the PA Department of State by calling toll free within Pennsylvania 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. Please note: A donation or contribution to Mennonite Home Communities is purely voluntary. A contribution is in no way a requirement for the institution or continuation of any business relationship with Mennonite Home Communities. Also, a contribution is in no way a requirement for admission or continued stay at the facility. Residents of Mennonite Home Communities will receive the same standard of quality care, the provision of which is not conditioned on any contributions.

SOARING

Featured on the cover: Woodcrest Villa resident Jack Lewicki showcases several patents he has earned for his involvement in the science behind flooring products with Armstrong World Industries.

Soaring Committee Members: Elizabeth Harvey, Marcia Herneisen, Daniel Mortensen, Kim Peters, Justin Lewis, and Jess Sibbett

If you would like to receive information about Residental Living at Woodcrest Villa, call Amy at 717-390-4103.

If you would like to receive information about Personal Care or Health Care at Mennonite Home, call 717-390-7979.

28th Annual Golf Outing

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Meadia Heights Golf Club

If you wish to have your name removed from our mailing list, call Amy at 717-3904103. Thank you

We will see you on the golf course!

All golf spaces are filled. If you have questions, please contact Kim Peters at 717-390-4105.