Rolla Presbyterian Manor
DECEMBER 2020
Rolla Presbyterian Manor loves to celebrate the Christmas season. The community is decorated like usual, but the festivities look quite different.
Nurse Spotlight: Jackie Keeney She joined the health care staff in September, but Jackie Keeney already knows Rolla Presbyterian Manor like the back of her hand. The licensed practical nurse worked here before, from about 1995 – 2000.
The leadership team sees holidays as an opportunity to show appreciation to both staff members and residents. That’s never more the case than during Christmas, the season of giving.
In the interim, she worked at a couple of different senior living communities. “It’s not that I was totally unhappy, but I know they have excellent management here,” Jackie said. “They care about the employees, and the residents are well cared for and treated with the utmost respect. I was just craving that homelike environment.”
Jackie Keeney
A few things have changed since the turn of the century. For example, the nursing staff no longer uses a paper charting system, so Jackie had to learn the computerized records program. But many of her colleague’s faces are familiar from her first stint at Presbyterian Manor. And the high standard of care is the same as she remembered. Though she was hired to work the evening shift, Jackie sometimes fills in on nights, which she doesn’t mind. In her free time, Jackie enjoys reading, shopping and hiking the trails around the Rolla area. She is also a gardener who favors flowers because she “likes to have a pretty yard.” Jackie studied nursing at Rolla Technical Institute, and earned her licensure 28 years ago. She has spent her whole career working with older people, both in senior living communities and in transitional care and rehab at Phelps Health, where she worked for 16 years. “They’re my favorite group of people,” she said. “I get more back from them than I give.”u
Presbyterian Manor celebrates Christmas differently this year
Carmen Payne, dining services director, coordinates many of these efforts. This year, she has come up with creative solutions to celebrate despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. “This year is kind of scary,” Carmen said. “We don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen or how it’s going to come off.” Nevertheless, she has managed to brainstorm safe ways to mark the season. Instead of “Santa” giving out gifts to employees’ children in the traditional way, Carmen is planning a “drive-by Santa.” “I think that will be kind of unique and interesting for the kids,” Carmen said. “They’ll still get something from Santa, but CHRISTMAS – continued on page 3
Rolla Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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Three Reasons to Celebrate Christmas in 2020 By Allen Teal, Chaplain
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2, KJV).
What we choose to dwell on influences our mood, our outlook and our attitude. We might find it easy right now to see far more negative than positive surrounding us. Much of what we have heard and seen during the year 2020 has focused on the bad things. As we approach Christmas, redirecting our sight to the positive message of the Savior can improve our state of mind. Christmas reminds us of God’s love. God sent his Son to be the Savior because He loved the people of the world. Celebrating Christmas, even a toned-down version, can provide our spirits a lift. Giving gifts to bless those we love returns a blessing to us also. The Bible tells us that giving comes with rewards that exceed those of receiving.
Christmas speaks of a brighter future. The premise guiding the Christmas story is more about tomorrow than today. Christ did not come to the earth just to improve our mortal existence. He came to offer us eternal life. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Our travel through this life serves only as the on-ramp for eternity if Christ lives in us.
gifts to offer him. These “wise men” grasped that this birth brought more than just another human king. Hebrew prophets had foretold this birth. A star, a celestial sign, heralded the event. The coming reign of Christ promises a future dominated by peace and goodwill for all. Merry Christmas!u
Christmas points toward Christ the King. At the birth of Christ, rulers from the east made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Bethlehem to pay homage to a newborn king. This event made such an impression on them that they brought expensive
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Community Matters 573-364-7336 ◆ Fax: 573-364-7495 1200 Homelife Plaza Rolla, MO 65401-2595 RollaPresbyterianManor.org
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020
is published monthly for residents and friends of Rolla Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: lfreeland@PMMA.org Ann Caudill, executive director Joelle Freeland, marketing director
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.
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, RollaPresbyterianManor.org/ covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays for the week ending the following Sunday. Visitation status is updated as needed in between due to outbreak or health department orders. You can also send your loved one a digital Christmas Card from our Art is Ageless® card collection. Email the card to your campus contact for delivery, or send
CHRISTMAS – continued from page 1
we’ll be social distancing, and we won’t bring anything in that could harm someone at the Manor.” Each manager will take one of the 12 days of Christmas to provide a small gift for each resident. Each small offering will relate to the classic holiday song and incorporate Christian themes. No holiday would be complete without food, but this isn’t the year for big communal meals. Instead, Carmen has ordered special, individually wrapped treats for residents. They can also have a meal with up to two family members, although the visitors are separated by plexiglass panels.
directly to your loved one via their email address. With cases on the rise, we remind you to practice basic safety measures to keep yourselves and others safe from COVID-19. Whenever you leave your residence or are in the presence of others, wear a cloth mask or face covering over your nose and mouth, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol-based gel, and maintain a safe social distance of six feet or more between yourself and others with whom you do not live. Practicing these simple safety measures can help stop the spread of COVID-19.u
with a carry-in meal, but that’s not possible this year. For Thanksgiving, Carmen improvised by giving a pie to each staff member.
If at all possible, Carmen said she would like to figure out how to provide a Christmas meal for staff in a safe way.
“Since we can’t do a huge dinner, we at least wanted to give them something to let them know that we’re thinking of them,” Carmen said.
“Our staff is really going above and beyond,” Carmen said. “They put in long hours, and they’ve done hard work, and they deserve everything we can give them.”u
Making Christmas special for all of us!
One of the main ways Presbyterian Manor staff celebrates holidays is Rolla Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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COMMUNITY MATTERS | December 2020