Commun ty Matters Wichita Presbyterian Manor
Lifestyle changes key to Alzheimer’s prevention We now have a prescription that researchers think can delay or prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s not a pill, it’s a list of lifestyle choices. Results from a landmark study announced this summer show that having a healthy lifestyle may be the key. “It’s the first time we have been able to give people a kind of recipe for what is useful,” said Maria Carrillo, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer’s Association. More than 5 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, and it is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. Millions more will likely develop dementia as the baby boomers age. In the study, researchers looked at 1,260 people in Finland from 60 to 77 years old, who were at risk for Alzheimer’s. One group went on a lifestyle improvement program and the other group received general health advice. The results were dramatic. The lifestyle program included: Eat well: Start by adding fruits and vegetables to your regular diet. Ease out fats and fried foods, and always choose whole grains rather than highly refined bakery products. BRAIN, continued on page 3
November 2014
‘Hurry Back’ Artist advances to first place with painting Nancy Luttrell could see them just sitting there— two dogs, one black, one golden, in a car in front of her neighbor’s house, waiting for their owner to return. The image struck her. “Hurry Back,” a painting by Nancy Luttrell Luttrell snapped a quick photo. Later, she took it to her easel and rendered the scene in watercolor. Her painting, “Hurry Back,” went on to win first in the amateur painting category this year at Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s Art is Ageless competition. Then, Luttrell’s piece placed first overall at the systemwide Masterpiece level, in which winners compete from all 18 Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America communities in Kansas and Missouri. “It was so unexpected,” said Luttrell, who lives in Wichita. “I’m still an amateur, so I still try to make an apple look like an apple. I just wanted to make the dogs look like dogs.” Luttrell first tried her hand at visual arts less than five years ago, first with a drawing class at the Wichita Center for the Arts and then moving on to painting classes. Her profession, however, is in the performing arts. Luttrell was a professor of violin at Wichita State University for more than 30 years, and she served as associate concertmaster in the Wichita Symphony until she retired in 2012. She still performs with the symphony. Her husband, Steve, conducted the Youth Symphony for several years and also taught music at Wichita Southeast and Newton high schools. She didn’t have time for art until retirement, Luttrell said. Now, she said, “I just want to get better.” Luttrell has joined the Kansas Art Guild and showed some of her work this fall in an exhibit at College Hill United Methodist Church. She’d like to participate in more. “I’ve just painted so many things, I needed to get them out of the house,” she laughed.
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Fall activities Above: Residents and staff enjoy a chili cook-off. Left: Assisted living resident Mary Hageman makes festive “spider” cookies. Below left: Residents at a fashion show at Botanica during the 2014 Senior Expo.
Community Matters
is published monthly for residents and friends of Wichita Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Dawn Veh, executive director Amy Watson, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Mary Angela Page, activities director, mpage@pmma.org. Telephone: 316-942-7456 Fax: 316-941-3806 Address: 4700 W. 13th St., Wichita, KS 67212-5575 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. WichitaPresbyterianManor.org
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Below right: Independent Living Resident Jean Brewer and Rev. Laura Frazey during our Pastor Appreciation Breakfast. Below: Residents enjoy a visit to the Kansas Firefighters Museum.
New decade, new locations, new services This month, we continue to look back at our history as Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America celebrates 65 years of the art of life.
The 1980s brought growth in independent living options on many Presbyterian Manor campuses. New duplexes and apartments were constructed in Parsons, Lawrence, Wichita and Salina. It also brought construction of two new campuses and health care additions at the Wichita and Rolla campuses.
The first scholarships were given in 1981. Those funds served as seed for today’s Employee Education Assistance Grants.
Consideration of additional campuses continued through the 1980s as well. Efforts to raise funds for a Presbyterian Manor at Hays were not successful, and By early 1980, the United after thorough study, the board Presbyterian Foundation of Kansas’ authorized sale of the property in joint project with the Manhattan June 1980. The next year, a group Retirement Foundation was open. of citizens in Emporia petitioned PMMA continued to provide for construction of a campus in that management services for the new community, and a period of study Meadowlark Hills until July 1, 1981. and fundraising began. Additional campuses in Missouri also were Salina Presbyterian Manor opened considered in Jefferson City and its doors in February 1980, Springfield. and work started on additional apartments almost immediately. The PMMA board voted to sell In addition to the expansion of Mid-Continent Presbyterian the physical plant, two important Manor, a campus formerly operated programs of PMMA began in 1980. by the Board of Pensions of the Residents, staff and advisory board Presbyterian Church of the United members were invited to submit art States. Residents of the campus, and poetry for potential inclusion in located in Kansas City, Mo., were the inaugural Art is Ageless calendar. given the option of moving to the Kansas City, Kan., campus. The sale A donor’s $10,000 gift established was completed in 1983. the Education Fund for PMMA employees, residents and trustees. New services and new needs also
From left, Salina Mayor Karen Graves, Milton Morrison and Harry Steele.
The newly constructed six-story independent living apartment building at Salina Presbyterian Manor.
were explored. With the support of the Synod of Mid-America, PMMA worked to establish a campus for severely physically handicapped adults in Hutchinson. Home health care for residents living independently on PMMA campuses was started in 1984. Piloted in Salina, the service was expanded to other campuses before the end of the year.
reading, pursuing a hobby, playing a musical instrument Move more: “We shouldn’t just be encouraging people or singing. Having a purpose involves brain flexing, as well. For this, you can set goals and follow through or to exercise, we should discourage them from being solve a problem, for example. sedentary,” one researcher said. Researchers found that moderate activity such as chores and walking – not just Social interaction: Social relationships foster high-intensity exercise such as jogging, swimming or support, and this connectedness, as we grow older, biking – can protect the thinking process. Taking a walk is critical to our wellness. When we converse, our after dinner is an excellent habit. Always consult your brains are busy dealing with the activities of listening, physician before beginning an exercise program. observing, understanding and conversing.You can Brain games: Two excellent ways to train your brain is combine some of these activities for added impact, such to flex it and have a purpose. Things you can do on your as playing cards, joining an exercise class, participating own include working a crossword puzzle or jumble, in a book club and attending a lecture. BRAIN, continued from page 1
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Wichita Presbyterian Manor 4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 Return Service Requested
Oil painters exhibit in November
Board of trustees tour Above: Bruce Shogren, PMMA CEO, prepares the Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America board of trustees for touring the new commons area at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. Above left: Shogren listens to the PMMA board of trustees’ “wow” remarks about the new common areas of The Westerly at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. From left, Shogren, Jim Cook and Ron Ridgway, board chairman, both of St. Louis, Stan Churchill, PMMA attorney, Eleanor Nelson of Lenexa, and Don Harris of Dodge City. Left: Board of trustees members tour the new commons area at Wichita Presbyterian Manor. Residents anticipate moving into their new homes in November. 4
The Kansas Academy of Oil Painters is an art guild composed of professional and semiprofessional artists from the Wichita area, working in both oil and acrylic . Guild members are our artists of the month for November. Everyone is invited to a meetand-greet artists reception in the crystal dining room from 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 13.