Category: Blog

Pool Monitors are resident volunteers who give their time to safeguard individuals who use the pool. Our monitors go to the pool to work for us! Some of the friends and neighbors you will see sitting at the poolside monitor’s table are interviewed here.

These folks share some common characteristics, which include the love of water and water sports, the love of exercise and wellbeing, the love of friends and friendship, and the love of Tel Hai and its staff and residents. For sharing and caring and being willing to accept added responsibility for the wellbeing of their friends and neighbors, we thank all of our pool monitors and we highlight them in our ‘Volunteer Spotlight.’

When asked about the training needed to become a pool monitor, Tel Hai Wellness employee Gwynne explains that she meets with a prospective monitor and spends about a half hour going over emergency procedures, general safety guidelines, what to look for. “The biggest thing” Gwynne adds, “is that without them, the pool would have VERY limited hours. Although there are times when their shift is quiet, their presence provides options. “She adds the monitors are helpful to those who need it – especially those with walkers or access issues. And they are great socializers helping orient folks new to Tel Hai.”  Wellness employee Judy adds, “Many years ago, we only opened with a lifeguard on duty and the hours were very limited. This has really opened up our ability to program.”

Catherine Cattell tells us she became a monitor when Judy asked her to, and she has been a pool monitor for four years. She has always been a very active person and used pools in other locations prior to moving to Tel Hai explaining, “It helps with my arthritis.” If she has time to get in the water herself she finds water walking to be most beneficial. She admits that she was a little intimidated at first thinking about the daunting task of potentially having to save someone’s life! Luckily, she adds, “I haven’t had to do that.” She enjoys getting to know so many residents and becoming friendly with people she might not see otherwise.

Skip Emery has been a pool monitor for two years. When asked what he likes about monitoring at the pool, Skip tells us, “I find the best part is the water volleyball! Our grandson came to visit one day while I was monitoring for water volleyball, and he was asked to play volleyball with the residents.  Unsure about wanting to play with all the old people, he hesitated but went ahead and had a really great time.” That led to a challenge because his grandson insisted, “It’s harder than it looks!”  Skip started playing, and now he is having some of the fun.

Jack Burmeister started monitoring to help his friend Rod Muthard, and now he has been monitoring for four years. Jack tells us, “The best part of monitoring is watching other people enjoy the valuable exercise.” In between swimmers, Jack likes to run the machine that cleans the pool. He tells us he has always been a clean freak. Jack really enjoys volleyball especially when a visiting group comes to play. Both the Twin Valley Honor Society and the swim team have come to challenge us to a game, and they are so full of energy it makes for a really good game. It’s so refreshing to be with them. Ever the tease, Jack tells us, “The work is a lot of fun, but the pay isn’t that good….”

Mimsie Brookes started monitoring in 2007 shortly after she moved here with her husband, Dan. She explains that she always liked swimming and water sports. Having grown up around swimming pools, Mimsie just likes the feeling she gets when spending time around pools and all the fun they provide. She tells us, she and Dan had an in ground pool at the home they lived in before moving here. She enjoys watching others enjoy the activities and finds it fun just to be around the folks who love the water. Mimsie adds, “An added bonus of monitoring is simply watching friends and passersby who pause to knock on the window to share a friendly greeting and say hello.”

Rich Toscano used to swim at the Y, but he has been a monitor here for one year. He tells us he has been around water his entire life whether swimming or lifeguarding. He enjoys volunteering during the quiet hour when the endurance swimmers come to do the serious laps. He can relax in the peace and quiet of monitoring while folks swim or relax in the hot tub.

Joan Nauta started volunteering as a pool monitor even before she moved here. For more than four years, she’s been a monitor enjoying the warmth of the pool environment. Originally from Pennsylvania, Joan moved to Florida only to return back to begin living at Tel Hai. Joan loves to linger in the warmth because it gives her a feeling of Florida. She tells us, “I always loved the pool and became a life guard when I was 40. I was a physical therapist assistant and enjoyed taking patients into the pool.”

Lin Williams has also been monitoring for four years. While still too young to become a resident, she started volunteering after having her physical therapist suggest water exercises to continue her therapy. She has been hooked ever since. Lin and her husband, Bob, are residents now, and she emphasizes the benefit she received from water exercise, telling us how much it helped her through her therapeutic process to be in the pool. She tells us she would like to see more therapists to utilize the pool and have the residents reap the benefits.

Robin LaDrew also has been a monitor for more than four years. A member of a local Masters swim team, Robin used to teach swimming lessons. She tells us, “I just simply love the water!” Robin adds that whether she’s playing or monitoring water volleyball, being by the pool simply melts her troubles away. There are so many fun and relaxing activities to do in the pool, and Robin loves them all!

Sandy Schoeninger has been a pool monitor for three years. She tells us she just loves the pool and has been in and around pools a lot during her lifetime. She likes exercising and finds water activities to be a great form of exercise. Her friends helped motivate her to become a pool monitor. Because many of the monitors were her friends, she realized they could monitor for each other and have the pool be open longer hours! Sandy knew she wasn’t going to move to a community without a pool and decided our pool was an important reason to come Tel Hai. She started volunteering because it fit her schedule so comfortably.

Bob Klumpp became a pool monitor about four years ago, and he started monitoring simply because he was asked. Bob tells us, “Every Tuesday and Thursday the residents get together for a friendly game of water volleyball, and I get the fun job of watching them one day a week.”

Dave Paton has been a pool monitor for five years. He has always loved swimming and enjoyed obtaining the swimming lifesaving certificate in high school. Dave enjoys the monitoring, but his enjoyment is not limited to monitoring because he also really enjoys participating.  He joins the water volleyball games with the residents and staff, and tells us, “Monitoring the pool just doesn’t seem like work. It’s so enjoyable.”

Margaret Ionni has been a monitor for five years, and she likes the pool. She wishes more people would utilize the area more often, especially for physical therapy needs because there is such potential benefit in water exercise. She also adds, “The pool was one of the main reasons I became a resident here, and I wouldn’t have gone to a place that didn’t have such a nice pool!”

Herb Horikawa has been monitoring for about a year and a half. His initial interest in volunteering in the pool was so he could swim and decided monitoring was just a good. He enjoys being able to help people by monitoring while they enjoy the water. When asked what his favorite part of monitoring was he simply replied, “Nothing in particular. But my least favorite part is Thursdays.” He continued with a grin that, “Water volleyball is on Thursdays. It’s fun to watch, but I do a lot of walking around to get the ball!”

All the pool monitors agreed that being helpful at the pool is rewarding, energizing, and fun, and working with employees Gwynne and Judy is an added pleasure. They love the flexible hours and socializing and agree it is one of the best volunteer opportunities available here at Tel Hai. For giving their time to pool safety and for caring about our general wellbeing while exercising or enjoying water activities in the swimming pool, we thank all of our monitors and we highlight them in our ‘Volunteer Spotlight!’

What do you think of when you hear the number 10? A gymnast landing a vault… a perfect 10! A grade-schooler acing a quiz… a perfect 10! Perhaps the Ten Commandments… also a perfect 10!

Well for me, it’s two fold. It’s been 10 days since I began my professional journey at Tel Hai Retirement Community as the new Director of Communications. And in my short tenure since joining the team, it’s clear to see that Tel Hai is a 10!

Ten doesn’t mean that Tel Hai is perfect, and ten doesn’t mean that we can’t consistently improve our campus, services and the delivery of those services to our residents, employees and greater community.

What a ten means to me, is that Tel Hai is special. It’s a special place for those that call it ‘my home,’ call it ‘my employer,’ and call it ‘my future.’

1. It’s a place of respect. You see ‘respect’ in action daily at Tel Hai by just walking through the halls. Perhaps it’s an employee helping a resident with their lunch tray, or a therapy aide assisting a resident in a mobility exercise. The respect given and received is contagious.

2. It’s a place of worship. For those who have been on the campus, you may hear the chapel bells three times a day at 8:00 AM, Noon and 6:00 PM. It’s a gentle reminder of the mission of Tel Hai to demonstrate Christ’s love for all persons.

3. It’s a place of smiles. From staff to residents, everyone smiles here! It’s genuine, it’s refreshing and it’s purely a Tel Hai trait.

4. It’s a place of commitment. In just the last few days, we’ve had snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Our dedicated Maintenance Team has weathered the storm by keeping all those who visit and travel throughout our 149-acre campus safe, with their diligent treatment of roads, sidewalks and pathways.

5. It’s a place of security. Making a move to a retirement community can be stressful and conflicting. Working through the decision with a spouse and adult child often comes with making a list of pro’s and con’s of ‘why should we’ or ‘why shouldn’t we.’ In just 10 days, I’ve heard from almost every resident that coming to Tel Hai was the best decision they ever made. They feel safe and secure.

6. It’s a place of creativity. From the Wood Shop to resident paintings and art displays, creativity is ingrained into the culture of Tel Hai. Art is celebrated, skills are honed, and talents are transformed.

7. It’s a place of growth. StoneCroft, our newest residential living apartments, will soon be open! The anticipation of adding new residents, new common areas, and new life into the community is exciting!

8. It’s a place of teamwork. Employees and residents alike are rowing in the same direction. I had the opportunity to attend a Peer to Peer Committee meeting, where residents and the Marketing Team employ honest dialog, feedback and teamwork to create the best tour experience possible for our future residents.

9. It’s a place of trust. Many have entrusted Tel Hai to be the provider, the healer, and the employer. That trust is the foundation for our operations. Every action, every decision, and every lesson learned is built on trust.

10. It’s a place of fun. While walking to a meeting, I overheard laughter and pure joy coming from the pool. Lo and behold, an intense game of watervolleyball was underway. I wanted to grab my suit and jump in! What fun!

For those 10 reasons— in 10 days— Tel Hai is a 10!

Friends of Tel Hai… What do you think makes Tel Hai a 10?

Jolene Weaver

Director of Communications

Like the past year, the last days of 2014 are whizzing by!  The weather report this morning for New Year’s eve was “clear and cold,” forecasting clear skies to enjoy fireworks, but, if you are going to be outside as you ring in the New Year,  be sure to bundle up as a temperature of only 27 degrees is projected. Burr!

So, as we close another year and welcome 2015 what are you looking forward to? Typical for most of us is a mixture of personal and family related aspirations with a few New Year resolutions sprinkled in.  For the Tel Hai family what’s ahead?

–   First, a plug to avail yourself of a wealth of life enrichment, wellness and volunteer activities already in place and published in the Tel Hai newsletters like What’s New. (Click here to see the January issue). At the start of a new year these activities offer a wide variety of ways to develop a new interest, discover a hidden talent or gain new friends!

–   Our annual Blood Drive with the Miller-Keystone Blood Center will be January 20 in the Chapel.

–   The new year will usher in new leadership at Tel Hai – Keeli Looper becomes the new VP for Human Resources, Amy Whary assumes Keeli’s former role – Director of Volunteer Services and Jolene Weaver comes to Tel Hai as the new Director of Communications.

–   Lakeview’s new memory support neighborhood – Maple View, is scheduled to open in February.

–   The new StoneCroft facilities are slated to open mid-year and the opportunity to welcome 150 new residents. These facilities will include 105 new apartments of the Bluestone and Greystone buildings, as well as the StoneCroft Commons building.

–   Later this spring, the public phase of the StoneCroft Capital Campaign will be launched. We are excited with the generosity displayed within the initial “leadership” phase of this campaign.

–   Throughout the year we will take steps to participate in a new partnership known as CHAPa, the Covenant Health Alliance of Pennsylvania, a regional group of Mennonite and Brethren Retirement Communities. The purpose of this joint venture is to develop an integrated post-acute care delivery system to assure strong partnerships with local health systems and payer sources.

–   2015 will provide the opportunity to start Phase 4 of Tel Hai’s Master Plan. In January we plan to start marketing the Cottage portion of this project (19 units) with the goal to start construction in the fall. Marketing of the apartment phase of the project (Brownstone) is also tentatively scheduled to start in the fall.

Whatever your relationship to Tel Hai – resident, staff member, volunteer or other – may you experience a happy and healthy New Year!

Joe Swartz

President & CEO

As an employee in the past and as a volunteer today “good will and good cheer” describe the manner in which Betty Dowd lives her life. She is an intentionally busy person and likes it that way.
Betty and husband, George, joined the Tel Hai community from West Chester more than ten years ago and enjoyed the good life here. She also has been volunteering for most of those ten years.

Betty’s journey to Tel Hai was sparked by an experience she had while working in case management at a local hospital. Seeing a family of five adult children (all working professionals) struggle to come up with a way to meet their mother’s needs made a deep impression on Betty and she became determined to set plans for her own future—and not leave it to her family or chance.

Betty tells us, “I decided that my children were not going to have to go through that experience. I wanted to choose where I was going to live!”Betty remembered hearing many good remarks from hospital staff whenever a Tel Hai resident was admitted, so she and her husband George came to have a look. After visiting Tel Hai and meeting the residents here they were convinced. Even as she faced the loss of George years later, Betty found comfort in her circle of friends as they all “rallied around me and helped me through it.”

Her first volunteer task undertaken is still a favorite today. As a Garrett Community Center front desk receptionist she continues to enjoy the visibility and opportunity to greet so many people. “I get to participate in so many conversations. I just love the work!” Betty has also driven our campus shuttle and embellishes the labels for our Ladies Luncheons with her beautiful penmanship. “My mother always wrote beautifully. I learned the Palmer method of penmanship and practiced it regularly because I wanted to have handwriting as precise as my mother’s,” Betty replied.

Betty served two terms on Resident Council, one as vice-chair. She lives out her faith serving on the Worship Committee assisting all three pastors on campus and the residents who worship in the Chapel by reading scripture or helping collect the offering. On the Trip Committee, Betty helped plan trips to places far-far away, as well as jaunts to local destinations as she initiated a trip to QVC and to the Bird-in-Hand plays.

An eager helper in marketing events and activities, Betty often registers guests or serves refreshments during the popular Day in the Country event. She adds her beautiful penmanship to the birthday cards sent to future residents, too. For all of her good will and good cheer while serving others, we thank Betty Dowd and we highlight her in our Volunteer Spotlight.

The Honey Brook Food Pantry opened as a temporary “mobile unit” offering distributions to income eligible residents of the Twin Valley School District on the last Wednesday of the month beginning January 31, 2014.  The food pantry, offered support by the Chester County Food Bank, learned its location would become permanent by the time the six month trial was concluded. Located at Door #8 at the Good Food Distribution Center at 5064 Horseshoe Pike in Honey Brook, the response from local families has underscored the need.
State approval of the organization’s Articles of Incorporation in August and formation of the Honey Brook Food Pantry’s first Board of Directors were important next steps. Among the Directors are the new Principal of the Honey Brook Elementary Center; Sybil Oswalt, Tel Hai Dietitian and Tel Hai resident, Tom Tracy.  Approximately 80 dedicated men and women volunteer at the pantry ensuring the monthly distributions are a success.

Items provided represent a five-day balanced food supply.  The number of participants served has grown exponentially over the past eleven months.  There are over 450 “food insecure” families who have registered and 700 individuals are served monthly. The pantry is open twice each month—on the 2nd Wednesday from 10:00am until 1:30pm and on the 3rd Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:30pm. If you are interested in helping the pantry in its work we are always looking for the following nonperishable foods:

• pasta, rice, macaroni & cheese, spaghetti sauce
• instant potatoes, breakfast cereal
•  peanut butter, jelly, soup, canned fruit
• tuna, stew and pasta meals

Looking for other ways you can help?

• Donate cash and grocery store gift cards
• Volunteer to pick up donations from food drives or local grocers
• Organize a food drive at your church or work place
• Collect personal items for donation (oral care items, soap, deodorant, and shampoo) or organize a fund raiser

We can all work together to make a difference in the lives of our neighbors. I hope you’ll join us!

Sybil Oswalt

RD, CSG, LDN

Clinical Dietitian

This month’s Volunteer Spotlight shines on three who come in from the outside to give their time and energy inside our Physical Therapy Department. We have several resident volunteers who also devote some of their volunteer hours to Physical Therapy; however, this time we want to tell you about the three who come in from the outside on a regular basis.  For their devotion and care, we celebrate our great Physical Therapy volunteers: Bill Rigg, Frank Baer, and Joyce Rock.

Bill Rigg has been volunteering for at least five years following his father’s experience with therapy here. He got to see first-hand how the department operates and met the caring staff. He tells us, “The staff adds their very personal touch and works to ensure each resident is matched with the right staff to facilitate a comfortable and cooperative energy in the routine.”

The work is sometimes difficult and challenging, but this personality matching seems to work well moving toward complete rehabilitation. Bill explains, “In rehab, some people can be stubborn, especially with the added stress of injury or surgery, but I have seen the staff work wonders even with REALLY STUBORN people!”

Bill loves being helpful and friendly, and, most of all, he likes to chat with people he is helping. He tells us, “One of my favorite things to do is transporting people and listening to their stories as we move between their rooms and PT.”

Frank Baer has been a volunteer for about 2 years. He experienced Physical Therapy personally after falling into harm’s way in a tractor accident. He also returned as a short-term resident after five-way-heart by-pass surgery. Frank is a man of strong faith in the Lord; he tells us his faith helped him through his difficult times, and now he likes to share his success story with residents as a way of encouraging them to continue with the routines rehab asks them to do.

Joyce Rock is our third “outsider” who came in to Tel Hai Physical Therapy Rehab department to volunteer. She started volunteering in 2001, over 13 years ago! “Initially,” she tells us, “I saw volunteering was a way to keep busy after my husband passed away.” She heard about us from a few friends, and even knows some of our residents. Joyce explains that she sensed Tel Hai would be a great place to volunteer. Ah…But she adds, “I remember, when I first started here I had to take a written test in order to volunteer in PT; however, the techniques I learned through the questions on those tests continue to this day to help me remember important facts about assisting residents.”

Joyce has a pure love of helping the elderly, and she tells us, “I wouldn’t dream of volunteering anywhere else!” She truly looks forward to her weekly Wednesday schedule in PT and feels that it’s not only the residents that get something out of her efforts. Joyce recognizes that she also benefits. She tries not to get too attached to the residents she is helping; but, she adds, “Sometimes that’s difficult because a bond just happens between us and we become friends.” She sees residents weekly, and feels honored to be a part of their recovery journey. She says “I especially love seeing residents make positive strides from week to week.”

When asked about Frank, Bill, and Joyce, staff tells us: “We love our volunteers because they are so supportive of our staff and truly are a part of our rehab team.” They go on to say, “All three volunteers bring rays of sunshine to our Rehab residents as they transport them to and from the department. They are always patient, gentle and caring, and lift the resident’s spirits as they offer encouragement during treatments.”

Staff explains that additional benefits come from the volunteers’ personal experiences. Through their experience with rehabilitation, they prove that the hard work required can and will pay off.

For all three who came inside from the outside to give time, energy, enthusiasm, encouragement, and so very much more to our rehab residents, we thank our Physical Therapy volunteers: Bill Rigg, Frank Baer, and Joyce Rock.

On Monday, September 22, I was invited to attend an informal ceremony on campus initiated by OPTUM Hospice staff to recognize another Tel Hai resident for his service to our country. Mahlon Rossiter was the honoree on this day; his room in the Meadows Health Care Center was filled with family and friends to mark the occasion.

The Hospice-Veteran Partnerships were established in November 2001 with a focus on improving end-of-life care for veterans across the country. The coalition joins Veterans Affairs facilities, community hospices, state hospice organizations and others to “work together to ensure excellent care is provided to our nations’ Veterans and their families.” Kathleen O’Connor, OPTUM’s Volunteer Coordinator, was joined by her coworkers and two instructors from the Valley Forge Military Academy who made the formal presentation. The men in uniform conducted the pinning ceremony, read the certificate of appreciation and presented Mr. Rossiter’s wife of 67 years with a small US flag.

The most important part of the ceremony was initiated by the instructors’ enthusiasm as they urged Mr. Rossiter to talk about his Navy experiences. His service was significant and long. Mahlon shared his path through flight training from 1942 to his commissioning in March 1945. “Then they dropped the bomb,” Mahlon added. Honorably discharged in July 1946, he was recalled to active duty with an antisubmarine squadron in March 1951 and was deployed to Far East duty aboard the USS Sicily. “Life on board was great!” he added emphatically. Honorably discharged again in 1953, he then served in the Navy Reserves, retiring in 1969 as a Lt. Commander having completed 27 years of military service and 3,000 flight hours. An impressive record, indeed!

We all were moved by Mr. Rossiter’s open appreciation of the life he has shared with his wife, Faye, and the touching recollections of each member of the Veterans Group in attendance. It was an honor to be part of this celebration of life and service. I can only imagine how many other wonderful “stories” are out there on campus waiting to be told.

Sue Garthwaite

PR Coordinator

PHOTO: Certificate presented to Mahlon Rossiter in appreciation of his long service in the US Navy and Navy Reserves. Mr. Rossiter passed away on Tuesday, September 30.

That is, wind-blown and breathless, we became part of the select few who actually get to see Mount McKinley. The winds broke the hold the clouds had on the mountain – revealing its majesty and beauty. The Great One – or Denali – as the locals had named it, long before President McKinley could ever have imagined he would have had the honor, looms big on the horizon and in almost every story Alaskans love to tell.

We are having fun traveling through Alaska – a land of the midnight sun. It is light when we go to sleep and light again when we wake up. On our Tundra Wilderness experience, we traveled four hours to a spectacular view of Denali and another four hours on the return trip. Along the way, we saw a lot of big, brawny grizzly bears, one beautiful blond teen-age grizzly, and one momma with two cubs – nature at its best – at once intimidating, exhilarating, graceful, and beautiful. In addition, we saw moose and caribou, which, by the way, look strikingly like Santa’s reindeer!  Hmmmm…  makes me wonder…  it is just a short hop to Santa’s workshop as we are a mere 1200 miles from the North Pole.

Everything grows big in the Alaskan tundra: the mountains, the bears, the moose, the caribou, even the rabbits; that is, everything grows big except the trees. There are no really big trees here because they don’t get enough sunlight to grow very much in year’s time. Varieties of spruce and birch mostly, these trees only grow to be 10 or 12 feet tall and ever-so-skinny but beautiful none the less. The spruce trees bundle all of their pine cones at the very top so they can gather sunshine – as much as possible to continue their species!

As we write, we are traveling from Denali to Anchorage on the McKinley Explorer scenic railroad, which follows the Nenana River – milky with its glacial sediment – braiding its way through the Alaskan mountain range. Diminished by the sheer size of the mountains, left breathless by beauty of the river and the clarity of the skies above, we are refreshed and uplifted with our travels.  “What a Wonderful World” indeed!

Eager to see everyone when we return home, we send our love to Tel Hai all the way from Alaska,

Harold and Fran Atkins

For six Tuesdays this summer, Tel Hai staff are partnering with the Indian Run mobile home park’s camp for children who range in age from pre-school to junior high. The program held in their community center involves two shifts of workers helping on-site camp counselors. Between  80 – 100 youngsters participate in this program throughout the summer. On Thursdays of these same weeks—between June 24 and August 5—we are also providing lunches for teens at the center.

Now as the new school year approaches we would like to equip the children for their return with a backpack filled with supplies as outlined by their local schools. We have asked residents and their families, staff and community members to “adopt” a child to be sure they are well prepared to start the new school year by picking up a backpack in the “big yellow school bus” box in the Garrett Community Center lobby on the Tel Hai campus. In partnering with Wal-Mart we were able to purchase more than 100 backpacks—each with a labeled list of needed school supplies identified by grade: K through 3rd, 4th through 7th and 8th through 12th. Anyone adopting a backpack is asked to shop the list of supplies and return the full backpack to the Volunteer Services Office in the Garrett Community Center by Friday, August 8th.

The well-stocked backpacks will be distributed to the children participating in the Indian Run community center program on Friday, August 15th. We look forward to sending them off to school with all their needed supplies and a Rita’s Water Ice. What better way to bring your summer break to a close!

Questions about the program can be directed to Keeli Looper, Director of Volunteer Services at Tel Hai by calling 610-273-9333, ext. 2010 or via email at klooper@telhai.org