[caption id="attachment_5329" align="aligncenter" width="500"] L'Don Sawyer, CEO of St. Luke's Home[/caption] Important Op Ed by CEO L'Don Sawyer that was published in the December 10th Arizona Daily Star. L'Don is Chair of the regional Elder Alliance Older Adult and Housing Action Team. A 76-year old woman tearfully told her story of living in a van after her two sisters died of cancer last year and then her van was hit by a car, demolishing her mobility and home. “My life is in storage in Sierra Vista,” she shared. Mary lost her home in the foreclosure crisis and lives now with an 80-year old who provides her a room in exchange for services around his home. A World War II vet lost his “job” house-sitting and was desperately seeking housing. “I…

  When David Godlewski, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders, first read about St. Luke's 100-year celebrations, he scheduled a visit to St. Luke's and asked CEO L'Don Sawyer, "How can I help?" A brief tour of St. Luke's quickly revealed the need for rejuvenation of the iron work and steel structures in front of St. Luke's, including in the East Courtyard where the kick-off event was held. Godlewski gathered several of his members including AB LeCocq Construction and the Home Builders Institute (HBI), which brought in a group of students to do the prepping. Dunn-Edwards donated all of the paint required. (Pictured above are John Gallagher of HBI in green and Octavio Mendivils of AB LeCocq Construction). As Godlewski said, “We are honored to have played a small…

St. Luke's van, which transports our Elders at no extra charge for shopping and other special occasions, had grown a bit worn and shabby from it years of service to St. Luke's Elders. Not any more!  Thanks to Az Litho, the vision of CEO L'Don Sawyer, Raim & Associates and the financial support of the Board of Visitors, the van is now wrapped in a cover that matches St. Luke's Report to the Community. A stunning, and highly  public display of the faces of our Elders, the beauty of our grounds and the pride and dignity that is central to St. Luke's. Today, we can all be proud of St. Luke's expanded presence in Southern Arizona as expressed through our brochures, annual reports, op eds  and other communications. Upgrading and beautifying…

Susan Kinkade, RN, BSN, CEN, Trauma Outreach/ Injury Prevention Coordinator at Banner University Medical Center led a clinic for the Elders and informational session for St. Luke's staff to heighten awareness on fall prevention. (She is pictured above, far right, leading Elders through fall prevention exercises). "Falls are the leading cause of serious injury and death among people aged 65 and older. Two thirds of those who fall will fall again within 6 months," Kinkade told Elders and staff. "And 25% of seniors who fracture a hip will die within six months of injury. The rate of falls for residents in care homes is twice as large as the rate of falls which occur for elders living in the community." She had good news too. There is much that can…

Father's Day Opportunity at St. Luke's St. Luke's is offering a special way this year to recognize your father or a father-figure in your life. Click on the link below to donate to St. Luke's in your father's honor, and, if requested, we will mail him a beautiful Father's Day card to let him know how much you love him and that a donation has been made in his honor. And from all of us at St. Luke's Home, thank you to the fathers, step-fathers and deeply kind men who profoundly shaped our lives. A very special Father's Day to all!  Just click here: https://www.stlukeshometucson.org/fathers-day-2018/

The 99th Baile de las Flores, held on April 21 at the Mountain Oyster Club, was a magical evening for all. More than 150 people attended the event and had a great time with the many special features including the Wheel of Whine, a raffle for the original painting, Suddenly Spooked, by local Artist Barry Sapp, a live DJ and live auctioneer Peter Collins. The evening also provided the opportunity, thanks to the generosity of our many donors, to successfully meet the Hillman Endowment Challenge Fund by the Connie Hillman Foundation.  Thirty-seven generous individuals stepped up and raised the necessary funds to match the $400,000 challenge, which means an additional contribution of $25,000, resulting in a fund total of $525,000.  And finally, a special call out to the hardworking committee members who made…

In college—Washington University in St. Louis. Yeah, go Bears!…If that’s still relevant!—I volunteered with the Campus Y and led a program called SAGE (Service Across GEnerations). We students would wake up early on Saturdays, hop on the school shuttle, and visit seniors at a nursing home. We played checkers and cards and talked to the seniors. There was Joyce, who enjoyed drawing penguins and who always called me Lou. And Mrs. Mosbey, a 90-year-old blind woman who listened to the radio and kept up with current affairs, who constantly ribbed me for being vegan. “You need to eat some meat,” she would say, “it’ll put some hair on your chest.” As delightful as the visits were, it was extremely difficult to get other students to participate. Whereas the program where…