St. Luke's Home June Newsletter         Stronger, Longer Health Initiative Ramps Up   Spend a few minutes chatting with Melissa Hernandez, Culinary Director and Executive Chef, at St. Luke's (pictured above) and her enthusiasm is infectious about St. Luke's implementation of the Stronger, Longer health initiative. St. Luke's is celebrating the strong role of better nutrition, daily movement and mental stimulation in healthier aging by offering a wider range of choices in each of these areas for Elders. Since January, Melissa and Selina Miramontes, Lead Cook, have attended three conferences on nutrition including one sponsored by the Association of Food Service Professionals and a Nutrition Alliance Conference one-day intensive in Phoenix. “I have loved the challenge of learning how to move the culinary program at St.…

  St. Luke's Home May Newsletter     A Tribute to Mothers from L'Don Sawyer: In honor of Mother's Day on May 13th,  I wanted to take the opportunity to  thank every mother in the St. Luke's family and offer a few of my own memories of how profoundly my mom, June Sawyer, (pictured above left) influenced my life. Our relationships with our mothers are typically fraught, fragile and fierce with feeling. Not one of us arrived on this earth without a mother whose own body grew, fed and gave us life. The beat and pulse of her provided the rhythms of our earliest days, and her touch imbued us with our sense of safety and love. My own mother inspired in me the deep love of Elders that has informed…

St. Luke's Home April Newsletter St. Luke's Represented at ALFA Conference   St. Luke's CEO L'Don Sawyer and Board Member Terri Waldman attended the Annual Spring Conference and Expo sponsored by the Arizona chapter of the Assisted Living Association of America. The Conference and Expo were held April 3-5 at the Wa-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center near Scottsdale. "The conference provided great information and discussion on issues facing assisted-living caregivers," Sawyer reported. "There was very good data on the caregiver shortages faced in our state and the changes that are being proposed in terms of training requirements for certified caregivers." The conference, which is held each spring, was attended by assisted-living providers from all over the state. Training sessions were offered on a range of areas including Elder Care, Medication…

  St. Luke's Home March Newsletter      Monthly Town Hall Meetings Invite Elder Input   St. Luke's Elders gather monthly for Town Hall meetings, a key component of St. Luke's Eden Model of assisted-living that invites Elders to fully participate in their community. Town Hall meetings always begin with an opening question that all are invited to answer. This month's query: what is your favorite flower? For the record, there were many roses and daisies with a few lotus and wisteria thrown in for good measure. But the meetings are not just frivolous and fun. St. Luke's CEO, L'Don Sawyer, (pictured above with microphone) presides over the meetings, which feature reports and discussion by Elders on a range of concerns and challenges. These have included how to live respectfully with…

  St. Luke's Home February Newsletter     UA Pharmacy Students Return to St. Luke's for SOAR Program The University of Arizona's 2018 SOAR (Student and Older Adult Relationship) program recently launched its third year at St. Luke's Home. The program brings first-year UA College of Pharmacy students to St. Luke's to work directly with the Elders. The program provides students opportunities in  areas such as practicing communication and interviewing skills, recording health histories, reconciling medication records, screening for inappropriate medication use, and assessing mental health and nutritional needs.  Jenene Spencer, PharmD, College of Pharmacy Instructor and Coordinator of the Tucson SOAR program, praised the innovation of SOAR in the way it combines didactic and experiential opportunities for the students. (Jenene is pictured above left with UA Pharmacy Student Thy Phi.) Students…

    St. Luke's Home January Newsletter         St. Luke's Eager to Build on Gains of 2017!     St. Luke's Home hits the new year eager to build on the many successes of 2017. In these early weeks of 2018, we want to thank all of our donors, volunteers and supporters for making last year such a great one and provide a quick overview, by the numbers, of St. Luke's many achievements: 1,113 opportunities for Elders to actively engage in life. On average, our Elders had 80 opportunities each month including shopping trips, hair cuts, Spanish classes, exercise classes, group games, nightly movies and educational presentations on a wide range of topics.  763 volunteers provided 6,481 hours worth of service in a range of areas assisting St.…

  St. Luke's Home December Newsletter       SAHBA Golf Tournament Proceeds Provide Big Boost to St. Luke's Home Representatives from the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA) visited St. Luke's recently to present a $15,000 check to Russell Burns, President of St. Luke's Board of Trustees and L'Don Sawyer, CEO. The total represented the proceeds from  SAHBA's  Charity Classic Golf at Omni Tucson National Resort  which took place on September 8th. David Godlewski, President of SAHBA, led the delegation to present the check. As he stated, "SAHBA is proud to support St. Luke’s Home through our 2017 Charity Golf Classic. Each year our organization picks an organization that fills an unmet need in housing or workforce development. St. Luke’s Home does an exceptional job and is an asset to…

  St. Luke's Home November Newsletter       St. Luke's Selected as Finalist in Fast Pitch Tucson  St. Luke's Home's CEO L'Don Sawyer was selected as one of seven finalists from a field of 17 area non-profits competing in Social Venture Partner's Fast Pitch Tucson. L'Don, pictured above at the third practice session, and six others will compete on November 9 at the Leo Rich Theater in front of a panel of judges and an expected standing-room-only audience to present their three minute “pitch” that best describes their non-profit organizations. Over the past two months, L’Don  has worked closely with her assigned mentors: Jan Knight, Bancroft Information Services  and Beth Miller of Beth L. Miller Communications. Other finalists are: Jennifer Moore, Abbie School; Liz Hernandez, Project Safe Place, Jewish Family…

  St. Luke's Home October Newsletter       St. Luke's Competes in Fast Pitch Tucson  St. Luke's Home was selected as one of 17 area non-profits to compete in Social Venture Partner's Fast Pitch Tucson. The competition is modeled like a typical venture-capital pitch. Participants work with mentors to boil down to three minutes a descriptive appeal to "sell" their nonprofits to donors and investors. Mentors Jan Knight, Bancroft Information Services (far left above) and Beth Miller of Beth L. Miller Communications (center) are pictured with St. Luke's CEO L'Don Sawyer during a recent practice session. Seven finalists will be announced the week of October 30th. The finalists will present their pitches in front of judges and the public on November 9 at the Leo Rich Teacher. A range…

  St. Luke's Home September Newsletter     UA Students Return to St. Luke's Home  The University of Arizona is back in session and that means UA students  have returned to St. Luke's Home as part of several different programs offered through the UA-St. Luke's Home partnership. Elder Sleep Study: Fourth-year pharmacy students Kimberly Sassenrath (pictured above left) and Sandy Lee will be part of a team of students on a Sleep Research Project and Study for St. Luke's Elders this fall. Lead Investigator is Jeannie Lee, PhamD, BCPS, FASHP.  The proposed study was presented to the Elders at the August Town Hall meeting at St. Luke's. Sassenrath and Lee shared details on the study to discern Elder interest in participating. A sizable number of Elders indicated they would like to…