A Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony was held on Monday, May 27th to honor all soldiers who have died in service to our nation and to recognize the nearly 20% of St. Luke’s Elders who served in the military
George Lopez, American Legion Post 59 Commander, led the Pledge of Allegiance and presided over the flag-raising ceremony. Other special guests were the American Legion Riders who arrived on their motorcycles. The flag, donated to St. Luke’s by the Legionnaires, was hoisted to full staff and then slowly lowered to half-staff.
St. Luke’s CEO Linda Hollis offered words of honor and respect for the fallen. Cass Eastham, a military veteran and Administrative Assistant at St. Luke’s, announced the names, ranks, and branches of service of St Luke’s Home’s Elder Veterans.
The commemoration continued indoors with patriotic songs, like America the Beautiful, led by St. Luke’s Home community member Jean at the piano and Gretchen leading the singing. The St. Luke’s culinary team created a special lunch of barbecued burgers and hotdogs. And the festivities continued after lunch with an acapella musical presentation by the group Desert Harmony.
St. Luke’s Loves our Veterans!
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THANK YOU!!
UA Students Keep Clinics Thriving at St. Luke’s
Students from the University of Arizona schools of Pharmacy, Medicine and Nutrition have stepped up to ensure that the partnership clinics offered at St. Luke’s Home with UA continue to enrich the lives of Elders and students.
The Inter-Professional Education and Practice (IPEP) first launched at St. Luke’s in 2014 with the goal of providing geriatric training to health science students with direct access to the Elder population. The program was threatened when the major grant supporting IPEP was not renewed last year.
Since inception, IPEP has had waiting lists of students eager to participate. Not surprisingly, the new program, now called Inter-Professional Education (IEP), is student-driven and equally popular for students and Elders. Students eagerly undertook the planning and organization that has ensured the clinics continue.
Clinics will resume with the fall semester. Dates for the 2019-2020 IEP clinics: September 28, October 26, November 23, January 25, February 22 and March 28. Among the topics expected to be covered are nutrition evaluations, med safety, heart and dental health.
Shout Out to the 100th Anniversary Committee
The St. Luke’s Home May Newsletter mistakenly identified the chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee. We apologize for the error: Debby Johnson ably chaired the 100th Anniversary Committee.
We would like to again thank the 100th Anniversary Committee for its leadership and the amazing work they completed to celebrate St. Luke’s in the Desert’s century of service. For more than three years, members of the committee dedicated enormous amounts of time, attention to detail, and creativity organizing our celebration.
The successful events they presented included the Cinco de Mayo Elder Luncheon chaired by Cynthia Cobb, the 100th Anniversary Fall Recognition Event chaired by Merrily Davis, the Chapel Chat chaired by Jere Voigt and Debby Johnson, the Tucson Festival of Books booth chaired by Sandie Witthoft and Becky Henne, and the 100th Baile de las Flores chaired by Mary Greene.
In addition, the committee published the St. Luke’s in the Desert Story: A Century of Service to the Community, which was featured at the Tucson Festival of Books St. Luke’s Home booth. Chaired by Mary Greene and Jere Voigt and written and researched by David Devine, the book documents a 100-year chronological history of St. Luke’s in the Desert.
A very special thanks to the Committee for the amazing events, their dedication and commitment to the St. Luke’s Home and the Elders who make it their home.
Committee members pictured above from left include: Pat Bjorhovde, Jere Voigt, Mary Greene, Becky Henne, Sandie Witthoft, Debby Johnson, Cynthia Cobb and Merrily Davis.
St. Luke Volunteers Honored at Special Ceremony
A beautiful ceremony was held May 13 in the St. Luke’s Chapel to honor the many volunteers who dedicate their time and expertise on behalf of all the Elders at St. Luke’s. Sally Krommes, (front row, second from left), oversees volunteer services at St. Luke’s. She shared with attendees a range of statistics that demonstrate the vital role volunteers play in St. Luke’s daily operations:
457 individuals and 41 different groups provided 8000 hours of service to St. Luke’s in 2018 including keeping our grounds beautiful, painting, hosting movies for the Elders, staffing the front desk, calling Bingo games, styling hair, officiating at a nondenominational weekly service, presiding over social circles and serving on the St. Luke’s Board of Directors.
The Board of Visitors provided an additional 3000 hours of service hosting birthday parties for the Elders, and planning the range of commemorating activities for our community’s 100 years.
Student volunteer hours bump the final tally to more than 13,000 hours of volunteer service provided during 2018, which totals nearly 1100 hours a month.
Independent Sector, a national organization has assessed the value of a volunteer hour of service at $24.69. At that rate, those 13,000 hours of service to St. Luke’s represent an in-kind donation of nearly $321,000!
A very special thanks to the many individuals and organizations who profoundly enrich the lives of St. Luke’s Elders. We simply could not do it without you!
Happenings at St. Luke’s Home Mark Your Calendars!
National Charity Hosts Bingo: Saturday, June 8, at 2 p.m. St. Luke’s
R Salon Day Spa & Studio B Designs: Monday June 17 at 1 p.m, St. Luke’s
Elder Birthday Party: Thursday, June 27, 2 p.m., Music TBD at St. Luke’s
Med-Start Summer Program: Sunday, June 30, 10 AM, for Games and Art Projects at St. Luke’s.