ISSUE 1/FALL 2022
LIFELines LIFE SENIOR SERVICES
LIFE’S SENIOR CAMPUS | LIFE’S ACTIVE SENIOR CENTERS | ADULT DAY HEALTH
Find out more about LIFE’s New Senior Campus
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A Note from Eileen Bradshaw, Thanks for taking the time to look through our first-ever LIFELines. We put this together because we want you to know what’s going on at LIFE Senior Services. There is so much we want to share—stories of interesting people and intriguing happenings, and services we provide that might help you or a friend. We want you to be in the know because we realize all that LIFE does is only possible because of generous people like you who give their time and their dollars. I guess you could view this as a shareholder’s report apprising you of outcomes, and letting you know the return on your investment. As you read, please know how grateful we are for your support. Also, please check out our story on LIFE’s Senior Campus and the the Roma Berry Center for Seniors. This new campus for seniors will provide
great space and great opportunities to expand our services. As LIFE approaches its 50th birthday, with this new opportunity so close on the horizon, Robert Browning’s words come to mind, “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be!” Best,
Eileen Bradshaw, President and CEO LIFE Senior Services, Inc. and Affiliates
With your help, LIFE supports seniors, caregivers, and the community with opportunities and resources throughout the aging process. Take a look at some of the programs you support through LIFE. SENIORLINE: The first place to call for questions about aging services and situations. (918) 664-9000.
free tax preparation and filing from February - April to qualifying individuals.
ADULT DAY HEALTH: Nationally accredited centers provide safe, cost-effective care, health monitoring, and flexible daily enrichment activities for seniors and other adults in a safe, friendly, and supportive setting.
CASE MANAGEMENT: Assesses needs and coordinates a personalized social, economic, and environmental support plan enabling seniors to remain safely at home.
ACTIVE SENIOR CENTERS: Offer a variety of social, creative, educational, and fitness activities supporting healthy aging, staying active, and sharing time with friends. LIFE PACE: Provides care and comprehensive, integrated support services for qualified individuals. PACE’s unique team-based approach results in positive health outcomes and dramatically reduces hospitalizations. MEDICARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (MAP): Oklahoma’s most comprehensive counseling service helping beneficiaries understand and navigate Medicare Part D. VOLUNTEERS FOR LIFE: Provides meaningful volunteer opportunities for seniors and retirees throughout our community. TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TAP): The only only such site in Oklahoma. The program provides assistance with
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BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: Provides valuable information, education, and collaboration on mental health and senior issues to reduce the related possibilities of higher healthcare use, lower quality of life, caregiver stress, and suicide risk. COMMUNITY EDUCATION: Opportunities for the entire community with online and in-person options. Offerings include wellness topics, cooking, creative writing and more. PUBLICATIONS: LIFE’s Vintage Newsmagazine, published monthly, and the annual LIFE’s Vintage Guide to Housing & Services, Oklahoma’s most comprehensive guide to senior resources, have both won National Mature Media awards. VINTAGE HOUSING: Comfortable and affordable community-based housing for seniors with limited resources.
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A Day in the LIFE with Dan McAllister
“What I enjoy most in my limited time with them is if I get a person in the car who is not up for the day, my instinct is to help get them in a good mood.” DAN MCALLISTER
Dan likes to talk and get to know the people he drives. “A lot of the passengers are going to medical destinations where they will be uncomfortable.” It brings Dan satisfaction to make them feel better as they go about their day.
People provide the heart of any service organization. The best offer a welcoming smile, genuine personal interest, and a lighthearted approach. Take Dan McAllister. He retired from a long career as vice president of employee relations for City Year, a national organization devoted to improving educational outcomes for students in under-resourced communities. Now semi-retired, Dan looks forward to driving LIFE’s program participants each day. Having recently started his new career at LIFE, in his self-deprecatingly way Dan stated, “I just wanted to do something to get out of the house.” He looked for a job as a driver; turns out the job with LIFE was driving people. “The people I drive face some kind of obstacle, usually medical.”
One of his more interesting passengers mentioned, “My dad moved our family to Nashville, but we were there for a few months and he didn’t become famous, so we moved to Tulsa.” It turns out this man’s father moved to Oklahoma, worked with Merle Haggard, and co-wrote one of his biggest hits. One weekly rider brings a bag of laundry and Dan drops him off at the laundromat. If Dan is lucky enough, and another driver isn’t assigned, he gets to pick him back up a few hours later. “He is so together and the nicest guy.“ Many of the people Dan drives have had tough lives and he understands which topics to avoid. He prefers to bring joy to his passengers and never upsets them. His sense of humor, rich life experiences, and genuine interest in people place him up front “making LIFE better for generations.”
LIFE Donor Profile: Leslie and Bob Pritchard Leslie and Bob support LIFE as volunteers, event chairs, as ambassadors in the community, and with financial support. Caring for my aging parents, I kept hearing about the services you provide; helping people sign up for Medicare, preparing taxes, Adult Day Health Care, the PACE program, and I’m excited about the new Senior Campus. As I worked on Celebrate LIFE I enjoyed the dedication and joy of the staff. That joy spills over into the community. I’m honored to be a part of it.”
LESLIE PRITCHARD
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LIFE’s New Senior Campus Looks to the Future 4 LIFELines
With LIFE Senior Services poised to celebrate 50 years of sustained effort to preserve independence for Seniors, comes the addition of a new Senior Campus. LIFE’s Senior Campus will fulfill a long-held goal of improving service delivery by offering three of our signature programs, Adult Day Health, Active Senior Center, and LIFE PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) at one site. A donor made possible the acquisition of the nine-acre former Bates Elementary site in December 2020. The campus project includes renovating the 39,000 square foot school building to create the Roma Berry Center for Seniors. Additionally, the designs include new construction of an 8,450 square foot gymnasium and activity center and an extensive outdoor program area. Current site plans, including parking, apply to approximately three acres of the location leaving six acres available for future growth.
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“It is exciting to think of how this location will allow us to reach more people and provide more options.” EILEEN BRADSHAW
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“The over-50 percentage of our population is growing. LIFE Senior Services envisions this new campus as a place where we can better meet the varying needs of seniors. It is exciting to think of how this location will allow us to reach more people and provide more options,” said Eileen Bradshaw, President and CEO of LIFE Senior Services. LIFE is grateful to the donors and supporters who have helped us reach 90% of the $13,267,012 goal. “It has been such a thrill and honor working with such forward thinking, loving, determined people who are generously making this project possible,” said Carolyn Blair, Major Gifts Officer for LIFE. With plans for a fall ground breaking, the fully-funded campaign will allow LIFE to renovate the former building, construct a new gymnasium and activity center, provide outdoor program areas, walkways, and gardens, create a maintenance fund, and provide program support.
If you would like to give to the LIFE Senior Campus or need more information, please contact Carolyn Blair at (918) 664-9000 x-1239.
LIFE’s Senior Campus Donors
We are grateful for the early support of LIFE’s Senior Campus from: Robin F. Ballenger Grace and Franklin Bernsen Foundation Sanford and Irene Burnstein Foundation The Cronk Family, in memory of Dr. Robert Cronk and Dr. Gerald Cronk Lindsay and Ron Fick Founders of Doctors’ Hospital, Inc. E.L. and Thelma Gaylord Foundation Hardesty Family Foundation Mary H. Lhevine, in memory of Dr. Paul F. Orr J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation Challenge Grant Bruce Magoon, in memory of Brenda Magoon Morningcrest Healthcare Foundation Ruth Nelson The Oxley Foundation Bob and Leslie Pritchard William S. Smith Charitable Trust Southwood Landscape & Garden Center/Virginia Schulte The A.R. and Marylouise Tandy Foundation David E. and Cassie L. Temple Foundation Susan and Bill Thomas, Jill and Bob Thomas, in honor of Ruth Nelson City of Tulsa, through federal award by the U.S. Department of Treasury City of Tulsa/CDBG Tulsa County UnitedHealthcare Empowering Health Grant The William K. Warren Foundation WPX The Kathleen P. Westby Foundation The Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation
Because our receipt of the Mabee challenge grant funds is dependent on raising $3,726,354 by April 12, 2023, your gift could enable us to meet the challenge and receive the $2,000,000 in funding from the Mabee Foundation. ISSUE 1/FALL 2022 5
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Active Senior Centers are Judy’s LIFE line
When you meet Judy, she immediately feels like a long-time friend. She leads with her quick, gentle smile as she enthusiastically shares why she participates as a member of LIFE’s East Side Senior Center. “During the pandemic, I didn’t feel comfortable going out, and without a place to go I got depressed; I’m a people person. When I found East Side and they started letting us come with masks and made sure we had our vaccinations, I felt comfortable and protected. My depression quickly went away.” “There are so many different activities. For instance, the arthritis in my knees won’t allow me to do line dancing or pickleball, but we just started a new activity called cornhole and I just love it. I also love to exercise on the equipment and I play bridge, canasta, and Rummikub. You have to really use your brain on that game. I feel comfortable knowing that someone is here who can take care of me if something happens. East Side became my safe haven.” Friendships add another dimension to Judy’s experiences. “The socialization here is wonderful. People of all phases of life come here and we learn from each other. There is a
lady dealing with a husband who has dementia. It makes me feel good to listen to her and give her support. I’m not “I’m not a psychologist, a psychologist, but I do have a heart but I do have and I can relate to her a heart and I can relate to feelings. I can offer her her feelings. I a sounding board and can offer her a she can be there for sounding board me, too.” and she can be JUDY there for me too.” Judy is excited about her upcoming move into an independent living apartment complex. She learned about it listening to one of LIFE’s guest speakers. “You know I’m relieved. I was feeling sorry for myself. I felt like I had lost everything when my husband died, my mom died, and I retired early. I felt like I had no reason to keep going, but now I do.”
A former DHS child welfare supervisor and music therapist, Judy retired early to provide end-of-life care for both her mother and husband. “I really didn’t want to retire, but I was very fortunate to spend those 2½ years at home taking care of them. They were so appreciative.”
Active Senior Centers, Variety is the Spice of LIFE Through the services you support at our Active Senior Centers, women and men find vitality through exercise, movement, dance, volunteer opportunities, social connection, and opportunities to learn. Having the chance to engage physically, socially, and mentally helps steer people to a happier more independent LIFE. Pickleball, the current hot fitness trend, tends to level the court between experienced and less serious athletes. If you come by one of our centers you will likely find a heated match 6 LIFELines
between unlikely rivals, all shared with smiles and good-natured fun. Card games, writing classes, choral group, art classes, luncheons and the like enable participants to keep their minds sharp while building a circle of friends. Our supporters make sure there is literally something for everyone, all at an affordable membership cost. See the wide array of creative and engaging offerings our two active Senior Centers offer at www.LIFEseniorservices.org.
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Adult Day Health Participants Experience the World
LIFE’s Adult Day Health (ADH) programs provide accredited, cost-effective care, health monitoring, and flexible daily enrichment activities for seniors and other adults. Amberly Villegas, the creative, visionary activity director, plans those daily happenings. Although new to the position, she envisions every site will soon have a waiting list of people eagerly saying, “I want to go there, I want to be a part of that, how do I get in? Can I volunteer?” How does she plan to do it? With imaginative, immersive ideas that allow participants at any level or modification of activity to join the fun. Most weeks, they enjoy activities with a themed approach. Fridays arrive with props to take pictures for later recollection with a saloon background for Western Week, a beach for Shark Week, fireworks for Patriot Week, etc. One of the participants’ favorites was All Aboard to Hawaii. The ADH team planned a luau party and cookout, grilled banana boats, had a Hula Hoop contest, sandpaper painting, and the integral armchair travel component. The energetic staff arranged furniture like a plane and participants used their pre-printed boarding passes to take a seat where they were served snacks. Then, passengers watched a comedic video of in-flight instructions and an actual clip of a plane landing in Honolulu. Yes, the travelers all received leis upon landing and actual hula dancers entertained.
“It takes a community to let our seniors know they are remembered.” AMBERLY VILLEGAS
For ADH programs, Amberly says LIFE welcomes donors and encourages volunteers who want to share their time and talent if they have a specialty in something like painting, entertaining or working with hair. “There is so much greatness in our community and if they want to be a part of something, we’re here.” “Many seniors’ friends, brothers, and sisters may have died or moved away. They can get lonely and feel forgotten. I’ve watched our people go through the grieving process of not being able to live the life they once had. Taking the time to talk with them and to ask how their day is going means so much; seniors have so many stories and experiences. I do what I do because every day I get to make someone smile.” Amberly will tell you, “It takes a community to let our seniors know they are valued. It is important to remind the community they are still here.” LIFE is here to help.
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Your Mama Don’t Dance, But You Sure Should. Line Dance
East Side Line Dancers
Brenda Craige, Sam Gillantine (Center) and Earle Goodman
Sam Gillentine has the no-nonsense external demeanor of a retired Navy veteran. Along with that, he has a quick laugh that lets you know he attends the Active Senior Center to have a good time and wants others to do so as well. As a charter member of LIFE’s Senior Center at East Side pickleball, Sam enjoys reflecting on the early days, “The players were really ragged at first. We started with a group hitting the ball back and forth and laughing the whole time. Gradually, we got better. Now, you can get four pretty good players together and it gets competitive. With the newer players we take it easy and don’t overpower them. In addition to pickleball, the former community volunteer for military hospice patients and the TPS Bike Club, Sam
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commits himself fully by taking an active role helping lead line dancing at East Side. “My parents were very religious and when it came to social dancing they opted us out, so I never learned to dance as a kid. For me this was difficult. I left my early classes so many times saying I’m never coming back, I’m never gonna get this.” But Sam persisted and ultimately became a reluctant leader insisting it is not a one-man show. Coordinating with three or four other organizers in the group, they have a total of about 80 unique dances accompanied by a wide variety of musical styles. With each lively session at East Side the group goes through over a dozen dances. When asked if he remembers all 80 of the dances, Sam chuckled and said, “Well, we do the best we can, but the ones we are doing now, yes.”
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