The Arch News
Indiana Masonic Home * 690 State Street * 317-736-6141 * 317-736-5258 *
/ Executive Director’s Corner
I first would like to thank everyone who participated in the Grand Lodge groundbreaking ceremony last month. This is an exciting time for our campus. All departments at IMH were involved in making this a successful event. I also believe we had a bit of “divine intervention” with such a beautiful spring day. It would not have been so lovely without all of their help and your participation.
Communication in 2014.
In keeping with our theme, this June you will be receiving a flier and test phone call from our new broadcast by phone system. We will use this to alert all residents of severe weather, emergency information or when there may be other pertinent information necessary to get out to our residents quickly. An example may be, due to the constructionwe will have to shut off a street or utility for a period of time.
This is the same systems that schools and city governments use when issuing emergency alerts.
Prior to this test alert you will receive in your mailbox a flier that will explain the program, give you directives and confirm phone numbers we have on file for you. Via this flier, we are asking that you notify us of additional phone numbers or errors in the numbers we will use for the system. As an example; we have a home phone number but you would like us to add you and your spouse’s cell phone number(s). We can do so.
Our emergency list will only be as accurate going forward as the information we receive. If you change your phone number(s) please notify the front reception area so we can update the listing.
Dawn Wendel, Executive Director
Concerts on the Canal
Join IMH for a canal concert. We have three (3) reserved tables at three (3) concerts to enjoy the sights and sounds of downtown. You can enjoy a stroll down the canal, free admission to the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center followed by a box dinner provided by our own Morrison Food Service.
Performances are 6 to 8 p.m. Bus will leave at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, May 29: The Woomblies
Popular Motown, Soul and Rock
Thursday, June 12: Hopkins and Miller
Sunset Stomp Jazz: 1920s and 1930s
Thursday, July 31: Jessie Brown
Country, Rock, Soul /
Life Time Care
There are two types of residency plans at the Indiana Masonic Home (IMH). The Entrance Fee/Pay Plan and Fraternal Care (assignment of assets) Plan. Both plans are Continuing Care Agreements where IMH will take care of the resident(s) even if they have or would in the future, exhaust their funds. This month we will focus on the Entrance Fee/ Pay Plan:
Entrance Fee/Pay Plan – eligibility includes:
- Master Mason or member of Eastern Star
- Master Mason’s widow
- Good Standing within the fraternity (for preceding 5 years)
- Minimum of sixty two (62) years old
- Meet financial requirements
What does this cover:
In the village, the monthly maintenance fee includes water, sewer, internal and external maintenance for the residence, and grounds care (mowing of grass, trimming of bushes, snow removal).
In residential (Ball Brothers, Main Building,), the monthly FULL SERVICE maintenance fee includes housing, gas and electric utilities, water, housekeeping services, laundry, medication management, wireless protect alert pendant, three (3) meals a day/365 a year, and all campus nursing services. The LIMITED SERVICE does not include any meals.
For more information on this plan, please contact Kate Cline or Donnie Robinette in the Business Development Office at 317-736-6141. / Broken Column
Over 50 residents and members of the community gathered at Greenlawn Cemetery in Franklin for the Annual “Broken Column” memorial service. The Broken Column monument is located in the center of the Masonic Section of the cemetery. Each year after Memorial Day, residents and staff gather to read the names of residents who went to the Celestial Lodge above in the past year.
This year, thanks to the detective work of residents Nancy Baker and Carolyn Wessel, we were able to identify and read the names of all the residents who served in military uniform since the Civil War. After their names were read, they were given a full military salute. Doves were released and the music of Bagpipes gave tribute.
On the way back to the IMH, the bus stopped at the rock. A prayer of thanksgiving was offered for all the IMH kids who were veterans. Memorial services are important because they connect us with our storied past. They remind us that we all are family. No one will be forgotten.
/ / News from the Administrator
I remember reading somewhere that happiness comes when we stop complaining about our problems, and begin to be thankful for the problems we don't have. During my 20 years in long-term care I have ministered to hundreds of persons with a whole variety of health issues and problems. What I have observed through the years is that quite often the people who have a lot they could complain about, complain very little, but those folks who have very little to complain about complain the most and the loudest.
I recall an elderly woman on a video I used to show nursing students I worked with from the University of Indianapolis who said, “I don’t think we change much as we grow older. I think we are just what we have always been only more so”. That struck me as a very true statement that flies in the face of the over generalization we typically use when it comes to the elderly. We often think that it is natural for older people to become cranky, crotchety, rude, mean and nasty as they grow older, but that is simply not so. Many of our residents look around and see others who are facing more challenges than they, and are grateful for their own lesser ones. There are a number of residents who age with grace through the most difficult of circumstances and are able to smile, laugh and keep on dancing through it all.
I have often told people that even your best friends will only come to a pity party once. The quickest way of ridding yourself of any friends at all is to feel sorry for yourself and complain all the time. People enjoy being around others who make them feel good about themselves and who are upbeat and joyous persons who complain very little and most often rejoice and express thankfulness even in the midst of their problems. As we count our blessings and are thankful for the problems we don’t have, we bring others around us closer to the joy, peace and love that is at the very heart of wholeness.
The groundbreaking last week was a time of great joy and celebration for the IMH family. What we build now will bring quality of life for hundreds of people yet to beacon our doors. The futuregives us much to look forward to, rejoice about and celebrate. Stop complaining about your problems and be thankful for the problems you don’t have! Start today and you’ll begin to see the world around you changing!
John S. Eley, H.F.A. /
Annual Plant Sale
Receipts of over $1,300 were accumulated with the sale of remaining annual flowers. Our community could not have such beautiful plantings throughout the campus without all of the many hours and volunteers necessary. The funds raised from this sale will go 100% back into the greenhouse and a new winter garden program. Thank you to all who participated.
Air Conditioning and Fire Extinguisher Service
Facility Services will be conducting service evaluations on all air conditioning units for independent residents. Fire extinguisher checks will also be completed. Contact Megan Schmidt with any questions.317-346-1467
Dementia Care Unit Update
The new early/mid stage Dementia Unit on 1D in the Health Care Center is moving forward with the construction. The updated emergency call system is in place, painting has begun, cabinets have been ordered, and landscaping has been scheduled. June 23rd is the anticipated date to begin caring for those needing this space. We will still be in the process of remodeling, but want to offer these necessary services ASAP. We will have a more formal open house for the wing when it is completed. For more information, regarding admission to this unit please call 317-736-6141 and ask for Rhonda Johnson.