By James Coburn, Staff Writer

If you told Ryan Bell when he attended nursing school that he would be a hospice nurse, he would have thought you were “off your rocker”.
Today, Bell is more than content and gratefully enriched by serving as the Regional Director of Operations at Kindful Hospice in Oklahoma City.
“Once I got into it, I fell in love with it,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything different. I don’t foresee myself ever going into any other line of nursing.”
Bell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism before switching careers. He has primarily worked in hospice for nine years since graduating from nursing school from Metro Technology Center in Oklahoma City.
“We started Kindful about three years ago,” Bell said of what was once a small mom-and-pop, pre-existing hospice in Norman and Ada with 11 patients.
Now Kindful Hospice has grown to serve nearly 300 hospice patients with comfort and compassion. Nobody is treated as a number at Kindful Hospice. Patients are treated like family. (story continues below)

“We are one of the ones that actually do,” he emphasized.
His staff are among the most compassionate people he has ever worked with. They give of themselves until one would think they have surpassed their energy level. But they give some more.
“They just pour into our patients an incredible amount of love and compassion towards them,” Bell explained.
Hospice nurses work with what is perhaps the most vulnerable of patient populations. Case manager Vanessa Rodriguez, RN, keeps her spirit strong by having a good foundation with God. To give of oneself as a hospice nurse is totally fulfilling, she said.
“From my experience, we can help them get their wings. They get to meet Jesus — it’s helping them up through the journey,” Rodriguez said. “Taking care of them is really kind of self-care in itself because you get to spend that time with them, connecting with them, and making sure they’re comfortable in the process.”
She also makes sure to invest in activities that fulfill her soul such as hiking with her children. Recently, she has re-established exercise goals as key to stamina. And she is mindful of the need to be empathetic with family members and their loved ones in hospice. COVID-19 was a challenge for family members visiting loved ones outside a window of a long-term care facility. The nursing staff gave kindness so not to be a stranger sitting beside somebody taking their last breath, she said.
“For me it’s having a strong faith and that’s what helps me,” Rodriguez said. “It’s different for everyone, but I thank God every day for the opportunities to help his children.”
Her grandma is what brought her to hospice. She had been working in intensive care units and cardiac. Rodriguez lost both her parents at a young age, so her grandmother was part of her core strength of inspiration. She was 99.
“When she got sick it was hard for me, and she had a hospice nurse — she had a light over her — and I thought that would be the most amazing thing to ever do,” Rodriguez said. “And so, I jumped in — for me it was my grandma. She just touched my life.”
What she reveres the most about Kindful Hospice is knowing patients and family members who open the door of acceptance for her to be part of their lives. Just walking along beside them in their journey is an opportunity to fortify faith.
“Some of them aren’t believers, and that’s fine. So just to help them with were they’re comfortable is to learn something different about each one of them,” she said. “It’s something that helped me grow in just meeting them where they’re at.”
There are different variations among families. Not everyone is able to be with their dying family members when the final second comes. Every experience is different, and Kindful Hospice embraces the opportunity for the staff to give what is needed.
She is available to help educate the probable timeline when asked the toughest question: How long does mom have?
Rodriguez always tries to prepare family members to expect the unexpected, she said.
“We have a trajectory of knowing the signs and symptoms of what we are watching for. I always try to over prepare versus under prepare. Sometimes you miss it, but you do your best.”
Rodriguez tries not to compare patient to one another but individualizes their care plans to meet their needs.
It’s helping each individual patient reach their end-of-life goal. Bereavement coordinators follow the patients’ families for at least 13 months after their loved on passes away. No one is left alone.
An entire interdisciplinary team offers a circle of care, including doctors, nurses, CNAs, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers have one goal in mind.
“That is to provide the best care we possibly can to the people who are put in our path to care for,” Bell said.
For more information about Kindful Hospice and Palliative and Virtual Care visit:
https://kindfulhospice.com.

By Steven Sibley, MBA/Healthcare Administration

On August 1st, 2021 I turned 65. Like every American, I needed to make a decision about Medicare. Timeline for that decision is 3 months before the month of your 65th birthday, through the 3 months after your birth month. Fortunately, my wife and I are Medicare agents, so I was well prepared for this decision. Unfortunately, most veterans, whether on Tricare, VA care or both are not. It’s training we never really received. I know, I was in the military for 36 years, 15 Active and 21 Reserve and served in both the Air Force and Army. I retired from the Active Reserve at age 61. During my last two years of service, I attended multiple Transition Assistance courses on retiring from Active Duty and the Reserve. You can leave the service and still not know how the healthcare really works, whether you only did 4 years or 20, and you certainly won’t remember by the time you turn 65.
You see, they really don’t teach you enough about this process while you are in the service. For me, the education came after I retired and decided on a career as a Medicare agent. Now, I want to share that information with every veteran I know who has Tricare, VA care or both, who is qualified for Medicare. In my case, I have the ultimate in health care coverage. I retired in September of 2017 with Tricare Prime and eventually a 100% VA disability rating. In addition, I am married to a healthcare provider. That being said, at age 65, Tricare changes. (story continues below)

If you are a retired veteran, under the age of 65, you typically have Tricare, the health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families around the world. It provides comprehensive coverage to all beneficiaries, including: Health plans, Prescriptions and Dental plans and it’s managed by the Defense Health Agency. When you turn 65, this changes to Tricare for Life (TFL). TFL combines Original Medicare Part A, Hospitalization (inpatient) coverage, Medicare Part B, Primary Care (outpatient) coverage which essentially only covers about 80% of the cost of your care, with TFL provided as a zero premium “wrap around” coverage for the 20% of non-covered Medicare benefits plus Prescription Drug coverage. Also, TFL is administered by Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS) not the government.
Here is the point of my message, Veterans can miss out on additional benefits because they are unaware of their eligibility for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans or Medicare Part C. These plans work with TFL to provide even more benefits than Original Medicare, which may include vision and dental, that TFL clients must pay for in addition to their TFL plan. These MA plans may also include Medicare Part B premium reductions, and additional wellness benefits like gym memberships and over-the-counter (OTC) benefits. If you are on or going to become eligible for TFL, you need to learn about these plans, so please call me.
If you have VA care, regardless of your rating, you too can benefit from a Part C plan because of the additional benefits they may offer which are not covered by Original Medicare or the VA.
Call us at Sibley Insures and get the training and information you need to make a better more affordable decision about your healthcare when you get on Medicare. Sibleyinsures.com, 405-850-1569.

Story and photos by Darl DeVault

One of the most family-oriented organized bicycle rides in the state kicks off at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, August 15 at Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Rd. in Edmond, offering three distances starting in the 133-acre park. The park features several family friendly playgrounds including handicap accessible facilities, multi-use trails, basketball courts, pavilions, picnic tables, and grills.
Begun in 1973, and moved to Mitch Park in 2008, the Oklahoma Bicycle Society Streak has evolved into a family event using one of Edmond’s premier parks as a base. It has undergone changes in location, name and sponsorship, but continues as a cycling community premiere family event. (story continues below)

“I signed up for the 40-mile route because I always have a good time at the Streak,” said Dixie Duff, a retired OKC nurse who has ridden the Streak dozens of times. “There is something for everyone and it’s nice to be able to do something different besides the River Trails, Lake Overholser, and Lake Hefner. The rides are challenging and well supported with several rest stops.”
Organizers emphasize the Streak will go on rain or shine and is not a race. No times will be kept or posted. What is posted are the names of registered riders winning the door prize raffles. Please check the prize board after the ride. Riders must be present to win—no prizes will be mailed.
The ride has been going on for so long seniors have come to see it as an opportunity to help introduce their grandkids to an organized ride. All youth riders (ages 12-18) must be accompanies by an adult rider.
Multiple rest stops with rest rooms are open until 1 p.m. on the half hilly 100K, 40- and 25-mile routes. Download the maps from the OBS site, RideWithGPS maps are available at the 2021 OBS Streak Web Page. Fluids and snack foods will be available in the rest stops. SAG (Support and Gear) support will be provided.
Online Registration is $35 (Discounted to $30 for current OBS members – online only). Online registration closes at midnight on Thursday, August 12.
Day of event registration begins at 6 a.m. at Mitch Park. The Edmond Downtown Community Center at 28 E Main St. offers early registration and packet pickup on Saturday, August 14, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The first 300 riders are guaranteed event T-shirts.
Proceeds from the OBS Streak are used to supply helmets for kids who receive bikes from the Salvation Army Buck$ 4 Bikes program for Christmas.
Day of event registration fees are Adult Rider: $40, – Tandem/Tri, Captain: $40, – Tandem/Tri Stoker: $20, – Accompanied Youth (12-18 Yr. Old): $20
The OBS is a not-for-profit group dedicated to the promotion of bicycle safety. It supports bicycling in all its forms and the furtherance of the sport by defending the rights of bicyclists.
OBS organizes weekly rides all year for riders of all levels. See their web site for more information: www.OklahomaBicycleSociety.com which has a link to the Streak registration online.
For the latest news on the club activities, upcoming rides throughout the state and to further the enjoyment of bicycling, the club has a monthly newsletter, The Pathfinder, online. The club asks seniors to consider joining the OBS to help keep bicycling safe.

Story by Vickie Jenkins, Staff Writer

Just for Seniors is a licensed companion-sitter agency providing services to help families care for aging loved-ones. We provide a variety of “rent-a-daughter” services that help fill-in for families when busy schedules will not allow. Our goal is to keep the seniors you love living safely and comfortably at home without the need for a care facility.
Our passion is getting seniors out of the house and engaged in the community while they still can. We love working with seniors to find fun and stimulating activities that get them excited and improve their quality of life. (story continues below)

Just for Seniors has been in business since August 20, 2012. Deborah Wallace started the business because her mom needed someone to help her. “It was after my dad passed away, my mom had several small strokes and could no longer drive. I was working at Chesapeake at the time so taking time off during the day was very challenging. Trying to handle things in the evenings and weekends was exhausting. I was also very concerned that she was spending most of her time in the house watching TV. I wanted her to at least get a change of scenery on a routine basis. I needed someone to take her to the beauty shop every week and to lunch a couple days a week. I needed someone to take her grocery shopping and run errands so I didn’t have to do it on my time off. All the commercial options we found had a three to four hours service minimum. That was more action than she could handle. Ultimately, we were able to find someone privately to help her, but I knew there was a need,” Deborah explained.
Currently, we are the only Just for Seniors; we are not a franchise. There are six part-time employees, five in the OKC metro area and one in Stillwater. Officially, they are called, Just for Seniors Associates. “Unofficially, they are called, Rent-a-Daughter/Son,” Deborah said with a smile. “We have approximately ninety clients signed up to use our service. Roughly, thirty to forty people use us each month.”
Deborah grew up in Oklahoma. “My dad was a Methodist minister so we moved around Oklahoma every three to four years. I was born in Lawton and lived in Chickasha, Choctaw, Hugo, OKC, Weatherford, Pryor and Guymon before graduating OU in 1988. I moved to Houston, staying there until 2007 when I returned to OKC to help my parents. That was quite a few moves! I currently live in Bethany and plan on staying here for a while,” she said.
Starting high school in Weatherford, OK, Deborah graduated high school in Pryor, OK. She earned her undergrad BBA in Management Information Systems from OU. She earned her graduate MBA in Finance and International Business via night school from the University of Houston.
Deborah wears many hats as a business owner and says that each day is dramatically different. “After spending twenty-five years in an office, I try to spend as little time as possible in the office now,” she said. “My office time is usually focused on accounting and administrative activities,” Deborah said. “I am the primary marketer so I am responsible for networking and marketing activities. I work with families to find resources that address their loved ones needs. I still do some caregiving so I might be helping a client with something,” she added.
Asking Deborah what her biggest reward is from Just for Seniors, she replied, “Helping a senior solve a problem that be a challenge for them could be something easy for me or an associate. Sometimes, resolving little issues can make a huge difference in the quality of someone’s life. That brings me satisfaction that I never felt during my twenty-five years in corporate America. I love working with the seniors and knowing that they are being taken care of.”
“Finding good Senior Associates is something we are looking for each day. We are growing quickly and we are always looking for new associates in certain parts of town. It is a challenge to find people of the right fit.”
On a personal note, Deborah likes spending time with her wonderful husband, Steve. “We don’t have any human children but we try to save as many dogs as possible. We currently have a crazy rescued Pomeranian.”
For more information visit: www.justforseniorsok.com.

A group of lawmakers today sent a letter to Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, in his role as Acting Governor of Oklahoma, requesting executive action to prohibit vaccine mandates for Oklahoma healthcare workers. This letter is a follow up to one sent to Governor Kevin Stitt on July 15, 2021. Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy, spearheaded the letter and said that the urgency of the situation necessitates the need to act swiftly and decisively.
“I have been working to identify issues at our state’s healthcare facilities. I have discovered that not only are more facilities moving towards mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are denying legitimate medical and religious exemptions,” said Roberts. “I have received reports from verified healthcare employees that individuals with signed medical exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine are being told their exemptions will not be honored. The collective takeaway from these messages is that the time to act is now and if we don’t, we may be facing a healthcare employee shortage crisis.” (story continues below)

According to Roberts, the transfer of powers to the Lt. Governor when the Governor is outside of the state is found in Article 6, Section 16 of the Oklahoma Constitution. The constitutional provision provides that the Office of Governor is transferred to the Lt. Governor when the Governor is removed from the state. This includes all powers held within the Office of Governor. Roberts, and those signed onto the letter, believe that the current situation requires the immediate action of the state government and has led to the urgent request for Pinnell to act.
“It is unacceptable to force a vaccination on an employee, especially when they have a documented medical issues,” said Roberts. “We have received reports from Oklahoma Families for Freedom that medical facilities have been denying in-person treatment to unvaccinated individuals as well. This is medical discrimination and must stop”.
The following lawmakers signed on to the letter:
Rep. Sean Roberts, R-Hominy
Rep. Lonnie Sims, R-Jenks
Rep. Denise Crosswhite Hader, R-Piedmont
Rep. Mike Dobrinski, R-Okeene
Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane
Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland
Rep. Mark Vancuren, R-Owasso
Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore
Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener
Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola
Rep. Wendi Stearman, R-Collinsville
Rep. Chris Sneed, R-Fort Gibson
Rep. Randy Randleman, R-Eufaula
Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow
Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell
Rep. Sherri Conley, R-Newcastle
Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole
Rep. Max Wolfley, R-Oklahoma City
The full text of the letter can be seen below:
Oklahoma House of Representatives
July 28, 2021

Acting Governor Pinnell,
As I am sure you are aware there are many healthcare facilities across the state that have decided to mandate the COVID-19 vaccines to their thousands of employees. These employees are the heroes that stood on the front line of the pandemic caring for those that had fallen ill to COVID-19.
Many Oklahomans are about to have their paychecks used against them to make a medical decision that goes against their beliefs. Healthcare workers are left to choose between taking a vaccine authorized for emergency use or risk losing their job, this goes against “liberty and justice for all.” If we do not protect the individual’s right to choose what goes in their body, we no longer live in a free society.
The Oklahoma legislature had bills introduced last session that were related to these type of vaccine mandates, but none of these bills came to be law. Some other states in the country have taken action on these issues while others already had laws on the books to protect their healthcare workers. For example in Oregon, employees such as health care providers, health care facility employees, clinical lab employees, law enforcement, and firefighters are protected by a 1989 state law that says “A worker shall not be required as a condition of work to be immunized” unless otherwise required by federal or state law.
After talking with healthcare workers and citizens across the state many of my colleagues and I have come to the conclusion this is an issue that requires the immediate attention of our State Government. The quickest and most effective way to protect these workers is an executive order prohibiting these mandates.
Those signed onto this letter and I respectfully request you draft an executive order to deal with this issue. If you deem this to be an issue the legislature needs to take care of, we respectfully request you call the legislature into special session to end medical tyranny and help us secure and protect our most basic human rights and civil liberties.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn [email protected]

Travel is still a challenge, and no more so than international cruising. I personally have a tentative booking for July of 2022, which may or may not come to fruition. It might be more practical to take a cruise closer to home, or one designated as domestic. It’s never too early to plan and dream.
As you can tell from the title I had a near 3 week tour of the North East which was an all-consuming adventure of over 1100 miles, 32 locks and many city visits via Blount’s Grande Caribe small ship cruise. Blount specializes in traveling where large ships cannot go and giving their guests exceptional access to destinations approachable by rivers in North America. Blount cruises are ideal for Senior citizens. (More details about my cruise, next month, in Part Two.) It’s always a good idea to arrive early for any cruise ship departure, as you’d hate to miss the boat because of airline or weather delays. I did that with my 3 night stay in one of my most enjoyable city explorations in Old Montreal.
Taking the suggestion of Montreal Tourism, I stayed at the upscale boutique Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel, in the middle of historic yet modern old town. The hotel offered all the amenities expected with a flare and style for which you always wished. The dining, bar, concierge, bell men, Internet access, housekeeping and staff all were the best of the best with efficient and congenial service. Le Saint-Sulpice is indeed a pleasant and quiet oasis from your Montreal touring.
Being my first time in Montreal, I enjoyed my morning car tour by expert guide, Ruby Roy, who showed me many Montreal iconic sights. They included the past Olympic and Expo venues, several overlook vistas of the Montreal skyline, an exposure to the variety of unique architectural styles of its neighborhoods (where the design of street lights change with each neighborhood), the Atwater Farmers market and of course topping off with a visit to the 1823 Notre-Dame Basilica (entry fee), which is only half a block from my Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel.
It’s said that Montreal has over 6,000 restaurants, but as only having 3 days, I was pleased to accept the challenge and sample a few, most in Old Montreal and within walking distance. Many were near the main street of Old Montreal, Saint Paul Street, East and West. The street is filled with enticing upscale art galleries, shops and other businesses housed in vintage Montreal facades. At times I felt I was strolling through a European city, exhibiting its sophisticated culture. A short distance from Le Saint-Sulpice is the Montreal Museum of Archeological and History, a must to see for its original foundations of Old Montreal, and to explore its history through a labyrinth of exhibition narratives. The experience of taking in their multiple image movie was a welcome diversion and informational. A real treat is the very popular museum café, Restaurant l’AArrivage. The concierge at the hotel retrieved the last table available for my noontime respite, where the food was economical and delicious along with a variety of local people watching. So as not to be disappointed reservations, even for a noon time meal, is a must at most all Montreal restaurants.
My other dining pleasures included: Helena, is a very popular and crowded venue offering a Portuguese style menu. Chez L’Epicier has an elegant atmosphere and food presentations which started off with a Kir Maison of sparkling apple cider, cranberry and maple, to accompany their amuse bush of a sweet macaroon and chocolate mint. This may be their “eat dessert first” philosophy. Ask for their Club Sandwich, which is a dessert of sweet delights presented as if it were a sandwich. Perhaps the best taste in all Montreal was their Roasted Butternut Squash (tasting like peaches!) with sour cream and walnut crumble.
Osteria Venti, was again a very popular restaurant. It seems everyone in Montreal eats out all the time. The service here was congenial and I must say that they followed my Martini instructions to the letter without hesitation. It seems in Canada in particular, that martinis are stirred not usually shaken, so my detailed instruction (ice on the pond) was welcomed, as they wanted to please this customer, as they also did with my meal of oven roasted half chicken, rustic peperonata, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil.
I needed to take a taxi to Chez Ma Grosse Truie Cherie – but it was worth it to dine on their onion soup, pork tenderloin encrusted (pork is their specialty), a hazel nut crème Brule, and accompany all with either an apple Martini or their special drink created by the bar tender, David, a martini of Montreal gin, herbs and a hint of maple syrup. To know that most of their interior is from recycle materials including bowling alley wood made into table tops, is an added treat.
Back at Le Saint-Sulpice Hotel your choice of breakfast dishes at the St Clair restaurant is extensive, and who doesn’t need an early morning wake up for a full day of touring? If weather permits you might eat out on the patio, or if not, inside the enclosed terrace offering floor to ceiling windows. Having this hotel as your elegant, secure and convenient home in Old Montreal is a comfortable way to enjoy the city. There is even a Christmas shop halfway between the hotel and the Notre-Dame Basilica, and a liquor store across the street. Old Montreal…my new favorite haunt.
Next is Part Two – Blount Cruising on the New York Canal System.
Until then check out: www.mtl.org/en, www.lesaintsulpice.com, www.blountsmallshipadventures.com, www.restauranthelena.com, www.chezlepicier.com, www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/plan-your-visit/larrivage-restaurant, www.osteriaventi.com

By Nick Thomas

Carla Malden credits her father, actor Karl Malden, for sowing the seeds of her writing career – first as a screenwriter then an author.
“He used me and my sister to cue him quite often when he was learning a part,” she recalled from her home in Los Angeles. “I think I learned a lot about writing as a result. If it was a heavily dialogued scene, he’d sometimes tell me to cross a line out of the script because he said ‘I can act that.’ It taught me the importance of seeing the actor’s character on screen as well as through the dialogue. It was fascinating to watch him break down a part and develop a character.”
Earlier this year, Carla published her forth book, “Shine Until Tomorrow,” branching out into the Young Adult (YA) book market. The story features a teenage girl who travels back to 1967 and the summer of love in San Francisco.
“It’s not a traditional sci-fi adventure or even a fantasy really, but a girl’s coming-of-age story that happens to involve time travel and features a driven teenager who learns about having to live in the present by traveling back to the past. It was designed as a YA book, but I’ve been gratified to see it’s crossed over to adults.”
A longtime screenwriter alongside her late husband (see www.carlamalden.com), Carla published her first book co-written with her dad in 1997, the well-received Karl Malden autobiography “When Do I Start?” Malden (1912-2009) is viewed by many as one of the great character actors from the 50s, 60s, and beyond, with critically acclaimed dramatic roles in films such as “A Streetcar Named Desire” for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. In the 70s, he co-starred with Michael Douglas in the popular “The Streets of San Francisco” ABC crime drama series.
“He had been approached to write his autobiography by a few people and tried to do it on his own over a few years then asked me to help,” Carla recalled. “Writing it with him was one of the great joys of my life.”
Raised in Gary, Indiana, Karl Malden came from immigrant parents, his Serb father barely speaking English. “His father was very involved in the church which was the social hub of the Gary Serbian community and he organized all the plays that were integral to the community. So my grandfather was always enlisting my dad as a kid to be in the plays and that’s how he got the acting bug.”
Away from the screen, Malden says her dad was a fabulous father and husband, married to his wife, Mona, for 70 years. “He was also an amazing grandfather and even had a few years of being a great grandfather.” She says her father was very down to earth, would often work in his garden for hours, and never craved the adulation that often follows entertainers.
“After he died, I got reams of letters from people for whom he had done major acts of kindness in all kinds of ways that I never knew about,” says Carla. “I miss him every single day of my life, ferociously.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for over 850 magazines and newspapers.

“We have seen a 34% increase in childbirths at Mercy in the last 10 years,” said Jim Gebhart, community president of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. “We want to be able to serve every pregnant mom and newborn that needs us, but the reality is that our existing facility is not designed to support our current volume of patients. We simply need more space.”
Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City was built in the 1970s and the existing Mercy BirthPlace was designed to handle around 3,000 births a year. Nearly 4,000 babies were delivered annually at the hospital over the last two years.
“Our physicians and nursing staff are incredible, and they’re always looking for creative ways to serve more patients with the kind of compassionate care they’ve come to expect from Mercy,” said Dr. Chad Smith, obstetrician-gynecologist and chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. “They know the need for this new facility better than anyone, and they are just so excited to see this dream finally become a reality.”
The Love Family Women’s Center will be a 175,000-square-foot, four-story building on the campus of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City. It will feature an obstetrics emergency department staffed by obstetricians.
Three large Caesarean section suites located in the women’s center will connect to the hospital on the first floor via the existing hospital surgery suite. This strategic design allows for quick, safe access to additional services if there are any medical emergencies during delivery.
“We looked at a number of different options and locations for a new facility over the years and ultimately decided this really is the best of both worlds for patients,” said Dr. Donald Rahhal, longtime Oklahoma City obstetrician-gynecologist and former medical director of Mercy BirthPlace. “Patients will have the easy, convenient access a free-standing structure provides while also having immediate access to all the services a hospital provides in case of any kind of emergency.”
Postpartum rooms will be on the third floor of the women’s center that connects to the hospital via a skybridge. This allows moms of babies needing a higher level of care to have direct elevator access to the neonatal intensive care unit on the fifth floor.
The new state-of-the-art facility will also feature Oklahoma’s first hospital-based low intervention birthing unit. The unit will be run by accredited midwives who are also registered nurses in collaboration with obstetricians. The program will offer the option of a low intervention birth with access to a higher level of care under the same roof if issues arrive during labor and delivery.
Mercy will serve women of all ages at the Love Family Women’s Center, including a dedicated area for women recovering from surgeries. Outpatient therapy services, specifically pelvic floor therapy, will also be offered. A large conference center will host support groups and classes on everything from childbirth, infant care, CPR and more.
A large portion of this project was generously funded through Mercy Health Foundation Oklahoma City. It is the largest fundraising campaign in the history of Mercy. The Tom and Judy Love family gave a $10 million lead donation to this project. Campaign co-chairs Judy Love and Cathy Keating led the way in raising more than $30 million toward the $40 million fundraising goal.
“Judy Love and Cathy Keating dedicated themselves to helping us serve more patients and raised an incredible amount of money during a pandemic and worldwide economic uncertainty,” Gebhart said. “We simply could not have done this without them, and our Oklahoma City community is better because they are a part of it.”
Just the facts: * Construction expected to be complete in fall 2023
* 175,000-square-foot, four story building on the campus of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City
* 73 patient rooms
* Obstetrics emergency department
* Oklahoma’s first hospital-based low intervention birthing center led by midwives
* Direct access to NICU in the hospital via a skybridge on the third floor
* Community services including educational classes, support groups and community events

The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation $480,000 for Alzheimer’s research.
OMRF scientist Michael Beckstead, Ph.D., received a two-year grant to continue his study of the role the naturally occurring brain chemical dopamine may play in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Most current Alzheimer’s research focuses on the outer and upper sections of the brain, which control symptoms of the disease like memory loss. This study will instead focus on a small bundle of neurons near the base of the brain, which regulates dopamine function.
Dopamine is a chemical responsible for voluntary movement and the perception of reward in the brain. Beckstead studies what can happen when things go wrong with dopamine cells, ranging from Parkinson’s disease when too little is present to drug addiction when there is too much.
Scientists have not yet directly implicated dopamine in Alzheimer’s, but Beckstead said there is evidence to suggest it is involved in the initial stages of the disease.
“When you look at people who develop dementia, many of them were first diagnosed with depression or have a history of apathy,” said Beckstead, who holds OMRF’s Hille Family Foundation Chair in Neurodegenerative Disease Research. “These symptoms are closely linked to dopamine. There’s a good indication that the area handling the chemical could be involved years before tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear.”
Scientists in Beckstead’s OMRF lab will observe dopamine-controlled behaviors in research models of Alzheimer’s throughout development and the impact of environmental changes like diet on disease progression.
The study will also include a partnership with OMRF scientist Bill Freeman, Ph.D., a researcher in the foundation’s Gene and Human Diseases Research Program. First, Beckstead’s lab will identify abnormal brain cells using electrical signals. Then, Freeman’s team will analyze the cells using a technique never before applied to Alzheimer’s disease models to look for clues to explain why they are behaving differently.
“We used to compare a region of an Alzheimer’s brain to a region of a normal brain,” said Freeman. “But we know within the brain there are many types of cells, and each could play a different role in Alzheimer’s. Now we can look at what’s different between individual dopamine neurons, which provides us with answers to better questions.”
Freeman said the partnership between labs is a natural result of the diverse talents at OMRF. “To do impactful science, you have to cross over multiple disciplines,” he said. “It’s always going to be a team effort.”

During her long and distinguished career in nursing, Barbara Holtzclaw, Ph.D., R.N., has worked in three different but complementary worlds – providing care at the patient’s bedside; conducting research to improve that care; and educating the next generation to further the field through their own research.
It is the synergy of those three that has allowed her to advance the discipline of nursing in significant ways. Holtzclaw is retiring this summer as a research leader and professor in the Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, although as academicians are prone to do, it may be on paper only. She continues to conduct research and mentor nursing science students on the path she began many years ago.
“My research is a combination of my clinical experience, my curiosity of how physiological mechanisms work, and a mentor who showed me how nursing research can make a difference in clinical care,” she said. “Working with students allows me to foster their interest in nursing research the same way my mentor did many years ago.”
Holtzclaw is retiring as Associate Director of Translational Science for the Donald W. Reynolds Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the OU College of Nursing. Prior to that, she served as Associate Dean for Research for the college, as well as interim director for the Ph.D. in Nursing program, which she helped to establish in 2008. Previously, she was a research director at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Tennessee and Associate Dean for Research and Director of Doctoral Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Joining the faculty at the OU College of Nursing in 2000 was like coming home – she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing and a doctorate in higher education from OU, and she directed a Family Nurse Practitioner certificate program and taught in the undergraduate and master’s degree programs at OU from 1968 to 1987.
Holtzclaw was introduced to nursing research in the 1970s while pursuing her master’s degree at the University of California at San Francisco, where her mentor was studying shivering in people who were being therapeutically cooled. During surgery, patients’ temperatures fall and their metabolisms decrease while they’re asleep, and for some procedures, like open heart surgery, patients are intentionally made hypothermic.
“That’s all fine while they’re asleep, but when they start to wake up, they start shivering,” she said. “When they shiver, their temperature rises and their blood pressure rises – there’s a heavy metabolic cost to shivering.”
Holtzclaw’s interest in the body’s thermoregulation only grew from there. She experimented with wrapping patients’ arms and feet – where the most dominant sensors are – in three layers of terrycloth toweling to see if she could prevent shivering even though the patient was being cooled. During her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, her research delved further into post-operative temperature change and the negative effects of such energy expenditure. At an annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, she presented the results of her study, conducted with a cardiovascular anesthesiologist, which established shivering as the cause of a significant increase in metabolic rate and cardiac effort.
“During the study, I remember pointing out to a new doctor that his patient was shivering, and he said, ‘Well, how do you expect them to get warm?’ I responded, ‘Would you have your patient go out and shovel snow?’ I went on, ‘No, but your patient is using the same amount of oxygen and is under as much metabolic stress as if they were shoveling snow.’”
Holtzclaw’s research expanded to investigate shivering in patients with cancer who were taking an antifungal drug called Amphotericin B. The body responds to the drug by running a fever and shivering, not because the patient is actually cold, but because the drug tricked their nervous system into raising its thermostat to a higher level, so it thinks they’re cold. The wrapping intervention worked to suppress shivering. She then studied the same phenomenon in patients with HIV who had opportunistic infections with high fevers, and again the wrapping intervention worked. All along the way, her research raised awareness among nurses and physicians about the risks of shivering.
“It has been satisfying to find a research area that affects almost every walk of life,” Holtzclaw said. “Shivering doesn’t happen by itself – it happens within all these other scenarios. That has allowed me to take my research in slightly different directions regarding thermoregulation.”
More recently, Holtzclaw has been working with a graduate student on the concept of immunosenescence – the gradual deterioration of the immune system with age – and its effect on vaccine response in older adults. These effects lower older adults’ protection against the virus, even with vaccination, which points to the extra precautions needed with this age group, she said.
During her career, Holtzclaw published two books, wrote numerous articles, and gave presentations around the world on the topics of fever, shivering and hypothermia. She was founding editor of the Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research and continues to serve on review panels and advisory boards for numerous other journals. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America, among many other honors.
While her research has been highly regarded, Holtzclaw has also played a significant, but sometimes behind-the-scenes, role as educator and mentor to many students.
“Dr. Holtzclaw has been absolutely committed to mentorship, which includes students, early-career colleagues, senior colleagues, and others outside the discipline. She always finds ways to help people be successful,” said Lazelle Benefield, Ph.D., R.N., Professor and Dean Emeritus of the OU College of Nursing and director of its Donald W. Reynolds Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence.
OU College of Nursing Dean Julie Hoff, Ph.D., MPH, R.N., added, “Students, faculty and staff have all been touched by Dr. Holtzclaw’s passion for teaching, research and nursing.”
The OU College of Nursing is part of the OU Health Sciences Center, a leader in education, research and patient care and one of only four comprehensive academic health centers in the nation with seven professional colleges. To find out more, visit nursing.ouhsc.edu.