The Fountains at Canterbury has been named a Five-Star Quality community according to Medicare.gov in their most recent Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) survey, putting The Fountains at Canterbury in the top 10 percent of skilled nursing facilities in the area. The Fountains at Canterbury is managed by Watermark Retirement Communities, which operates 52 communities across the United States.
Senior living communities are reviewed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on more than 180 regulatory standards in conjunction with their state health inspection report. Communities are graded on a scale that gives greater weight to issues that cause critical exposure to any resident health or safety concerns.
Five-Star ratings are awarded exclusively to the top 10 percent of skilled nursing facilities that show extraordinary performance in the categories of health inspection, staffing and quality measures. The past three years of onsite health inspections are utilized as well as the staffing rating based on the number of hours of care provided on average to each resident each day by associates as well as quality measures on 11 different physical and clinical measures for residents.
“It is an honor to lead a team so dedicated to the care and well-being of our residents,” said Cody Erikson, Executive Director of The Fountains at Canterbury. “It is an even greater honor to see the unwavering commitment of that team earn the Five-Star rating under the superb direction of Nursing Home Administrator, Katy Woodard.”
The Fountains at Canterbury is dedicated to being the first choice in senior living, providing a continuum of care including independent living, assisted living, memory care, innovative rehabilitation therapies and skilled care. The Fountains at Canterbury is committed to creating an extraordinary community where people thrive. To learn more, please call (405) 381-8165 or go online to www.watermarkcommunities.com.

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com

Last month I gave you an over view of the sights in Westchester county, just north of New York City. Now let’s go up the Hudson River Valley to discover the variety of venues in Albany, New York.
I think it was in the fifth grade when I first heard about Albany, New York, as we were studying all the capitols of all of the US cities. It was a bit of a mystery this state capitol so far north of New York City, yet so important to the state’s history and in current affairs. Decades later I discovered Albany in a personal way with a weekend excursion.
Most striking about Albany is the site, inside and out, of this historic capitol building itself with took thirty years to complete. It stands on a hill and overlooks the city, and the nearby Empire State Plaza with its monolithic office buildings and the unusual egg shaped theater complex. The plaza complete with reflecting pool and with ice skating in the winter, is popular for public events. On one end is the State capitol building and on the opposite side the New York State History Museum (www.nysm.nysed.gov). . The extensive museum houses several sections, including homage to the Civil War ( with a life mask of Abraham Lincoln), and more recently artifacts from the World Trade Center disaster. Be sure and visit the observation deck of the 42 storied Corning Tower.
State Street which could be called Albany’s’ main street, runs down from the capitol, pointing toward the Hudson River. Near the base of the street stands, 74State Street Hotel (www.74State.com), which was my pleasant home base and my oasis for my discoveries. 74 State offers several breakfast menu items, and my guests and I enjoyed their Eggs Benedict more than once. This Ascent Hotel Collection provides wireless internet, room service in the morning and evenings and supplies free coffee in the lobby from 6 am to 10 am. The fitness center is open 24 hours. The property also has the Bistro/Bar venue on the second floor, with an expansive picture window overlooking busy STATE street. While the hotel is upscale it features recycled New York State wood and granite.
Just down the hill a bit is the upscale Jacks Oyster House (www.jacksoysterhouse.com) where without a doubt I had the best meal of my visit. As a steak person I tested their expertise and they passed with high marks, as they did for the Martini. My other companions had a variety of entrées including oysters on the half shell and a Lobster tale prepared with gourmet expertise. The service was as exceptional as you would have expected at a fine old world restaurant, and it was a near shame we had to leave to catch a theatrical presentation in Schenectady, NY at the Proctor Theater, which was a treat.
Be sure your discovery of Albany includes a visit to Speak Easy 518 (www.Speakeasy518.com) where you will have unique cocktail tastes accentuated by a variety of herbs and vintage concoctions. You are admonished: “The bar is open to anyone, but not for everyone. In order to maintain our peaceful, secretive existence beneath the city we require the respect of the following house rules which include: Please dress sharply and speak easy. Mind your manners.” Live jazz may be there on your night, and while they offer a variety of wines and beers the experience is in tasting the Prohibition Era Cocktails or the New World Concoctions. You might try the Midnight in the Italian Alps, of Braulio Amaro, Cardamaro Amaro, JFB Sorrel Liqueur, with Flamed Orange Zest, or the Papa Doble made with ADC Quackenbush House Rum, Maraschino Liqueur, and Fresh Grapefruit Juice. Many of the flavors are earthy and perhaps so usual you may have to develop a taste over several visits. To keep the ambiance low, no photography is permitted.
Other recommend dining venues include: Albany Pump Station (www.evansale.com), A Better Bite Deli (www.abetterbitealbany.com), Jake Moon Cafe (www.jakemoon.net) and the popular New World Bistro Bar (www.newworldbistrobar.com).
Albany has more to offer than space allows- but be sure to include the Albany Heritage Center (www.albany.org/visitors-center), the Albany Institute of History and Art (www.albanyinstitute.org), and weather permitting a visit to John Boyd Thacher State Park (www.nysparks.com/parks.com), and Goolds Orchards and Brookview Station Winery (www.goold.com). If you are lucky you might get to view a replica of Henry Hudson’s “Half Moon” Ship, which is the symbol of Albany.
Upcoming dates of interest and for more information: www.albany.com

Mr. Terry Zinn – Travel Editor
Past President: International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association
http://realtraveladventures.com/author/zin

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It wasn’t until the bullets engraved with the initials of her and her children were placed into her hands that Krystel Huddleston, RN, realized just how close she had come to death.
Eight years later the nurse manager who lived through fear, isolation and abuse wants to make sure others in similar situations know that there is hope.
Born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, Huddleston fell in love early at the age of 14. She met a man 10 years older she was sure she would spend the rest of her life with.
As a married woman high school seemed frivolous so she dropped out.
Three kids soon followed as did the isolation and belittlement intermingled with mental and physical abuse.
“I actually got into nursing because he chose that for me,” Huddleston said of her ex-husband. “He felt like that was predominantly women and I wouldn’t be around a lot of men.”
Staying home and playing World of Warcraft and Everquest were at the top of her husband’s agenda.
Huddleston’s husband drove her to nursing school every day until she became an LVN.
Huddleston would cook, clean, go to school, do homework and take care of the kids, all while being kept inside a trailer with locked windows and no other contact.
“I really felt like I had a normal life,” said Huddleston, now a nurse of 12 years and a manager. “I remember getting out into the workplace with strong women and strong personalities. I remember sitting at the nurses station one year and a seasoned nurse was talking about Dr. Phil.”
“I said ‘You’re allowed to watch Dr. Phil?’ She looked at me and asked if I still lived with my mom. I told her my husband says I couldn’t watch that because it gives women ideas.”
“I remember that exact moment realizing my life isn’t normal.”
“I knew the abuse was not normal and he was extensively, creatively abusive,” she said. “I knew that was not normal but I also knew if I catered and walked those egg shells I could find my way around.”
There were good years, but the alcohol and mental health issues began taking their toll.
While Huddleston was bettering herself with a career her husband’s love for the couch, ice cream and playing video games caught up with him.
He developed uncontrolled diabetes. Huddleston had to take care of him, too.
“As he was getting weaker I was getting stronger being in the workfield around strong women,” she said. “Finally, I decided he was going to kill me if I stayed or if I left so I was going to at least make it worth his time.” She went to work one morning after hearing the clicking sound of an empty gun pointed at her temple.
She called the police to pick up her three boys.
Her ex-husband beat the female officer who responded.
Three months later her husband shot himself.
Going through belongings after the funeral, Huddleston began questioning herself.
Was it her fault? Did she do something to make it happen? What could she have changed?
As she dug through personal belongings she found an envelope.
In the envelope was a receipt for five burial plots.
Letters written to her parents and his explaining the family’s planned death were also included.
“His full intention that day was to kill everybody but something intervened and he only killed himself,” Huddleston said.
The irony of her ex-husband choosing the one career for her that would set her free was never lost on Huddleston.
“At first it was very intimidating – just more bullies,” Huddleston said of entering nursing. “I felt I was the low man on the totem pole and I knew nothing. But as those women became my colleagues and I was learning and seeing them interact with spouses I pulled from that and I grew from that.”
“That really helped me become a stronger person.”
Huddleston had one boss that really poured into her. She challenged her to stop being negative, realize her strengths and push forward.
Some scars will always remain.
To this day she’s still not a hugger. She admits she can be uncomfortable with touch.
At restaurants she sits facing the door. In meetings she has her back to the wall.
Don’t sneak up on her.
She’s remarried, though, and moved on.
“I still have my moments,” she says. “Some days I can be confident and be great and nobody knows. Other days it’s one bad event after another.”
The future she’s given herself and her boys is the stuff Lifetime movies are made of.
“There’s always a chance. Take that chance,” Huddleston said of getting out. “It’s worth a chance to try.”

Highlight: Lindsay Roberts

by Betty Thompson

CALERA—Some people are born with an innate desire to help others. That is certainly true of Lindsay Roberts.
Growing up 10 miles north of the Oklahoma-Texas state line in Calera on her family farm, Roberts was heavily involved in agriculture from a very young age. And she loved it.
“It completely defined my life,” said Roberts, “Agriculture should define your life; It feeds you three times a day.”
Like many who grow up in the industry, Roberts became involved in the youth organizations 4-H and FFA. She began showing sheep at age three as a Cloverbud. As soon as she turned nine, she immersed herself in everything 4-H had to offer, showing, public speaking, shooting sports, and so much more. When she entered the 8th grade, she joined FFA and took advantage of the many opportunities it had to offer as well.
“I love both organizations,” Roberts said, “I think they are valuable resources.”
Roberts reflected on many life lessons she obtained in those organizations.
“I have a wonderful mom and grandma at home who taught me lots of things, but I learned how to set a table properly, how tip a waiter or waitress and how to put on pantyhose through FFA,” Roberts laughed.
She continued her FFA membership even into the collegiate chapter. Today she volunteers with both organizations wherever she can, one of those ways is by serving as the sheep superintendent for the Bryan County Junior Livestock show.
Roberts said many of the same volunteers who were here when she was showing as a kid are still in the barns volunteering today. She is the youngest of the livestock show volunteers, and the only woman.
“I love to help these kids with their projects,” Roberts said. “If they need something, or can’t afford something, I want to help. It’s my way of giving back to all those who helped my parents raise me.”
After Roberts graduated from Calera High School, she studied at Agricultural Economics at Murray State and went on to finish the degree at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
In the winter of 2004 Roberts was home on Christmas break from school and over at a friend’s house. As fate would have it, there was a young man there who was home on leave from the Navy. Dustin Roberts was deployed shortly after she met him, and the two began dating through letters and emails.
Shortly after, they got married, and three days later, Dustin deployed again for 18 months. They have been happily married for 13 years now.
The two have settled near where Roberts was raised, allowing her to help with her family’s fertilizer plant in Durant.
She is putting her economics degree to good use as the accountant for the family business, and also helps with other duties such as assisting with and loading bulk fertilizer, ensuring customer orders are filled and invoiced, and managing the office.
Her dad and grandparents have owned the business since 1995, and most of their employees have been there for over 15 years, so Roberts said they are all like family.
“I love working with my family every day,” Roberts said. “Not many people get to do that. It sure is rewarding at the end of the day.”
While working full time at the fertilizer plant, Roberts is also working on her Certified Public Accountant licensing at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant.
“A lot of federal and state agencies recommend using a CPA that specializes in agricultural accounting,” Roberts explained. “That’s a service I hope to provide in our community.”
Roberts said there are not many CPAs who concentrate on agricultural accounting, so there is a great need in a highly agricultural area.
Her desire to help those in her community does not stop with 4-H, FFA and accounting. She has become the main point of contact for Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) issues in her area.
Roberts said the law enacted by the FDA took many producers, retailers and veterinarians by surprise.
“I worked with local vets and a local math teacher to work out an education program to help the vets and those of us on the retail side as far as what their options were,” Roberts said.
She even got her husband Dustin, who is the Representative for House District 21, to work on a legislative approach. She took time to meet with Congressmen and ranchers from various states, and as a result, she became a valuable resource to many in the community on how to stay compliant with the law.
She carries her helping nature into her home as well. In addition to the Roberts’ two rescue dogs and cat, they also have two rescue ducks.
Roberts said she was attending a birthday party for a toddler when she rescued the two baby ducks from being trampled by the toddlers.
“They weren’t being handled gently, so I just went over and scooped them up,” Roberts laughed. “I turned my green house into a full-blown aviary—they live the life of luxury.”
The rescue ducks, Petey and Petunia, are certainly not the only ones in southern Oklahoma who have benefited from Roberts’ generosity and desire to help.

The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C. – based organization aiming to improve health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers, today released the new Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital – Oklahoma City, including SSM Health Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony, was one of 750 awarded an ‘A’ for its efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the U.S. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harms among patients in their care.
“SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital is part of one of the largest integrated health systems in the nation – a health system that is internationally recognized for quality. Our priority is to provide exceptional care that improves the lives of our patients and the health of our communities,” said Tammy Powell, President, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital.
“This is the only national rating of how well hospitals protect patients from preventable harm and death, such as medical errors, infections, and injuries,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Receiving an ‘A’ Safety Grade means a hospital is among the best in the country for preventing these terrible problems and putting their patients first, 24 hours a day.”
Developed under the guidance of an Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to approximately 2,500 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is peer reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public.
To see the SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit www.hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade on Twitter and Facebook.
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers, The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog’s other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

What is your biggest pet peeve? Heritage Assisted Living

When people use the words done and finished wrong. Cookies are done. People are finished.

Kimberly Brenner

I wish I would have known ahead of time what I didn’t know before.

Ken ‘Pops’

My pet peeve is noise.

Mary Brunnert

Too much noise.

Bea Johnson

4th Quarter of your Life – Spring Training was held at Crossings Church Oklahoma City on May 3rd. The weather started out with thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Break outs sessions were presented by Elaine Dodd, with the Oklahoma Banking Association on fraud & the Million Dollar Business in Oklahoma, Carla Scull with the Oklahoma Alzheimer’s Association. Patrick O’Kane with Sunbeam family services facilitated the Grandparents raising grandchildren.
Ray Walker, Director of Medicare Assistance, Jose Olivero with Social Security, Brandy Bailey Valir Pace, Jill Huff Director Marketing with Spanish Cove, Keri Dennis with Stone Creek Assisted Living, Jack Werner A to Z Home Inspection, Samantha Strealy Territory Manager with Comfort Keepers, Jay Parker from the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs held classes for more understanding on the options that many adults face every day. Our thanks to the Sponsors of the 4th Quarter, Comfort Keepers, SYNERGY HomeCare, Well Preserved Advisory Group, Spanish Cove, Stone Creek Assisted Living, Niki Higgins- Life Style Realty, Quail Creek Bank, Interbank, Baptist Village, Daily Living Center, Oklahoma City Hospice, OGE, Rick & Denise Guttenberger, Mercer Adams, Touch mark, Village Concept and Home Care Assistants for helping to make the 4th Quarter a great success. It was an honor to deliver “A big fat Check” to RSVP on Wednesday to help with the Senior Transportation program in Oklahoma County. The check was named after Lance Ward, Congregational Care Pastor asked Eunice if she brought the check? The answer was no – with that Mia, Eunice’s granddaughter came up with a “Paper check made by Mia titled “A BIG FAT CHECK “ all remaining proceeds from the 4th Quarter Event were donated to RSVP. Upon return to Crossings Lance immediately emailed Beth to let her know the Check is really in the mail!

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Through the years, John Dunning has been a purveyor of antiques and lover of music.
Funny, how his two loves married a few years ago.
Now, Dunning runs Trolley Stop Records, 1212 N. Pennsylvania and is feeding the metro’s resurgent appetite for vinyl records.
A story in Forbes magazine noted that since 2009 the vinyl format has experienced a 290-percent increase in growth.
You’ll find CDs at Trolley Stop but they’re relegated to the back. There’s no doubt vinyl is the star of the show here.
“To me the unusual thing was back in the 80s CD’s put vinyl out of business pretty much,” he said. “But now it’s kind of flip-flopped and records are putting vinyls out. They’re not making the CDs as much and Best Buy and Wal-Mart, they’re dropping CDs.
“The interesting part is it’s the only example of a technology replacing a technology and then the replaced technology coming back and replacing it. I can’t think of any other scenario.”
“I’ve tried, stretched my brain, but can’t think of any other scenario where that’s happened.”
Dunning’s collection is massive.
“I don’t really know,” Dunning shrugs when asked how large. “People are bringing more in almost daily.”
Trolley Stop contains just a fraction of the vinyl Dunning has collected over the years. He’s got a warehouse that he keeps adding to.
It’s one of the reasons he’s now on Penn.
Dunning arrived to the Penn Theater a year ago this past April with nothing but a cement floor to greet him.
Wooden record cabinets and a stage were created.
By late July Trolley Stop was open for business and the old location at 18th and Classen was shuttered after a seven-year stay.
Since then a number of bands have graced the stage.
“I was just wanting a bigger venue and was driving around town and they had a big For Rent banner hanging,” Dunning said.
There’s a low-key vibe at the Trolley Stop.
Dunning and his wife, buy and sell. Rescue dogs litter the floor here and there, oblivious to the customers most of the time and then sauntering up for a scratch behind the ears other times.
“I just want to be a source of records for people who enjoy music,” Dunning said petting one of the dogs. “And a place to have concerts, too.”
Born in 1951, Dunning is now a visionary for a technology that appears to be sweeping the nation – again.
“It was really displaced but now it’s just booming,” Dunning said of records. “There were lots of guys that never gave it up. Then you had guys once CDs hit that gave all their records away and now they’re kicking themselves.”
And Dunning is there to sell them all back to them.
“The quality of the sound is better. The art is so much richer than a little plastic case,” he said. “You want to sit down and read the liner notes. You get a little CD case and you try to read it and within five minutes you’re tired.”
An artifact, a sampling of art and a piece of of history all come packaged with unforgettable sound.
“The young ones are hopping onboard and its fascinating them because they never grew up with it so it’s fascinating to them,” he said. “They’ve kind of embraced it. And with the power of the Internet being able to listen to old songs and look up bands and history it’s right at their fingertips.”
“Now it’s become a family affair.”
One of the big things Dunning has noticed the last few years is how families come in together. There’s the little ones, the tweens and teens, moms and dads and the grandparents.
“Kids can ask grandpa if they saw this band or that one,” Dunning said. “It’s bringing families together.”
The format almost disappeared in the early 2000s. But then it caught fire again.
Like most people, Dunning watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
“That got me going,” he grinned.
Right after in 1964 Dunning went to the Municipal Auditorium and saw the Dave Clark Five.
He was hooked.
Trips to see Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and other bands most people wish they could see followed.
Dunning spent the 1970s living in a commune in Oklahoma City. Yes, he’s a hippie and proud of it. He was responsible for helping bring more live music to the metro with the construction of the Prairie Lady concert hall.
“We had new bands that were hitting and lot of the old bands,” Dunning said. “That was a lot of fun. To me that was kind of my college education, that time frame.”
Now, he’s teaching a proverbial master’s class to those falling in love with vinyl all over again.

Volunteers reach out in Moore

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Dave Evans’ Thursday evening prayer floats down the hallway at Moore Faith Clinic.
Heads bowed in a circle for those who have gathered on this warm, late-May evening are taking a moment to remember why they’re here.
For Cristen Hartman, R.N., there’s no doubt.
“It was just meant to be,” says Hartman, who has been with the clinic since the beginning.
By day, Hartman works at the Oklahoma State Department of Health. She’s worked med-surg, oncology and ER in her career.
But on Thursday nights, she and scores of others volunteer their time at the free clinic.
“It was a perfect fit. Me and my family have always been into service and what are things we can do for the community,” Hartman says of her volunteer status. “Me and my husband grew up in Moore and met at Moore High School. Moore has always been our place.”
Three years ago Evans, a pastor at Moore’s Highland Baptist Church, and others had an idea.
Through his 25 years of ministry, he’s tended to his fair share of disaster relief in Moore. His kids grew up in in the city and have eight grand kids.
Five still go to Moore schools.
“I’ve done a lot of relief with other churches and ministry,” he said.
Through outreach Evans and other pastors identified a gaping need in their community.
“If you don’t have health insurance – and this is not a political statement it’s just a statement of fact – or if you’re underinsured … and you’ve got a (large) deductible it’s of no value,” Evans said. “Two years ago the average ER visit was $1,900. People can’t do that. Then it snowballs and their family is in crisis.”
Time and again Evans has seen injuries create financial hardship, leading to stress and strain on families and marriages.
So what could be done?
“The Lord said to me ‘Why don’t you do something about it,’” Evans said. “We prayed about it for a few months and everybody said let’s go for it.”
The clinic is housed in the Serve Moore Community Renewal Center, 224 S. Chestnut Ave.
Each Thursday from 5:30-8 p.m. Moore Faith Clinic opens its doors.
Once a month a women’s clinic is offered.
Last year, the clinic served 900 patients and handed out approximately $1 million in medication.
“All free,” Evans said. “It’s kind of a big deal that’s not very well known. This is the only totally free clinic in Cleveland County.”
Hartman’s church made an announcement one Sunday that caught her ear. Nurses were needed to get this idea off the ground.
“It’s a huge difference,” said Hartman, who coordinates the nurses. “I think you just don’t really know the magnitude of who really needs you. You don’t really see the magnitude of those that don’t have care that I totally take for granted.”
Evans sees it.
“I think a lot of families are in crisis or would be in a much bigger crisis if they didn’t have health care or access to medicine and the ability to treat something treatable,” Evans said. “So many people have diabetes or strep throat or high blood pressure or whatever. Those things left untreated are bad.”
“We can do it. We can help people, coach them and encourage them.”
Nurses and physicians treat. Pharmacists dispense medication. Pastors and volunteers tend to spiritual needs.
Case workers are available to plug patients into long-term assistance.
Upwards of 20 patients with appointments come through the doors each week with a handful of those just showing up with nowhere to turn.
It indeed takes a village to make the clinic run.
“We don’t want to burn anybody out. Cristen is here every week and she doesn’t have to be,” Evans said. “She’s here because she wants to make sure we have continuity of care and we’re doing things the same way consistently.”
“We can always use nurses,” Hartman continued. “A lot of times we’ll have nurses that are really gung-ho and say they’ll come every Thursday. No, please don’t because it’s not going to work for most people. Volunteering even though it’s one night a week is a huge commitment so we do see a lot of turnover.”
Moore Faith Clinic operates extremely lean.
The annual budget runs around $16,000 which Evans says largely goes to wholesale pharmaceutical purchases.
Medication samples from companies are accepted for the group’s regulated pharmacy.
To make an appointment you can call 405-759-0853 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
You can also contact Evans or Hartman at the same number to find out about volunteering.