Local Companies Creates Event, The Alzheimer’s Hoedown, to Fight Deadly Disease

For the third year in a row, SYNERGY HomeCare of Edmond, is proud to sponsor an event for the Alzheimer’s Association. The Fountains at Canterbury, located at 1404 NW 122nd Street OKC, OK 73114, will be hosting the Alzheimer’s Hoedown Event on September 13 from 5:00-7:30pm. We ask the community to join us for an uplifting event featuring local musicians, silent auction, games, food, and more! A minimum donation of $10 per person is requested to join in on that fun. This will include a meal, and all proceeds go to the Alzheimer’s Association! For the third year in a row, SYNERGY HomeCare of Edmond, is proud to sponsor an event for the Alzheimer’s Association. The Fountains at Canterbury, located at 1404 NW 122nd Street OKC, OK 73114, will be hosting the Alzheimer’s Hoedown Event on September 13 from 5:00-7:30pm. We ask the community to join us for an uplifting event featuring local musicians, silent auction, games, food, and more! A minimum donation of $10 per person is requested to join in on that fun. This will include a meal, and all proceeds go to the Alzheimer’s Association!

According to the Alzheimer’s Association:

· Someone develops Alzheimer’s every 66 seconds in the United States.

· Alzheimer’s disease is the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death

· More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease.

· There are more than 15.9 million caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias in the United States.

“Through the tireless work of our caregivers, we are aware of the dramatic impact Alzheimer’s has on individuals and their families,” says Peter Tourian, founder and CEO of SYNERGY HomeCare.

“We are walking to show our commitment to finding a cure for this disease which according to the Alzheimer’sAssociation is one of the leading causes of death in the United States that does not have a cure, a prevention or a treatment.

”To learn more about SYNERGY HomeCare of Oklahoma, please contact Abbey Trammell at 405-254-3046 or abbeytrammell@synergyhomecare.com.

SYNERGY HomeCare is a non-medical home care company dedicated to providing exceptional and affordable service to anyone of any age.

SYNERGY HomeCare caregivers are available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to those in need – including seniors, expectant moms, those suffering from sports injuries and debilitating illnesses, and more.  We proudly serve the Greater Oklahoma City metro area, including: Oklahoma City, Edmond, Moore, Norman and the surrounding areas. The company exists to provide genuine services, and it’s why we treat our clients and caregivers with dignity and respect.  For additional information, please visit http://www.synergyhomecareedmond.com.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It’s early afternoon in the hot, Oklahoma sunshine and Christa Boren, LPN, pulls back on the slingshot straps and lets a water balloon fly.
The wooden SpongeBob target 20-feet away survives a dousing as the balloon splashes to the ground.
Boren laughs.
It’s good to be home.
“It’s amazing,” she says. “I really miss the center so when they gave me this opportunity I had to jump on it.”
Boren worked at J.D. McCarty Center in Norman for a number of a years as a nurse and nurse manager. When family business moved her away she thought she’d never get to work at the center for children with developmental disabilities again.
She was wrong.
Boren has worked as the evening and night shift nurse at Camp ClapHans for three years now.
Horseback riding, movie nights, talent shows and dance parties are just some of the events offered at camp ClapHans. Several members of the University of Oklahoma football team visited this summer as well as some church groups.
“That allows our kids to interact with other kids who are age-appropriate,” Boren said. “Our kids get to really play with those kids and they’re not being judged. It also allows those kids from these groups to come out and interact with our kids and learn. Maybe next time they’re out and they see a wheelchair they’re not going to stare … because they are just kids.”
Camp ClapHans is a residential summer camp for kids with special needs ages eight to 18.
The camp is located on the south end of the McCarty Center’s 80-acre campus in Norman.
It features two cabins, a multi-purpose building and is built next to an 11-acre lake. The camp features summer camp activities like archery, canoeing, fishing, horseback riding, camp fires, swimming, indoor and outdoor games, arts and crafts and much more.
J.D. McCarty provides a one-to-one camper-to-staff ratio with a nurse on site 24-hours a day.
That’s where Boren comes in.
“It was a little overwhelming but really the worst thing about camp is the heat,” she said. “The kids are amazing. We have a group of counselors every summer who are college students … and they come out and they do this for free five weeks out of the summer and are an amazing group of kids.”
When her husband opened a physical therapy clinic in Elk City Boren quit her job at J.D. McCarty and moved with her family.
Boren became a nurse at 20 and had worked in the hospital setting before settling into her role with J.D. McCarty.
“It’s absolutely amazing. I loved the fast-paced stuff but at times it does get a little overwhelming. In the acute-care settings in the hospitals you have to deal with all the sad stuff – giving people cancer diagnosis and all that stuff that comes with nursing,” Boren said. “Here at camp we don’t have that at all. These kids love to be here. It’s so laid-back and we get to really enjoy the kids and try to make their time here as enjoyable as possible.
“These kids would normally not get to do this at a regular camp.”
When she’s not in camp, Boren still makes the drive from Elk City to Norman to take her six-year-old son for therapy at JD McCarty.
Last school year, Boren was a teacher’s aide but admits most of her time is spent being the mom to three boys active in sports.
The move to Elk City was a good but so has the opportunity to bring her child to treatment at J.D. McCarty.
The J. D. McCarty Center was founded in 1946, by a veterans group called the 40 et 8 of Oklahoma. The 40 et 8 was an honor society within the American Legion. When the McCarty Center first opened its doors to patients it only treated one diagnosis – cerebral palsy.
Today, the center has treated more than 100 different diagnoses in the developmental disability category.
Kids come to Norman for treatment from all over the state of Oklahoma.
Children referred to the hospital are evaluated and treated by a team of pediatricians, pediatric specialists, registered nurses and LPNs, direct care specialists, physical, occupational, speech and language therapists, a dietitian, a clinical psychologist and psychology clinicians and social workers who focus on getting a child to their highest level of functionality and independence. “Any kid who comes through the door becomes your kid,” Boren said.

The Western Dressage Association® of America is hosting its sixth annual Western Dressage World Championship Show Sept. 27-30 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla. Entries are open through Sept. 5, and no qualifying is necessary. Admission is free for spectators.

Competitors from across the United States and internationally will vie for 77 world championships, more than 30 breed high-score awards and 20 divisional championship belt buckles. Other competitions include musical freestyle jackpot classes.

New in 2018 is the addition of therapeutic riding exhibition classes, where the benefits of western dressage – and the partnership it can create with a horse – will be on full display.

“Western dressage honors the partnership between horses and riders, and that was certainly on display at our 2017 World Show,” said WDAA World Show Committee Chairwoman Ellen DiBella. “I was especially thrilled to see the riders in our Physically Challenged division.”

In 2017, three-time world champion Shawn Makepeace, who is legally blind, earned that divisional championship on her American Quarter Horse mare, Mosly A Rose. Volunteers held bright LED lights at each letter around the dressage arena, making it possible for Makepeace, of Belleville, Ill., to discern the location of the letters as she rode her western dressage tests.

This inclusive sport is welcoming to all types of horses and both beginner and expert riders alike. Older horses have also found success in this discipline – many of them on their second or third career.

“It’s so exciting to see horses in their mid-20s competing successfully,” DiBella said.

A great example was the American Quarter Horse Spindoll, who in 2017 at age 25 helped her rider, Rose Ruotsalainen of Cheney, Wash., earn three junior world championships, two reserve world championships and the overall junior divisional championship at the introductory level.

Support from generous sponsors is what makes this championship show work. Sponsorships are still available for classes, welcome parties and other awards, and inquiries are welcomed.

WDAA’s mission is to build an equine community that combines the traditions of the American West with classical dressage. We honor the horse, and we value the partnership between horse and rider.

WDAA is a 501(c)3 educational not-for-profit organization, focusing on educating riders and promoting the ethics and values inherent in western dressage. The United States Equestrian Federation has recognized WDAA as the sole affiliate representing the discipline of western dressage.

To learn more, or for entry or sponsorship information, go online to www.wdaaworldshow.org.

HPI Holdings LLC, an operator of hospitals, outpatient centers and clinics in Oklahoma City, INTEGRIS, Oklahoma’s most advanced health care system, and United Surgical Partners International (USPI), a leading provider of ambulatory services in the United States, have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture designed to offer patients and families more choice and flexibility of care settings.
The joint venture combines HPI’s comprehensive service offerings and convenience of care, the INTEGRIS system’s unmatched continuum in Oklahoma and the management infrastructure and capabilities of USPI. It also establishes an affiliation of more than 1,300 accomplished physicians, representing a wide variety of specialties with practices across metro Oklahoma City.
HPI Community Hospital locations include the north campus at 9800 Broadway Extension, the south campus at 3100 SW 89th Street and the Northwest Surgical Hospital at 9204 N. May Avenue. The INTEGRIS network includes Baptist Medical Center, Southwest Medical Center and Lakeside Women’s Hospital in Oklahoma City, as well as Canadian Valley Hospital in Yukon and INTEGRIS Health Edmond hospital in Edmond, OK.
“It is more important than ever that health care leaders continue to find ways to offer high quality care in affordable settings,” says Ed Gray, President and CEO of HPI. “We’ve been successful developers and service providers in standalone settings, and we’re pleased to continue development in that space while also establishing stronger connectivity to INTEGRIS, which offers Oklahoma’s most comprehensive level of services from primary care to transplant and everything in between.”
“The joint venture helps INTEGRIS continue our progress toward improving consumer access to care, delivering exceptional patient experiences, lowering the overall cost of care, and growing the number of people and families we’re able to serve,” says Tim Pehrson, President and CEO of INTEGRIS.
Brett Brodnax, President of USPI, states, “USPI is honored to both expand our relationship with INTEGRIS and establish this partnership with HPI. HPI physicians, management and staff have distinguished themselves by serving the surgical needs of the Oklahoma City community with excellence in quality, safety and patient satisfaction.”
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Brown Gibbons Lang & Company initiated the transaction and was the exclusive financial advisor to HPI.
HPI Community Hospital Group is a CMS 5-star rated and Blue Distinction Center + operator of physician-owned hospitals, outpatient centers and clinics in Oklahoma City, Okla. For more information visit hpillc.org.
INTEGRIS, an Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit health system in the state, is recognized for quality and innovation and offers advanced treatment options and specialties found nowhere else in the region. INTEGRIS is a member of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. For more information, visit integrisok.com.

What’s your favorite part about Fall? Norman Regional Health System Auxiliary

I love the leaves and the changing of the trees.

Cathy Dutcher

I don’t like the Fall because I don’t like raking leaves.

Vivian Holt

No more lawn mowing!

Frances Skidmore

I love the cooler weather and the fall colors.

Dolores Larison

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

Twenty five years ago, Deanna Waltens fled an abusive and threatening situation.
Life had put her in such a horrible situation that the prospect of leaving with nothing in hand was better than certain misery that waited for her at home.
“I was like Forrest Gump and I kept running and running and running,” Waltens laughed, looking back on her past heartaches.
“Maybe I could have done things better. Maybe I could have thought things out. Sometimes you don’t get that chance. So if you’re in that situation you just do what you have to do.”
Along the way she found people waiting to help.
She stayed at an emergency shelter.
“I saw all the hurt and all the need through all the little children that were there with their moms,” she said. “That really started opening my eyes a lot.”
Realizing she was homeless and chronically hungry she came back to Oklahoma.
Staying with her mom in Choctaw, she put her paralegal degree to work with a local attorney.
After more than a year she realized she needed something more permanent.
An application process through the federal government landed her a job with the immigration department.
After 15 years with the immigration department she retired.
Now she spends her days helping those in need at the Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area command food pantry.
“I came here because actually I saw something in Oklahoma’s Senior News and Living about them needing summer volunteers,” she said. “I realized what it is to be hungry, cold and scared and all the things that go with the situation.”
She stopped by and hasn’t left since.
“It’s a lovely place,” Waltens said. “The people are so great. All the other volunteers are so sweet I really love it here. I decided this was for me.”
Waltens volunteers now, largely because it was volunteers who helped her journey.
Liz Banks, volunteer director at the Salvation Army Central Oklahoma Area Command, says that’s one of the beauties of the service. Lawyers, police officers, seniors, millennials – people from all walks and professions – come together with a common goal to help their fellow human being.
It truly is an army of people coming together to help those in need.
And the need is always great. That’s why Banks loves it when she gets a call for someone inquiring how they can help.
Right now, Banks is in immediate need of spanish translators. Help is ready but sometimes communication barriers make it difficult.
If you can help in any way with time or talent call 405-246-1107.
“I went to churches and they were good and helpful but nothing like this,” Waltens said. “To me this is the ultimate in food pantries. This is just really, really good.”
Waltens knows the need is there because it was once her.
Someday it could be you.
“I think maybe they understand some but unless you’ve been there you don’t understand the real impact of getting up and wondering if you’re going to have anything to eat today,” she said. “People don’t realize, I guess they think it’s third world countries that face it but you face it here.”
She likes the fact people can come and get short-term help while others can utilize services longer term.
“Makes me feel really good,” Waltens smiled. “I realize that the Salvation Army is just that, it’s salvation for a lot of people – not only temporarily but spiritually, too. So much good goes on here. I see the Red Shield Diner help people every day.”
“I know the shelter. I know it’s a great place to be. It’s just a helping situation.”
Waltens comes from a generation that takes great pride on self reliance. Hard times are just opportunities to pull up your bootstraps.
But sometimes life leaves you shoeless.
“Don’t worry about coming here if you need help because anyone of us is 24 hours away from something like that. Not only does it give them that experience and help but it gives us the opportunity to serve.”
“Everytime I help someone through there I think I’m getting a blessing.
“I get more out of it.”