Dust off those go-go boots and get ready to have a gas. On October 14, singer/songwriter Darla Z will perform a benefit concert at UCO Jazz Lab for Pepper’s Ranch Foster Care Community in a night filled with sensational 60s tunes. Darla Z’s sixties show will take you back to the days of peace, love and flower power. Touted by celebrity web site Radar Online as a singer with “Amazing vocals…a first class ticket,” Darla Z is the star of three public television specials, Vegas Headliner, and often called the female version of Frank Sinatra. About Darla Z, John Avildsen, Academy Award winning director of Rocky, calls Darla Z’s voice “nectar for the ears.” Tickets to the show are $75.00, includes gourmet food and wine, and can be purchased by visiting www.peppersranch.com or by calling Tonya Ratcliff at 405-919-9888. Sponsorships are also available.
Founded in 2009, Pepper’s Ranch was the first foster care community in Oklahoma. The community provides life changing experiences and opportunities for the foster care children who call this 160 acre ranch near Guthrie, Oklahoma, their “home.” Pepper’s Ranch mission is to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect through loving homes, counseling, and growth-oriented activities. By creating a network of caring foster parents and adult mentors on whom children can depend, Peppers Ranch is committed to providing a safe and secure environment where physical and emotional wounds can heal.

by Mike Lee
Staff Writer

Aging in place is a buzzword these days. But what does it really mean?
Joyce Clark has devoted her life’s work to ensuring seniors feel comfortable in their surroundings, no matter where they are living.
Clark has made life a little brighter and a little better for literally thousands of seniors in Oklahoma.
As the founder and CEO of Achievis Senior Living Associates, Clark spends her time breathing life into senior communities. Whether it be a community that has faltered and needs to get back on track or a brand new building, Clark plays a vital role.
The 53-year-old understands the people she serves. She knows that when she’s called in as a consultant she’s doing more than just meeting a budget or a goal.
“I’m a pretty aggressive goal-setter,” Clark said. “The goal for me is to always position a community to where it has the best resident care and its services and amenities are competitive. Making a profit is vitally important of course but I find it comes much easier when you put residents and employees first.”
Clark’s current project is Whispering Creek, 5712 Goldfinger Road, on the border of south Oklahoma City and Mustang. It is an active adult retirement neighborhood with homes for lease. Whispering Creek is made up of 70 attractive duplex homes in a private, gated neighborhood that features a clubhouse, ponds with waterfalls, storm shelter, and walking trails. Friendly neighbors and premier amenities such as a fitness center and social events are steps away from your front door. All lawn care, maintenance, and property management is included so you can focus on fun and friends.
Scheduled events, organized by Whispering Creek staff and residents, include theme nights, holiday parties, and day trips to local attractions. Residents can be active in a variety of clubs that may include bridge, canasta, book of the month, poker, dinner club, and scrapbooking.
It’s these types of amenities that Clark makes sure she includes in all her properties.
But staying at home as long as possible is also the wish for many. Clark says there are things people need to consider to better age in place.
Clark is a proponent of making homes safer and easier to maintain. Reducing trip hazards and sharp corners is important. Grab bars, carefully placed furniture, non-slip flooring, and tucked away electric cords make a big difference.
Single-story homes without any steps are typically the best option. Doorways and halls should be at least 36 inches wide to incorporate wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility devices.
Oven knobs need to be on the front so that the cook does not have to reach over hot pans or a flame. Other suggestions are to ensure the microwave is at counter height and appliances have easy-to-read controls. Low-maintenance shrubs and plants are the best choice for foliage and decoration.
Clark is a leader of the senior housing industry. She’s been in the business long enough to see dramatic changes.
“I find that since the recession things are different,” Clark said. “People are waiting longer to make the move into assisted living. They’re more crisis driven. Sometimes their family is struggling financially and dependent on the senior’s income or housing”. Inter-generational living is coming back into the American lifestyle and Clark feels that can be rewarding for everyone.

by Mike Lee, Staff Writer

Jo Wise’s background is in nonprofit management. Management at the American Heart Association, director positions at City Arts Center and the Paseo Arts District, Wise’s wheelhouse is helping organizations help others.
That’s her comfort zone. But after being one of 500 people laid off when the economy went south a few years back, Wise found herself in front of a class of wide-eyed third graders.
“I don’t have kids and I don’t know why they thought I would be a good third-grade teacher,” Wise said of a friend who introduced her to Junior Achievement Oklahoma. “They appealed to my sensitive side and talked me into it.
“I just loved it.”
It’s been a little over two years now since Wise became the regional director of Junior Achievement Oklahoma, an organization that focuses on our future with volunteers who go into classrooms and teach real-world skills.
Junior Achievement’s volunteer-delivered, kindergarten-12th grade programs foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and use experiential learning to inspire students to dream big and reach their potential.
With the help of more than 213,000 volunteers, JA students develop the skills they need to experience the realities and opportunities of work and entrepreneurship in the 21st-century global marketplace.
Junior Achievement empowers young people to own their economic success. The programs educate young people to value free enterprise, business and economics through the support of teachers, parents, and volunteers in the classroom.
“I got so much personal satisfaction from it,” Wise said of the time she spent in the classroom. “I felt like I had done something really important. I never dreamt I would be in the nonprofit education business but it’s just been great.”
“We teach very practical information the kids don’t get anywhere else,” Wise continued. “They learn how to balance checkbooks, buy a car and how to budget. They learn how to think about jobs they want when they’re little and what they need to be studying for those jobs as they get older.”
From resumes, mock interviews – even business and job shadows – Junior Achievement prepares students.
Wise says volunteers are encouraged to share their own experiences so lessons really hit home. After all, learning from someone else’s mistakes can seriously shorten a learning curve.
“We try to bring relativity to what they’re being taught in the classroom,” she said.
Last year, Junior Achievement had 700 volunteers in Oklahoma classrooms. This year the goal is 750 and Wise says anyone can help.
“I’m a senior myself and I was semi-retired whenever I found this job,” Wise said. “(Seniors) make some of the best volunteers that we have.”
Junior Achievement provides hands-on experiences to help young people understand how the real-world works.
In partnership with business and educators, Junior Achievement helps educate students in personal finance and practical workplace skills, preparing them to pursue their careers as well as their dreams.
During the 2013-2014 school year Junior Achievement of Oklahoma:
* Helped teach more than 51,500 students relevant concepts of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
* Over 9,000 JA BizTown citizens
* Connected over 3,500 business & community volunteers to classrooms
* Awarded 6 scholarships to graduating JA students
* Over 1,100 students competed in the JA Investor Challenge
* Over 1,200 high school students learned work readiness skills through JA Job Shadow and JA Workplace Internships
Last year, Wise said more than 14,200 students were impacted. The goal is to reach 16,000 students this year.
Junior Achievement has a 79-percent return rate, meaning the vast majority of volunteers enjoy their experience and come back again.
“Most people aren’t teaching anything they don’t know about already themselves,” Wise said. “So it’s easy to incorporate their stories into it. It’s an extremely rewarding experience.”
And the majority of schools Junior Achievement works with are Title I schools, meaning a majority of the student population is on the free or reduced lunch program.
“They don’t have role models to look up to,” Wise said.
Those interested in volunteering can contact Wise directly at 405-235-3399 or go to www.jaok.org. Junior Achievement has offices in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
“Once I taught that third-grade class I thought I had missed my calling,” Wise said. “I couldn’t believe I was the age I was an I had never taught. I didn’t even know I had the aptitude for it.”

by Vickie Jenkins

On August 11, 2015 Deaconess Hospital changes its name to AllianceHealth Deaconess and joined the nine other CHS-affiliated hospitals in the state to form AllianceHealth Oklahoma. One of the state’s largest healthcare systems, AllianceHealth Oklahoma combines the strength, resources and commitment to quality of 10 hospitals, more than 70 clinics, six home health agencies and more than 4,500 employed physicians and employees to serve patients across the state.
“Working together, we can embrace how we serve patients across Oklahoma, stated Devon Hyde, CEO of AllianceHealth Deaconess. “We are determined to offer patients the best possible experience, when and where they need it. When patients see the name AllianceHealth Oklahoma, we want them to expect high quality and safe care.”
What does this name change mean for you? “It creates a network so that when patients are receiving care in one of the outlying facilities, they have an understanding that there is a continuity of care throughout the state of Oklahoma. We have a pervasive presence in those communities, and if patients need to seek higher levels of care, it is certainly available within our network,” states Hyde.
“Currently, we provide healthcare in 10 Oklahoma communities, but no one has a sense that we are affiliated and provide coordinated care throughout the state. With the connection among our partners strengthened by a system name, common visual identity and consistent, strategic communications, our patients will know at every point along the continuum of care that they are being cared by our health network. From a hospital perspective, we are one of the largest health systems in the state. Most people don’t realize it but the branding will help patients easily recognize that our hospitals are part of a single network where they can expect to receive high quality care and the best possible experience,” Jim Kendrick, Network CEO comments.
The hospitals in AllianceHealth Oklahoma are:
* AllianceHealth Deaconess
* AllianceHealth Blackwell
* AllianceHealth Clinton
* AllianceHealth Durant
* AllianceHealth Madill
* AllianceHealth Midwest
* AllianceHealth Ponca City
* AllianceHealth Pryor
* AllianceHealth
* AllianceHealth Seminole
* AllianceHealth Woodward
All programs and services of these hospitals are also part of the AllianceHealth Oklahoma family; the physician practices are renamed as AllianceHealth Medical Group, Home Health agencies are now known as Alliance Oklahoma Home Health. Today, there are agencies located in Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Ponca City Pryor and Woodward. In Clinton, the agency offers home health and hospice services.
“Another great thing about these communities coming together, we get to see our employees be a part of an organization. It creates a greater level of coordination and care whether it be locally or throughout the regions, we provide outlets of an alliance. All organizations in the state of Oklahoma are now branded with the new AllianceHealth. It starts today and I am very excited about it,” Kendrick states. “All 10 hospitals have been locally operated, which they will continue to do, but they will now identify with the AllianceHealth Oklahoma network. Now, whether it is patient care or physician recruiting, we are going to do the best job we can having that visual alliance, we can now identify with the new, basic network through Oklahoma.”

If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why? Epworth Villa

“I would be a squirrel so I could travel to different places.” Herman Reece

“I would be a cat because they are usually petted and cared for a lot.” Marlene Reece

“I would be a horse.  I remember riding a horse to school when I was 6 years old and it was always so dependable.” John Brothers

“I would be a cat.  Cats are so smart and independent as well as  being a loving companion.” Julia Loveless

by Jason Chandler
Staff Writer

Jerod Buttram spoke to a resident the other day who has lived in Independent living at Concordia Life Care Community. He’s now living is assisted living, said Buttram, Concordia Life Care administrator.
That’s the ease of Concordia, having a continuum of care to age in place.
“He’s a very stern, strong man,” Buttram said. “And he’s come to me more than once that I know more about him than anyone else. His family is pretty active with him, but he still feels that we are close enough that I know more about him than even a family does.”
Buttram knows that’s the type of reward that one doesn’t take for granted. Such a compliment is earned, he said.
“It was very heartfelt.”
All under one roof, Concordia Life Care Community is a faith based continuing care retirement community offering all levels of care from assisted living to memory support and skilled nursing.
Concordia was developed by 12 Lutheran churches during the 1950s. Now Concordia is the only community under the auspices of Lutheran Senior Citizens, Inc. Concordia can generally serve about 200 senior, Buttram said.
When a resident qualifies to live there, they are committed to receive whatever contractual level they need for the rest of their life.
Buttram has witnessed the transitions of life many of the residents experience, said Jacquelyn Rolen, RN, and director of Health Services.
When working with seniors, nurses and anyone who works at Concordia must have a heart to earn more than a paycheck, Buttram continued.
“If you get that and you have the servant heart, then the rewards are much greater than financial,” Buttram said. “And I fell the majority of the staff and the residents that live here get that concept.”
Finding that fit is almost magical, he said. You transcend a pay check, and that is what makes the caregiver and the Concordia environment special, he explained.
Rolen came to work at Concordia because she immediately sensed a different feeling there. She felt welcomed and that ambiance shines on the residents who live there.
“The residents are happy,” she said.
They are part of a community, sort of like a small town, said Buttram, who has served on a city commissioner in New Mexico.
“Concordia is a life care community. And it acts like an independent community does,” he said. “We have our own boards that get involved in the governance. You have residents who take a vested interest in their neighbors.”
They will report to staff if their neighbors are not feeling well or if they haven’t seen them out as often lately, Buttram said.
“They are a huge source for us about our own residents,” Buttram continued. “And so together, we care for everybody.”
Buttram has found his niche due to the fact that Concordia acts like a small town. Being faith based, there are a lot of residents from the Nazarene church and the Lutheran church, Rolen said.
“We have some ministers here that live here,” she said. “You can feel the faith in here.”
In Buttram’s office is a framed expression stating, “Every day is a gift,” which seems to reflect the general attitude of each hallway.
“Someone (a nurse) was over today checking Assisted Living to see how they’re doing,” Rolen said. “One of the residents said, ‘Have a normal day,’ and I looked at him (the nurse) and said, ‘What’s a normal day? I hope you don’t have too many emergencies today.’”
There is nothing about providing care to individuals that is routine, Buttram said. Every day is different and unique with its own challenges and rewards, he added.
Buttram and Rolen enjoy being assessable to the Concordia staff, many of whom have worked at other places and had never met the administrator and the administrator didn’t know them.
“Here, the staff knows both of us,” Buttram said. “They know the administrator by name and come in and share issues about work and personal. I’ve had that response to me I don’t know how many times. Too me that’s a good thing.” Nurses don’t run the other way when they see the director of nurses.
“In some places you hide, but here they come to Jackie,” he said.
Rolen said she has been a nurse for a long time and always wanted to be an open-door. She makes corrections when a nurse is wrong, but she tries to be positive because it provides better results and communication.
“I’ve always felt that you can’t keep correcting somebody if you can’t tell them how to do something right,” Rolen said.
Buttram said the best approach is to see that new challenges are a learning experience. The idea is to grow, he said. People make mistakes but the hope is that they don’t repeat mistakes, but learn from it.
“Hopefully we have that here,” he said.
Groups of men play poker in one room and you turn the corner and others are singing Happy Birthday to their neighbors and friends.