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

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

Houmas House Plantation and Gardens is just a short drive northwest of New Orleans, and a world away from modern stress with a touch of old plantation elegance. In fact the old plantations of the fabled golden era of the south could never have matched the elegance that owner, developer and host, Kevin Kelly has created.
By taking an historical plantation featured in several movies as the icon of the old south, he has updated it without losing the charm of the old South we all seek. Year after year he has added to its elegance with extensive gardens, world class gourmet offerings, and overnight accommodations envy of any five star property.
For nearly two and a half centuries, the Sugar Barons of Houmas House have entertained their guests with the finest of food and beverage. It is in this spirit that Chef Anderson Foster allows his guests the opportunity to personalize their dining experience. His tasting menu allows for his guests to select among several choices for the ultimate customization of their menu. Visit Latil’s Landing Restaurant on their Restaurant Page for details and menus.
Or you may want to linger all day and enjoy 38 lush acres of gardens, ponds and the majestic live oak alley. Relax with a refreshing handmade mint julep by a handsome escort, and enjoy the breeze off the Mississippi just up over the levee in front of the plantation and stroll through the shadows of ancient oaks conjuring up fantasies of older days.
You may want to schedule your visit to coincide with the Art Gumbo Community Market presented by the River Region Art Association every third Saturday of the month under the trees at Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow, LA on The River Road from 10am – 2pm. The market offers Louisiana arts and crafts from local artisans including, paintings, jewelry, photography, pottery, and other such special crafts. Latil’s Landing Restaurant Chef, Jeremy Langlois offers a complimentary tasting of one of his amazing dishes. After visiting the Market, their Café Burnside, open for lunches and breakfast for casual but delicious dining.
The American Photo Safari group has teamed up with Houmas House to offer a day of learning, relaxation and beauty, In addition to the plantation house which contains eighteen rooms filled with antiques the experience includes acres of gardens, ponds, paths and its majestic Live Oak alley. It received the Country Roads Favorite Plantation Award for 2011, where you will also learn about its deep-rooted history of the plantation lead by guides in period dress.
225 Baton Rouge Magazine readers have voted Houmas House Plantation and
Gardens Best Wedding Reception Venue for 2015. It’s also the 2015 Certificate of Excellence from Tripadvisor!
After visiting the plantation over the years as I have, I think you will agree with me that Houmas House is your favorite plantation experience. Never been? Visited in the past? Now is the time to renew and enjoy.
For more information, location and booking:

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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 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.”

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 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.

What will I do with all these apples?
Too much of a good thing was the dilemma facing Gina Hollingsworth. The overflowing supply of apples in her refrigerator needed to be used before they turned rotten. She baked apple cakes, muffins and everything she could think of before finally concocting a recipe for gourmet apple spread.
Hollingsworth knew she had a winning recipe when she couldn’t keep up with demand at local craft shows and fairs. That’s when she realized she had a new business on her hands.
She decided to call her business Southern Okie to blend her Kentucky roots with love of her newly-adopted state of Oklahoma. Both have been important to her success.
Hollingsworth grew up with a tradition of great cooking and Southern hospitality. She added marketing savvy and a love of people to sell gourmet spreads in Edmond, then at the State Fair of Oklahoma, and now, the world.
The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) helped Southern Okie get established as a Made In Oklahoma company. This program promotes locally made products at state fairs and area grocery stores. ODAFF’s international marketing program helped Hollingsworth meet international buyers and move to a world stage.
Hollingsworth has participated in two trade missions sponsored by ODAFF and has made valuable connections in foreign countries that want to import her original gourmet apple spread. They also love her peach, pumpkin and pear spreads.
A recent in-bound trade mission brought buyers from Mexico to Oklahoma City. They sampled MIO products and considered making them available in Mexican stores and restaurants. The trade mission was a partnership between ODAFF and the Southern U.S. Trade Association (SUSTA) which promotes the export of U.S. agricultural products.
The buyer from Mexican food service company Salud Y Sabor was impressed by the freshness of ingredients used in Southern Okie products. He told Hollingsworth that his company never compromises on quality.
“I think about what I can do for him and his business,” said Hollingsworth. “He wanted to know what kind of business relationship we would have if he imported Southern Okie products.”
During the trade mission, Hollingsworth met with four buyers and developed strong leads for future sales. ODAFF’s international marketing team has decades of experience in matching Oklahoma companies with appropriate contacts from other countries.
“SUSTA and ODAFF have been instrumental in guiding me through the process as I have grown my business. I am thankful for their support and their willingness to help not only Southern Okie but all Oklahoma based businesses,” Hollingsworth said.
ODAFF’s programs and services are open to all Oklahoma companies interested in selling their agricultural value-added products to the world. Value-added products and companies contribute to the health of the state’s economy and the agriculture sector.
“Southern Okie has more than tripled in sales the past two years. With this exceptional growth, I am hoping to expand my product line as well as hire another employee,” said Hollingsworth.
To find out if ODAFF can help your business, contact Barbara Charlet at barbara.charlet@ag.ok.gov or Haidar Haidary at haidar.haidary@ag.ok.gov.