"A Fair to Remember" Remembered

    On April 15 the Kendal Institute presented “A Fair to Remember,” a program focused on giving Kendal residents some sense of the wide array of opportunities available to us to engage with the educational institutions serving our wider community. The fourth special event sponsored by the institute this year, the "Fair to Remember" was truly well-named.

    Display desks ringed the Amelia Room, and their colorful installations gave a festive appearance to the occasion. A student from Lakewood High School was at the keyboard. For over an hour curious residents bustled, shuffled, and ambled their way around the room, either with or against the traffic, visiting the displays that interested them. They talked with the invariably cheerful representatives who sat behind the desks and examined the brochures and hand-outs and sign-up lists that lay before them. When residents wanted to take a break, they moved toward the center of the room, where clusters of chairs invited resting, chatting, observing, and enjoying of snacks, including some wonderful ice cream bars that kept mysteriously appearing – thanks to Ye Olde Mill and the Velvet Ice Cream Company.

    The focus of the event was EDUCATION, but the planners had no intention of construing that word in any narrower sense. They saw the goal of the event to be to demonstrate how residents of Kendal could become both (and often simultaneously) senior learners and volunteers in the task of educating others.

    Institutions of formal education – the public schools, Denison University, and Central Ohio Technical College – were of course represented, offering information about both volunteering and learning opportunities. So too were the Lifelong Learning Institute and the Licking County Genealogical Society, organizations that aim at providing educational experiences to seniors. Also present were representatives of the libraries of our area, central players in the education of the citizenry of the wider community.

    Area museums had their desks. Some of these institutions were town-focused museums, repositories for the documents and artifacts that are the foundation for the work of students of local history. Others were topical in character, featuring the glass-making past of the area or the costumes and attire of earlier eras. All offered chances to learn and to volunteer.

    Finally, two major outdoor opportunities were represented: the glorious Dawes Arboretum, with one of the country’s finest public gardens; and the spectacular Newark Earthworks site, which (in conjunction with the Flint Ridge State Park site) is testimony to the impressive artistic, theological, commercial, and organizational vigor of the pre-Columbian Hopewell culture.

    Printed on the program for the event was a marvelous call to action – “Learn, Join, Volunteer, Sign Up.” There is already much evidence that many residents who visited “A Fair to Remember” accepted the invitation. We have grounds to hope therefore that the effects of the event will ripple through Kendal at Granville for years to come.

   

The Florence Wellness Center

The Kendal at Granville health philosophy states that ‘the Kendal approach helps residents stay well, remain independent,  and maintain the  highest possible level of  involvement in their care.”  In keeping with this philosophy a part of the continuum of health care here at Kendal at Granville is the Florence Wellness Center which provides outpatient services for residents.  The Florence Wellness Center is located in the Community Center.  It is open Monday through Friday.

Services in the Florence Wellness Center are provided by Central Ohio Geriatrics, a provider of Geriatric Medicine, Family Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine under the direction of John M. Weigand, M. D.  “Central Ohio Geriatrics (COG) provides dedicated, comprehensive, evidence-based care with a focus on achieving the highest level of independence possible and improving the quality of life for seniors.  Our continuum of services to seniors includes home care, assisted living, wellness programs, skilled rehabilitation, and long term care.  We specialize in medical direction and are committed to educating future physicians and geriatricians through medical education.” This quote from the COG website illustrates the synchronicity between the philosophies of COG andKAG  as to the care of seniors.

I personally, like many other residents here, have found it a distinct advantage to have the services of COG on our campus.  Not only is it convenient but more importantly it saved me the daunting task of finding a new primary physician when I moved here from Philadelphia.  What a relief it was to discover the Wellness Canter was staffed by a well qualified doctor who was accepting patients.

Our COG staff   includes a receptionist, two licensed practical nurses, a registered nurse, two nurse practitioners, and a psychologist all under the direction of Dr. J. Weigand.

Arrangements have been made with Licking Memorial Hospital to come here daily to draw blood for required blood work -  a big time saver

The local CVS makes deliveries here of medications which is another big time saver for residents – another big time saver.

Blood pressure checks are done routinely twice weekly.

At regular intervals a podiatrist comes in  to provide foot care for those who need it.

Flu shots are given annually.

From time to time Dr. J. Weigand gives presentations in the evening on health care topics concerning the health problems faced by seniors.

During my ten years’ residence here I have had occasion at one time or another to call upon the services of each staff member.  Individually and collectively they have been there for me.  They have given me wise counsel, beneficial referrals,helpful advice, careful instructions, sympathetic listening ears, and treatments as needed.

No matter how impatient or disgruntled I may have been they have treated me with respect, patience, and understanding.  As a retired nurse educator who taught geriatric nursing including the pros and cons of selecting facilities for the care of the aging, I came with high expectations and can honestly say that I have not been disappointed that I chose Kendal at Granville.  Kendal’s philosophy of health care springs from the written page into action daily thanks to our caring Wellness Center staff.