Tina Prins, Author at Moravian Manor Communities

Donor Bestows Gift of Tranquility

Dec 20, 2022 | Community, Family

A space for remembrance, prayer, contemplation, or meditation…welcome to the Tranquility Garden on the Warwick Woodlands Campus.

On Friday, June 10, MMC residents and staff gathered together for the dedication of the new Tranquility Garden. A brief ceremony included comments from David Swartley, President/CEO and Chaplain Timothy Naisby, who shared an ancient Aramaic translation that suggests the true root of tranquility is a “return to rest after wandering.”

Through their generous contribution, MMC residents Ed and Lucy Meinsler hope the Tranquility Garden “will become a special place where residents can both reflect on the passing of a partner or neighbor, and also provide a tranquil and peaceful area for personal thought.”

Located at the corner of Lark Lane and Barn Owl Road on the Warwick Woodlands Campus, the garden overlooks the peaceful, neighboring farmland. A “Labyrinth” sculpture, created by resident artist Milt Machalek, serves as an important centerpiece for the garden. During the ceremony, Milt explained that his “inspiration for the vertical finger labyrinth came from having visited Newgrange, the 5,200-year-old passage tomb in Ireland, where an unusual triple spiral is cut into the entrance stone and also on a wall inside; reinforcing the purpose of the space for prayer, contemplation, or meditation. It was only fitting that the ceremony concluded with the playing of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes by Tom Machalek, Milt’s son.

Included in the Tranquility Garden is a sitting area with a “wall of remembrance” that was added to create a special place for residents to add the name of a friend or loved one who was a residential living resident at MMC.

A remembrance nameplate can be purchased for a donation of $250. The donation will be put toward the Benevolent Care Fund. Contact the MMC Development office for more information at 717-625-6104 or development@moravianmanor.org.

Casey Magee – Excellence in Customer Care

Dec 15, 2022 | Excellence in Care

Casey Magee, Dining Services

“Casey is great with residents and they love when he is in the Health Center dining room. He works well with other departments and is a team player. Most of all, he is fun to be around and makes meal time fun for the Health Center folks…and for me as well when I help with lunch.”
~ Kerry Dering, Director of Activities

“Casey is always willing to help and pitch in when and where possible. He also always brings a very positive attitude to the job.”
~ Bill Zimnoch, Director of Dining Services

Thank you, Casey, for your dedication to Excellence in Customer Care!

About the Excellence in Customer Care Recognition Program:
Moravian Manor Communities takes pride in maintaining a strong set of standards and ethics, delivering superior services that make a difference in the daily lives of residents. Through the Excellence in Customer Care recognition program, MMC’s leadership and management team nominate and acknowledge the contributions made by team members who rise to challenges and go above and beyond the call of duty.

Herbal Society at MMC Spices Things Ups

Dec 14, 2022 | Community, Culinary

At Moravian Manor Communities, the Herbal Society is spicing up retirement living in Lititz. Residents Sue Burrell and Lucy Meinsler, founding members of the society, sought to create an herb and edible flower garden for the chefs to use in a variety of dishes served in the Owl’s Nest Restaurant. The resident-initiated collaboration’s mission also includes providing programs such as how to cook with herbs, incorporate herbs in flower gardens, use herbs in craft projects, and more. In addition to zesting up the menu at MMC, the society also is seasoning up the lives of residents who take turns watering and maintaining the garden.

Herbal Society co-founder Sue Burrell, an elementary school teacher with a love for gardening, was pulled down a different career path by her passion for gardening. Susan inquired about an open position at JB Hostetter, True Value Hardware, and helped build up its garden center business and ultimately became the full-time buyer and manager of the garden center. While Sue did not have a formal education in horticulture, she was self-taught and continued her education by enrolling in various classes. Sue retired from JB Hostetter with 30-years’ experience. Susan recalled “one of proud Mom moments was when my son, who initially attended college to be a school guidance counselor, decided to follow in my footsteps and pursue a career in landscape architecture.”

For co-founder Lucy, she discovered her passion for herbs while living in Connecticut as a frequent visitor to Caprilands Herb Farm, whose owner was a nationally known expert and author on herbs. After moving to Pennsylvania, Lucy continued her interest by attending talks and classes on herbs and gardening sponsored by the Penn State Extension Service in Lebanon. Lucy enjoys applying what she has learned while she is cooking and experimenting with different herbs.

Sue and Lucy connected at a campus program on herbs, discovered their common interest, and the Herbal Society bloomed to life. With a background in association management and meeting planning Lucy enjoys writing and distributing the monthly Herbal Thymes newsletter for the society and works with Sue to develop workshops and presentations for its members. Most recently, they coordinated a cooking demonstration with Executive Chef Derek Miller, of the Owl’s Nest. Using fresh herbs from the garden, Derek prepared salmon cakes w/fish sauce and a vanilla shake with chocolate mint. Delicious!

Seek to Understand

Dec 13, 2022 | Community

The well-known prayer of St. Francis says, “Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted. To understand, than to be understood. To love than to be loved.” Steven Covey’s bestselling book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” borrows part of the prayer as Habit #5. Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood.

It sounds simplistic. It is not. I recall having a disagreement with one of my children and her saying, “Dad, I have some things to say; just let me say them and do not say a word.” It may have been the most difficult 10 minutes of my life. I was viewed quite differently than I saw myself. Though not easy to hear, these insights can be incredibly valuable. I suspect many of you are like me. I have strong opinions that are always correct, and I am always eager to share them! Again, speak to my beloved family for confirmation!

The digital age has made “understanding” even more difficult. We criticize others online and seldom listen. While social media has many benefits, I do not believe it enhances communication. I listen to the folk singer Carrie Newcomer’s song, “Don’t Press Send.” It is an excellent reminder to be less impulsive and slower to respond.

MMC’s leadership team is responsible for listening to (and hopefully understanding) over 600 residents. Residents have wants, desires, and needs; it is the responsibility of the leadership team to listen and understand. And, to recognize that depending on the season of life, the conditions vary considerably. A resident on hospice is experiencing different needs than a resident who just returned from a cruise to Europe.

In light of this responsibility, residents had the opportunity for their voices to be heard through the Holleran Satisfaction and Engagement Survey. I am pleased to share that we had an 80% response rate. According to Holleran benchmarks, this is a great response rate. We celebrated this outstanding response on Monday, September 12, with an ice cream social.

There was a lot of great information gleaned from the responses. Several themes stood out and most frequently mentioned were the restricted dining hours and access to health care services. In addition to the executive summary, there were over 37 pages of comments. Overall, it was evident that residents are satisfied and happy to be living at MMC, and our team received numerous comments of affirmation.

As we seek to understand and make improvements, there is much information to absorb. It was rewarding to note that MMC’s overall resident satisfaction was in the 89th percentile (rated against Holleran’ s national database). Over 90% of residents said they would recommend MMC to a friend or relative. Thanks to all of you for your support of our ministry. I appreciate your honesty as we seek to understand.

Community Basics Nears Completion with Saxony Ridge

Nov 22, 2022 | Community

Community Basics and Moravian Manor Communities are proud to announce that after 15 months of construction, the Saxony Ridge Apartments are planned to be open December 1, 2022. The 62-unit apartment building for persons age 62 or older, is currently accepting names for the interest list for 44 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments.

In early September, applications were mailed via email or USPS to everyone on the interest list, and a few days later, the applications were made available to the public. Upon receipt of the application and processing fee, credit and background checks will be completed by staff at Community Basics. Based on the order of receipt, those who pass the checks will be contacted for an interview.

Community Basics must adhere to numerous rules and regulations to offer housing for rent. For example, to qualify for Saxony Ridge Apartments a one-person household’s income needs to be between $16,248 and $37,920 per year, and a two-person household’s income needs to be between $22,392 and $43,320 per year.

Community Basics plans to have a holiday open house in December; the exact date and time are yet to be determined.

If you have questions about the apartments, how to get your name on the interest list, where to get an application or income qualifications, please contact Community Basics at 717-735-9590 or
info@communitybasics.com.