May 2018 Newsletter

A Tribute to Mothers from L’Don Sawyer:

In honor of Mother’s Day on May 13th,  I wanted to take the opportunity to  thank every mother in the St. Luke’s family and offer a few of my own memories of how profoundly my mom, June Sawyer, (pictured above left) influenced my life.

Our relationships with our mothers are typically fraught, fragile and fierce with feeling. Not one of us arrived on this earth without a mother whose own body grew, fed and gave us life. The beat and pulse of her provided the rhythms of our earliest days, and her touch imbued us with our sense of safety and love.

My own mother inspired in me the deep love of Elders that has informed my life’s work. Mom was a real go-getter, and she encouraged my siblings and me to volunteer. I began visiting nursing homes when I was five years old and knew every older adult in our neighborhood. In sixth grade, I volunteered for Telephone Assurance, which meant I called people who used to be known as ‘shut-ins’ to check in each day, make sure they answered the phone. If they did not answer, I would call the agency to check in on them.

My favorite was Miss Kacki. Each day, we chatted about how she was doing and she always ended the conversation with, “Oh Dear, thank you so much for calling. I’m done now.” And she hung up!

St. Luke’s is offering a special way this year to recognize your mother or a mother-figure in your life. Click on the link below to donate to St. Luke’s in your mother’s honor, and, if requested, we will mail her a beautiful Mother’s Day card to let her know how much you love her and that a donation has been made in her honor. https://stlukeshometucson.org/mothers-day-2018.

And from all of us at St. Luke’s Home, thank you to the mothers, step-mothers and deeply kind women who profoundly shaped our lives. A very special Mother’s Day to all!

Meet Robert Dietterick!

St. Luke’s Home New Director of Operations

A warm welcome to Robert Dietterick, St. Luke’s new Director of Operations pictured above with his wife Laura at the 99th Baile de las Flores. Robert’s first day at St. Luke’s was March 26 and from the moment he walked through the door, he dove into learning all the day-to-day operations of St. Luke’s from care partners to culinary to carpenters.

Robert previously ran a division of Victory Medical Solutions. He and Laura moved to Tucson in July 2014 from Kulpmont, PA, a town of 4000 in central eastern Pennsylvania.

“Two things drew me to St. Luke’s.” he shared, “I was drawn by the opportunity to directly impact Elder lives and deeply impressed by the caliber of L’Don Sawyer. I am very excited to have this opportunity.”

He spoke passionately about the importance of staff and bringing people together as a strong team. He is spending his days learning St. Luke’s operations while also getting to know personally each staff member and the names and lives of each Elder. 

Welcome, Robert! A huge addition to the mission of St. Luke’s Home.

 May 4 Elder Event Kicks Off 100-Year Celebration

The 100th Anniversary Committee, under the leadership of Debby Johnson, has been hard at work for nearly two years organizing a range of events to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of St. Luke’s and the Board of Visitors Committee. St. Luke’s Elders will get the first, quite literally, taste of all that hard work at a special luncheon celebration on May 4th.

Cynthia Cobb, a member of the BOV-C, took the lead on organizing the Mariachi-themed luncheon, which will feature street tacos, a greeting and brief history about St. Luke’s from Debby Johnson. Entertainment will be provided by Mariachi Aguilitas de Davis, the mariachi group from Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet school pictured above.

“We will fill the dining room with bright paper flowers and other festive decorations,” Cynthia shared. “We want to make sure the Elders know about St. Luke’s rich history!”

A special “Olé” to all, and let the celebrations begin!