admin, Author at St Luke's in the Desert

30Jan 2019 by admin

Message from Nancy Nagle, Board President

News

Dear Friends of St. Luke's Home: It is with sadness that I inform you that St. Luke's CEO L'Don Sawyer will be leaving St. Luke's Home on February 12 to return to a position with Tucson Medical Center to expand its Telehealth Program. Diana Sheldon will serve as the Interim CEO effective February 5, 2019. Her contact: ceo@stlukeshometucson.org and direct line: 207-0849. Please let us know if you know anyone interested in the permanent CEO position. As you all know, L'Don loves everything about St Luke’s and will continue to partner and engage (as she did in her previous position at TMC) with our St. Luke's community. This includes advocating for St. Luke's with her many high-level contacts across our community. Over the last several months, I have heard many…

11Jan 2019 by admin

January 2019 Newsletter

Newsletter

St. Luke's Home January Newsletter St. Luke's Shines in 2018! As we enter 2019, we can all be proud of the many highlights of our St. Luke's community over the last year. A giant thank you to our donors, volunteers, supporters and staff for all you did to make the year such a great one. Take a look below at a few of the many accomplishments that have helped change the lives of our low-income Elders: Our partnership with the University of Arizona continued to flourish with inter-generational programs that provided great benefit to students and our Elders. Areas of focus in 2018 included medication safety and increased opportunities for individualized Elder nutritional assessments (see top picture). Stronger, Longer, offered in partnership with the University of Arizona College…

17Dec 2018 by admin

Know Who Needs You – Carl

News

Know Who Needs You - #3 Welcome to St. Luke's third Know Who Needs You holiday postcard. In this season of returning light, we hope the stories about our Elders fill your hearts. Please know how profoundly grateful we all are for your generosity. It is because of you St. Luke's is able to keep its doors open to low-income older adults. Thank you! Meet Carl: Literature, travel and teaching are the passions of Carl's life. A native of Cambridge, MA, he graduated from the oldest secondary school in the nation, Boston Latin School, founded in 1635. He went on to earn a master’s and doctorate from Boston University. His first job was in Los Angeles as a high school teacher where he taught many…

11Dec 2018 by admin

Know Who Needs You – Lois

News

Know Who Needs You - #2 It is our pleasure to share the second in our series of holiday postcards: Know Who Needs You. Thanks to all of you for not looking away! Your support and generosity provide our Elders a year-long gift of dignity, safety, community and care for which they are all deeply grateful. Meet Lois: Two days each week, when you come through the front door of St. Luke's Home, Lois' smiling face greets you. Pictured above right with Sadie, high- school-volunteer extraordinaire, Lois' kind and gentle ways are appreciated by all. You can often find her in the hall near the med room reading the Arizona Daily Star or in the dining room. No matter the time of day, her smile is always at the ready.…

10Dec 2018 by admin

St. Luke’s CEO Advocates for Elder Housing Solutions

News

[caption id="attachment_5329" align="aligncenter" width="500"] L'Don Sawyer, CEO of St. Luke's Home[/caption] Important Op Ed by CEO L'Don Sawyer that was published in the December 10th Arizona Daily Star. L'Don is Chair of the regional Elder Alliance Older Adult and Housing Action Team. A 76-year old woman tearfully told her story of living in a van after her two sisters died of cancer last year and then her van was hit by a car, demolishing her mobility and home. “My life is in storage in Sierra Vista,” she shared. Mary lost her home in the foreclosure crisis and lives now with an 80-year old who provides her a room in exchange for services around his home. A World War II vet lost his “job” house-sitting and was desperately seeking housing. “I…

03Dec 2018 by admin

Know Who Needs You – Edna

News

Know Who Needs You - #1 This marks the third year we are honored to share our holiday Know Who Needs You postcard sent weekly in December so you can better know the amazing people who live at St. Luke's. Thanks to all of you for not looking away. Your support and generosity provide our Elders the dignity, safety, community and care all of them deserve. Meet Edna: For 24-years, St. Luke's has been home to Edna, who holds the record for living in our community longer than anyone there today. A native of Buffalo, NY, she speaks fondly of cars with rumble seats (great for dates!), penny candy at the movies, and playing center on her school basketball team because she was tallest. Her first job…

01Dec 2018 by admin

December 2018 Newsletter

Newsletter

St. Luke's Home December Newsletter St. Luke's Elders and Staff Learn How to Identify and Stop Bullying Robin Bonifas, PhD, MSW, discussed her book and offered practical advice to St. Luke's Elders and staff on how to identify bullying and help stop bullying when it does happen. Bonifas (pictured above center in lime-green scarf) is the author of Bullying Among Older Adults and is an Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. According to Bonifas, there is a growing body of research on peer bullying among Elders who live communally. Bonifas defines bullying as "verbal, physical or antisocial behaviors that occur in the context of social relationships." She pointed out, "Like youths, victims of senior bullying experience considerable emotional distress." As shown in…

08Nov 2018 by admin

SAHBA Orchestrates St. Luke’s Beautification

News

When David Godlewski, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders, first read about St. Luke's 100-year celebrations, he scheduled a visit to St. Luke's and asked CEO L'Don Sawyer, "How can I help?" A brief tour of St. Luke's quickly revealed the need for rejuvenation of the iron work and steel structures in front of St. Luke's, including in the East Courtyard where the kick-off event was held. Godlewski gathered several of his members including AB LeCocq Construction and the Home Builders Institute (HBI), which brought in a group of students to do the prepping. Dunn-Edwards donated all of the paint required. (Pictured above are John Gallagher of HBI in green and Octavio Mendivils of AB LeCocq Construction). As Godlewski said, “We are honored to have played a small…

08Nov 2018 by admin

St. Luke’s Elder Edna Speaks at 100-Year Celebration Kick-Off

News

Family and friends of St. Luke's Home showed up in large numbers on Sunday, October 28th for the official kick-off of the 100th anniversary of St. Luke's in the Desert. The afternoon event, catered by St. Luke's Home's Melissa Hernandez and her talented staff, was held in the East Courtyard among St. Luke's gardens and freshly painted fencing and entry spaces. Edna (pictured above CEO L'Don Sawyer) had a featured speaking role. She shared her recollections of the nearly quarter century she has lived at St. Luke's, and noted how grateful she is to reside in a community of such beauty. The kick-off event was the result of months of planning by the 100-Year Committee, (pictured above second from top). Committee members pictured from left to right: Amanda Johnson…

01Nov 2018 by admin

November 2018 Newsletter

Newsletter

St. Luke's Home November 100th Anniversary Events Kick Off at St. Luke's Family and friends of St. Luke's Home showed up in large numbers on Sunday, October 28th for the official kick-off of the 100th anniversary of St. Luke's in the Desert. The afternoon event, catered by St. Luke's Home's Melissa Hernandez and her talented staff, was held in the East Courtyard among St. Luke's gardens and freshly painted fencing and entry spaces (see story below). Edna (pictured at top with CEO L'Don Sawyer) had a featured speaking role. She shared her recollections of the nearly quarter century she has lived at St. Luke's, and noted how grateful she is to reside in a community of such beauty. The kick-off event was the result of…