Community Connection Newsletter | April 2020 | News & Announcements

Meet Our New Director of Nursing Simone Wafer By: Sondra Yantz

As we prepare for the joy of our Lord’s resurrection during the Easter celebration on April 12, we also rejoice in welcoming our new Director of Nursing into our community.     We welcome the lovely Simone Wafer. Miss Simone joined us in January as the rehab nurse manager and is now serving as our Director of Nursing. Simone has been in long-term care nursing since 2006 when she started serving at a senior living center in Florida as a certified nursing assistant (CNA). After earning her nursing degree, Simone has served as a floor nurse, unit manager, staff development, infection control nurse, and an assistant director of nursing. She is currently working toward her Master’s Degree as a Nurse Practitioner.

She and her family, husband Marko and children Derrick (15) and Amarri (7), came to Saginaw, Michigan where her husband Marko’s family still resides. Simone truly enjoys spending time with her family, bargain shopping, reading and karaoke. This is the first time Simone has experienced and played in snow!   Simone has already jumped right in and has led an orientation for new staff members joining our team. She is passionate about people and caring for the elderly is near and dear to her heart. Simone’s goals for Samaritas are to evolve and grow the community by developing the staff and the senior living community as a whole.  We are thankful and blessed to have this dear lady joining our Samaritas family. Please stop by and say ‘welcome’ to your new Director of Nursing Simone Wafer.

Sheltering In Place Having fun and fooling around Recently our staff decided to break the tension of worries about COVID-19 by lip-syncing a routine to "Saturday Night Fever's" theme song. Check out the video!

Thoughts About Easter  By Reggie McKinney, 66

Easter to me is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After three days in the tomb, He rose on Easter Sunday.  I have two favorites…as a child, I loved the Easter egg hunts at our church. I also love the ‘family feasts’. We would welcome the ‘breaking of spring’ with a feast with family and friends on Easter Sunday. We had a lot of food! Ham, turkey, desserts, all the fixings.  I really loved that not only was Easter the welcoming of spring, it brought all of us a new Easter outfit. Every year we all got a new outfit to wear to church on Easter Sunday. I had a great blazer. It was black and it didn’t have a color. This made it unique and one-of-a-kind. I liked that mine was so different then everyone else’s blazer. I wore that one for years. Red jelly beans are the best! Orange is a second only if all the red ones are gone. Actually, I will eat any candy except licorice. Peeps are great! They remind me of spring. I don’t recall finding an Easter egg in a strange place. I just remember how great it was to go on the hunt in the yard at the church. I remember all the kids and the fun we had.    Easter is my way of knowing spring has sprung, family is together, food is a feast, and Jesus Christ has risen!!

More About Reggie This is his second stay with us. Last summer he was here to rehab after a car accident. He is here again after hip replacement surgery. And, bonus, he will be here again this summer after he has his other hip replaced.  He came to Samaritas because his son lived nearby and fell in love with it and the all the gals in rehab. These people have become like family and this place has become like home.   He has no interest in any other rehab facility. This is it for him!

Thoughts about Easter by Vickie Brisboy, 73 and Brenda Reed, 64

Meet Vickie and Brenda two Samaritas Sweeties that have become fast friends. For both of them, Easter was and still is about God. It is a time of celebration on spring and new life in Christ.  Vickie’s favorite memory about Easters past was using her gift of sewing and making Easter clothes for her children. Brenda remembers that her mother always dressed herself and her sister like twins. Her favorite outfit was a dress will little yellow flowers on it. She thinks very fondly of this dress.

Vickie (pictured on the left) and Brenda recalls Easter traditions

For these Sweeties, food was a big part of their Easter celebration. Both Vickie and Brenda learned to cook by watching their mothers and grandmothers in the kitchen especially during Eastertime. They made big dinners for family and friends.  Vickie remembers the many deviled eggs and homemade succotash. Brenda remembers making the best mac n cheese…even better than her mother made. The ladies learned firsthand the ‘pinch of this and pinch of that’ method of creating in the kitchen.   Vickie is a big proponent for black jelly beans while Brenda can’t stand the sight of black jelly beans. She preferred the green ones. Now Brenda loves peeps of any kinds but her fellow Sweetie, Vickie thinks that are awful! She liked to play with them in the Easter green. Sometimes she would leave them out to get hard and then eat them.

See what else is going on at Samaritas this month! Check out the list.

Why the 2020 Census Matters More than Ever

The spread of the COVID-19 virus has forced Americans into a new set of social norms while inadvertently revealing gaps in our social safety nets. This experience has exposed the need for improved emergency systems to support medical care, reduce food insecurity and assist the poor. While no one can predict the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, we do know that population numbers will help determine which regions will receive funding to restore normalcy. You can help by participating in the 2020 Census and making sure that you are counted, even if you’re in a group setting like a senior living community. If you’ve already received your form, you can fill it out by phone or online. It only takes about 20 minutes to do it. A Samaritas guide is available for you to review at bit.ly/2020CensusHelp . If you don’t receive an invitation to respond to the 2020 Census, you may respond online or call this number for assistance (844) 330-2020. Information in multiple languages is also available at 2020census.gov/en/contact-us .   

Census forms will start arriving in your mailbox this month. Samaritas staff member pictured assisting a resident with online Census reporting 

Samaritas offers retirement living for seniors with five communities throughout Michigan. Whether you want independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory support or rehabilitation therapy, you’ll find a home that feels right. Contact us at seniors@samaritas.org to s chedule a tour , learn about promotions and more. 

Samaritas Senior Living Saginaw 3200 State Street | Saginaw, MI 48602 | S amaritas.org/Senior-Living | (833) 505-CARE (2273)

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