News and Events Exciting things happen all the time at Liberty! Check here often for news, events and information about our organization.
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Liberty at Home Celebrates Medicare Certification
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The Liberty Lutheran Services 2009 Annual Report
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Area Water Aerobics Class Members Reach out to Troops Most people that attend a weekly health class together share little more than workout banter and a common schedule. However, the members of three aquatic classes at the Becoming Center in Ambler are the exception to that rule. These members have teamed up outside the pool to send packages of supplies and love to some United States soldiers serving abroad.
The inspiration for the project came from Barbara Epstein, a member of the Becoming Center who has a son serving in Kuwait currently. “Before my son went to Kuwait, he served in Afghanistan,” says Barb. “He told me how some of the units over there were very short on supplies so I decided to help.”
Epstein approached Bev Reilly, the instructor for the aquatics classes, and enlisted her help to organize everyone together. Several other members of the arthritis aquatics class have family members serving overseas, and were more than happy to help.
First, they set up camp a few months ago in a Yoga Room at Artman Lutheran Home, where the Becoming Center is located. During that time, members of the three classes contributed many items for the troops. In October, they set up an assembly line packaging system and filled over 40 boxes with toiletries, letters of support and photos and sent them off to their grateful recipients.
Frequent communication with her son allows Epstein to gauge what the soldiers truly need the most. When she learned that there were six soldiers in particular who received little mail, the group was spurred into “adopting” these troops. The class members initially sent each soldier a package of snacks, and now they all receive letters on an ongoing basis.
One troop was trying hard to create a volleyball net by crocheting fabric together from the limited resources she had available to her. One of the boxes that had been sent contained sporting equipment. The new volleyball net arrived on the same day the soldier was becoming frustrated with the slow progress she was able to make on her own. The unit was overjoyed to receive the equipment.
The local community has stepped in to assist, too. “It really makes you think when you learn that some of these troops don’t even have the basic supplies, like toothpaste and shampoo,” says Epstein. “We’ve had dentists donate cases of toothbrushes, and other business owners are happy to help, too. All we really have to do is ask, and they give generously.”
The most recent shipment has been a fun one for soldiers stationed at Camp Victory in Iraq, where one of the class members has a granddaughter stationed. “We got together a bunch of boxes filled with snacks,” says Epstein with a laugh. “Peanut butter crackers, raisins, M&Ms, just some treats that the troops may not have had to enjoy in months.”
And the Becoming Center members were happy receive a treat as well, recently: a photograph of four soldiers smiling by their Christmas tree, along with a letter of thanks. “Thank you so much for thinking of us here at Camp Victory!” the letter reads in part. “We appreciate the commitment to our Soldiers as we fight to end our time in Iraq with honor. We're almost done here...thank you for keeping our spirits up and Merry Christmas!”
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The 10th Annual Artman Tennis Outing: Thank You to All!
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Check out the Spring, 2009 Issue of At Liberty!
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Congregational Partnership Serves the Community Just over one year ago, Liberty at Home celebrated the beginning of a partnership in ministry with Reformation Lutheran Church in Media with the opening of their new office serving the Delaware County area.
In December 2007, Liberty Lutheran Services was chosen to participate in the Aging Community Initiative (ACI) grant, in collaboration with Lutheran Services in America and the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation. Liberty’s selection for participation in ACI complements Caregiver Circles, a support and educational outreach program started in 2004 in partnership with congregations throughout Southeast Pennsylvania. Liberty at Home, managing the one-year ACI pilot project, has developed The Gathering, a volunteer respite care and training program for older adults and their caregivers, in partnership with Reformation Lutheran Church.
During this past year, Liberty at Home recruited members of Reformation to participate in the caregivers’ training program for The Gathering. Held at the church, the program teaches volunteer caregivers how to provide non-medical care in a safe and caring environment for older adults.
Cynthia Atwood, a Gathering volunteer, serves to honor her father’s best friend and her aunt, who suffered from dementia. “This is my way of passing it forward,” she says. “The Gathering is a great model. Caregivers are often hesitant to reach out for help. But by offering this program in your own church with familiar people and surroundings, loved ones feel reassured.”
Gary Kamin is one of The Gathering’s faithful volunteers. He has been a member of Reformation for more than 48 years and serves on the church council; his personal labor of love and overwhelming responsibility of caring for his father brought him to The Gathering. After his mother, who cared for his father, passed away, Gary and his brother became their dad’s caregivers. “My mother hid a lot from us; we just didn’t realize how difficult caring for dad had been for her. Now I understand how important it is for caregivers to have a break.”
With the first group of volunteer caregivers trained, The Gathering will open its day respite program to older adults on March 18th, 2009, and continue on the third Wednesday of each month thereafter.
Throughout the past year, Liberty at Home has provided approximately 5,000 hours of service per month to people in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Liberty at Home staff understand there’s no place like home — and are ready to help, once a week, once a month, or every day.
For more information about Liberty at Home’s comprehensive, personalized in-home services, call your local office to speak with one of our registered nurses:
610-566-3791 (Media office)
215-643-6496 (Ambler office)
215-934-3030 (Philadelphia office)
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Check out the Winter 2009 Issue of At Liberty!
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Lutheran Disaster Response in Ocean Springs, MS Lutheran Disaster Response staff from Liberty recently coordinated a trip to Camp Victor in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to continue helping those who were affected by the Gulf Coast disasters a few years back. Several congregations from the SEPA synod sent volunteer teams, and furniture was collected across the synod for people in Long Beach, MS that are moving into permanent housing. The groups also came armed with gift cards and other supplies, as well as prayers, from others in our area. Great job, volunteers!
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Wellness Works for Liberty Employees! Feeling good at work results in good work! That’s why Liberty Lutheran Services offers Wellness Works to employees throughout its many locations. Making a positive difference in the daily wellness of employees who give so much to those they serve, Wellness Works focuses on social, spiritual, intellectual, financial, physical, environmental, and emotional health. Pictured is LCFS Family Preservation Supervisor Fayrouz Azer receiving ftiness guidance from Liberty Wellness Coaches John Fairchild and Kelli McIntyre.
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The Liberty Lutheran Services 2008 Annual Report
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LLS Achieves Significantly High Employee Satisfaction Results Luanne B. Fisher, President and CEO of Liberty Lutheran Services (LLS), is pleased to announce the results of a recent employee engagement survey. The survey, administered by independent research firm PeopleMetrics, was completed by 72% of the 1,100 employees of the faith based non-profit organization.
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Check out the Summer issue of At Liberty!
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Liberty Shines at the Annual PANPHA Conference! Liberty Lutheran Services’ World Class Team Presents at PANPHA Conference
Liberty Lutheran Services was well represented at this year’s annual PANPHA conference as four staff professionals presented unique and inspiring workshops. PANPHA, an Association of Pennsylvania Nonprofit Senior Services, represents 350 organizations throughout the state, together serving over 62,000 persons in facility based settings and tens of thousands more in their own homes or community settings.
From Inspiration to Innovation was the theme of the 2008 PANPHA Annual Conference, held in Hershey, PA. Workshop presenters shared their expertise and excitement with others and provided highlights of innovative work to inspire others towards excellence in service to older adults.
Christopher Ridenhour, Director of Core Competency Training at Liberty, presented a half day pre-conference workshop entitled Creating a Vibrant Service Culture. Using many of the Liberty standards for basic staff accountability, effective communication, leadership and empowerment, Christopher’s interactive session explored strategies that ultimately affect staff engagement and organizational culture.
Christopher, along with Liberty’s President and CEO, Luanne Fisher, PhD, co-presented another workshop called Using Transformative Training and Development to Transform Your Culture. This presentation received a standing ovation from attendees, and was based on experiences with the LLS Core Competency Training. Main tenets of the program explained how innovative and dynamic staff training can inspire and transform your workforce culture and encourage commitment, professional relationships, and retention to ensure the highest quality of care for our residents.
Presenters Larry Gershman, VP of Human Resources and Administration and David Brown, Director of Human Resources for LLS and Paul’s Run Retirement Community, offered Using Talent Development as a Framework for Organizational Strength. Participants of the session gained a deeper understanding of the impact of human resource systems on financial, managerial and cultural aspects of an organization’s sustainability and growth.
Presenter John Barnum, VP and CFO for Liberty, was joined by Jeff Boland, Partner, Beard Miller Company of Harrisburg, for What’s in a NOM: The Value of Using Net Operating Margins. The content of this workshop demonstrated how to use Net Operating Margins (NOM) to evaluate operational performance and “best practices” in aging services to improve performance.
To learn more about the wide array of faith-based services delivered by the Liberty Lutheran Services team of world-class professionals, visit our homepage at www.libertylutheran.org.
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 | | John Fairchild congratulates winners of the National Start! Walking Challenge. |
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Wellness Works at Liberty! John Fairchild, Wellness Works Counselor at Liberty, recently challenged employees to join the American Heart Association's National Start! Walking Challenge. Staff members were given pedometers, formed walking teams and hit the streets! After 8 weeks, the West Philly Springers, our LCFS team from the N. 63rd Street office, were the winners! Congratulations to all who participated in this healthy competition.
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Check out the Spring Issue of our newsletter, At Liberty!
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 | | Representatives from LLS accept the ACI grant. |
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Liberty Lutheran Services to Test Aging, Caregiving Models Luanne B. Fisher, President and CEO of Liberty Lutheran Services (LLS), is pleased to announce that Liberty was chosen to participate in a coalition of Lutheran organizations to launch a one-year pilot project to address aging and caregiving issues. The Aging in Community Initiative will build new models for in-home, non-medical care for aging individuals, and also support in-home caregivers. The collaboration includes Lutheran Services in America (LSA), 14 Lutheran social ministry organizations across the nation, and the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation.
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