Category: News

In 2020, Presbyterian Village North (PVN) resident Jim Alexander dedicated a tulip bed at the Dallas Arboretum to the residents of PVN.

“The Blooming Bed” consists of brightly colored tulips. After their blooms have cycled through this spring, the tulips will be replaced by a seasonal flower. The bed is located near The Jonsson Color Garden (Number 13 on the map below).

“I love the people [at PVN] and wanted to do something nice for my friends,” said Mr. Alexander.

The plaque in front of the bed reads, “This Blooming Bed has been given in Honor of Our Friends at The Presbyterian Village North By The James E. Alexander Family.”

For more about the Dallas Arboretum, visit dallasarboretum.org. The arboretum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Garden Map

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This issue includes:

• The pictures of the construction on The Hawthorne!
• A guide to what construction is doing at PVN from Monday, April 5 to Friday, April 9,
• Progress pictures of the Corrigan building and more!

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When 60-year-old Rick Czerwinski learned of the return of his cancer and his terminal diagnosis, he wanted to be fully informed about his choices and information about his proposed treatments. He chose to decline treatment and instead focus on enjoying his time with his family and friends, not realizing this plan would include the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center.

Rick was aware that he would eventually need hospice care and he wanted to receive this care from a place that allowed him to keep his spirits high while living a full life and receiving exceptional professional medical services. This wish list led Rick to the T. Boone Pickens Hospice Center.

“The people that gave me a tour were fantastic and answered all my questions,” said Rick. “They explained how the center worked and how it could help me, but really they didn’t explain the half of it because after coming here not only does it take care of my physical needs but, they provide a certain level of emotional care.”

To be proactive, Rick toured the Center in May of 2020, though he did not expect to need the Center’s services for quite some time. However, a series of events and uncontrollable symptoms changed his plan, and in January of 2021 he was admitted to the T. Boone Pickens Hospice Center.

Rick’s family wanted to be there to care of him throughout his cancer battle. They struggled with his decision to live at the Center once his symptoms were under control, but after experiencing the beautiful amenities available on the nine-acre campus, his family saw the value of his decision.

“It’s like I’m at a hotel, but I have all the treatment that I need,” explains Rick. “My family can stop and see me, or I can go off campus. Everyone can live their life with me going through the progression of cancer and have the highest emotional quality.”

Rick walks daily, races his remote-control speed boats on the Center’s lake, and enjoys the special services offered to all patients including music and massage therapy. Rick believes that because his physical needs are anticipated by the Faith team with around-the-clock care, he has time to focus on the spiritual aspect of his life.

Through his journey, Rick has become an advocate for the T. Boone Pickens Hospice Center. He set a goal of raising $250,000 for the Center’s endowment campaign that will be matched by an anonymous donor. In just a couple of weeks, Rick raised over $120,000 and continues to actively seek additional support. That activity has become a part of his spiritual journey, finding purpose in his final days and adding to his legacy.

“I want to do whatever I can to impact the T. Boone Pickens Hospice to help them and to help future people coming in,” said Rick.

Rick encourages others to openly discuss the end-of-life process and believes that deciding to use the resources the Center provides sooner can drastically improve the quality of their life as well as the experience for their loved ones.

“It’s a neglected part of life, the dying chapter, and people don’t want to talk about it, but there is a way to die well,” says Rick. “We need to make a shift among families so that they bring their loved ones here sooner when they have months to go rather than days to go.”

With the Center’s help, Rick sees the end-of-life differently and more positively than he once did. With his physical needs taken care of, Rick has time to focus on relationships and the spiritual aspect of his life.

“It’s a beautiful and sacred time and it should be treated that way. It should be embraced and by doing so, it makes it easier on everyone. I understand that it’s a transfer from life to death. It’s not this hard end and this frightful thing. It’s a continuum. My legacy, my purpose in life, will live on in my kids and my friends as long as they’re there. So, I will be there with them, living on.”

For more information about the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center or Faith Presbyterian Hospice visit faithpreshospice.org. or to help Rick reach his $250,000 goal, visit forefrontliving.org/foundation.

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This newsletter includes:

• Faith Presbyterian Hospice partners with Dallas County to vaccinate the community.
• 104-year-old PVN resident is featured on WFAA.
• And introducing the new executive director for the Outlook at Windhaven.

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This issue includes:

• The pictures of the construction on the gatehouse!
• A guide to what construction is doing at PVN from Monday, March 29 to Friday, April 2,
• Progress pictures of the Corrigan building and more!

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On Jan. 8, Faith Presbyterian Hospice earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Home Care Accreditation with Deemed Status by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

The Joint Commission is a United States-based organization that accredits more than 21,000 U.S. healthcare organizations and programs. The goal of this non-profit is to drive quality patient safety in healthcare institutions. The Joint Commission consults with doctors, nurses, quality specialists and safety experts to review an organization’s current standards and make recommendations for improvement.

“I am excited and humbled to again receive accreditation by the Joint Commission,” said John Mezo, executive director of Faith Presbyterian Hospice. “We have a commitment to safe, excellent care for our patients and families, and this accreditation validates the outstanding work every teammate in our organization provides.” 

Faith Presbyterian Hospice underwent a rigorous, unannounced virtual review Jan. 5-7. During the visit, a Joint Commission reviewer evaluated compliance with home care standards focused on hospice care spanning several areas including emergency management, environment of care, bereavement care, volunteer management and more. Benefits of accreditation include the ability to receive and display the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval, giving teammates an opportunity for validation for their efforts and promoting a culture of excellence.

“We set the highest standards of patient care for our patients and families, whether they are in the home program or our inpatient center, and our team consistently achieves these standards, resulting in outstanding patient care and consistently high satisfaction reviews from our families.”  Marlene Casco, RN, CHPN, Director of Clinical Services.

In addition to exceptional clinical care, Faith Presbyterian Hospice offers “The Faith Difference” which includes music therapy, massage therapy, pet therapy, child and family bereavement services and charitable care. Faith prides itself on offering quality care tailored to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient and family. These programs are Faith’s expertise in the accreditation realm that allow them to assist their patients in compassionate and comfortable end-of-life care.

The accreditation period is for three years at which time Faith will need to renew their status with The Joint Commission.

“When you live by Forefront Living’s values of stewardship, integrity, diversity and compassion, then preparing for inspections isn’t hard, it’s an extension of the work that we are already doing,” said Mezo. “Our goal is to continue to make moments matter for those we serve.”  

For more information about Faith Presbyterian Hospice, visit faithpreshospice.org or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/FaithPresbyterianHospice

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It is with great pleasure that Forefront Living announces Kim Harden as the executive director for its newest campus in Plano, TX, The Outlook at Windhaven. The Outlook at Windhaven is Forefront Living’s most recent senior living expansion. The Plano campus will provide 150 independent living residences, a 160-unit apartment building with underground parking and 30 cottage homes. It will also include a 56-unit building for assisted living and memory care services and a clubhouse building all on 18.25 acres.

Harden has a great love for working with seniors and brings years of experience in the operation of a continuing care retirement communities (CCRC). Throughout her career, she has spent over 17 years in marketing with a focus on brand management field.

Prior to joining Forefront Living, Harden served as the program manager at Baptist Health DBA Parkway Village in Little Rock, Arkansas for three years and executive director for two. Her responsibilities included managing a hospital-owned, single-site CCRC on an 87-acre campus with 301 independent living homes, 34 assisted living beds, 32 memory care meds and 72 skilled nursing beds. This included improving a community occupancy rate of 55%, overseeing and directing all facets of the day-to-day operations and developing and executing long and short-term goals and initiatives.

“Kim brings a great deal of energy and professionalism to role of executive director for the Outlook at Windhaven.  I look forward to the impact she will have on our organization,” said CEO, Tim Mallad.

“Kim’s skill set and work ethic have enabled her to have great success in a variety of industries,” said Scott Polzin, director of operations. “We are confident Kim will bring the same energy and passion to Forefront Living. Kim is a compassionate gifted executive who knows how to lead a diverse team and we are excited that she has joined Forefront Living as the executive director at The Outlook in Plano.”

In her move from Little Rock to Dallas, Harden is most looking forward to gaining new experiences, making new friends and trying to sample as much queso as she can.

“I’m excited to work for a company whose values mimic my own,” said Harden. “I’m looking forward to learning from the experiences of the leadership at Forefront Living and making moments matter for the seniors at The Outlook.”

When not serving seniors, Harden enjoys spending time with her 12-year-old nephew, playing basketball and volleyball to stay fit and binge-watching Friends.

For more information on The Outlook at Windhaven, please contact Alyssa Landa at 972-996-3887 or alanda@forefrontliving.org. 

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This issue includes:

• The pharmacy reopening on Gazebo Circle!
• A guide to what construction is doing at PVN from Monday, March 22 to Friday, March 26,
• Progress pictures of the Corrigan building and more!

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Faith Presbyterian Hospice became a Dallas County vaccination partner, helping them administer 1,000 vaccinations to citizens of Dallas over a four-day period. Faith held appointment-only drive-thru vaccination clinics on March 11-12 and March 15-16 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. vaccinating over 250 individuals each day.

“As a non-profit healthcare provider, we felt it incumbent upon us to do our part in caring for our community, especially during a crisis,” said Faith Presbyterian Hospice Executive Director, John Mezo. “It’s difficult to express how proud I am of the Faith Presbyterian Hospice team and their response to this effort. The team’s dedication and sense of duty to the citizens of Dallas County is remarkable. I very much appreciate each teammate and volunteer’s hard work and compassion in making this happen, and thank Forefront Living leadership for their support and encouragement.”

“Hosting this clinic means a lot for this community, the history of Faith and Forefront Living,” said Marlene Casco, director of clinical services. “We deal with death every day [at Faith] and the team got a chance to be a part of something to prevent that from happening.”

The clinics ran smoothly using traffic guards and multiple check-in stations for maximum efficiency. Many individuals showed up hours early eager to receive their vaccinations. Throughout the day, horn honking and cheering was heard from many as a way of celebrating their vaccination milestone.

“This has been a great experience,” said Adam Limburg, Faith RN case manager. “I waited a long time for my shot, so I know how it feels to finally get the vaccine. I wanted to give that feeling of relief to others.”

Volunteers from Universal Field Services, one of the largest land acquisition services companies, assisted with check-in and they received their full daily pay as a thank you for the donation of their time.

“We were so happy to have [the volunteers] join our efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Ladonna Maynard. “It is a massive effort and every bit of assistance we get is potentially another life saved! I am proud to serve a company who lives its values.”

“This vaccine is a modern medicine miracle,” said volunteer, Cynthia Dooley. “I know how thrilled I was to get mine and I couldn’t be happier and grateful to be here.”

Many expressed their gratitude for the convenience of Faith’s clinic and the opportunity to be vaccinated. One recipient got out of his car and saluted the workers before leaving and another left the clinic after her allotted wait time and came back with donuts for those working the clinic.

“The people here are so grateful and appreciative,” said Melissa Larson, Faith Presbyterian Hospice in-patient unit manager. “They realize we’re on the move to eliminating this virus one shot at a time.”

Faith Presbyterian Hospice is honored to help Dallas County and plans to continue assisting them with future clinics. For more information on getting vaccinated in Dallas County, please visit dallascounty.org/covid-19. For more information about Faith Presbyterian Hospice and the T. Boone Pickens Hospice and Palliative Care Center, visit faithpreshospice.org.

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