Seneca Hills Village Resident Receives Good Neighbor Champion Award
Contact: Stephanie Stanley
Phone: 412-586-9762
Blackberry: 412-855-8690
E-mail: StanleySL@upmc.edu
Contact: Gloria Kreps
Phone: 412-586-9764
E-mail: KrepsGA@upmc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPMC Senior Services Honors Senior Champions
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 10, 2012 – Tomorrow night’s 2012 Celebrating Senior Champions dinner and auction will honor those who make a difference in the lives of seniors in western Pennsylvania and beyond. UPMC Senior Services will recognize individuals and organizations who champion senior causes, including healthy aging, healthy living and healthy communities.
Proceeds from the benefit and auction will support the UPMC Senior Services Benevolent Care Fund, which provide financial assistance and other support services to income-eligible seniors engaged with UPMC Senior Services.
“The champions we honor this year have demonstrated personal and professional commitment to advancing the quality of life of seniors in western Pennsylvania and they set a wonderful example for us all on how to enhance the physical and emotional well-being of our elderly population now and in the future,” said Deborah Brodine, president, UPMC Senior Communities.
This year’s awardees are:
· Loren Roth, M.D., associate senior vice chancellor, Clinical Policy and Planning, Health Sciences; professor of psychiatry, School of Medicine; professor of health policy and management, Graduate School of Public Health, all at the University of Pittsburgh; and senior advisor, Quality, UPMC Health Plan. Dr. Roth is this year’s Grand Champion. Early in his career while at the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Roth was instrumental in organizing the first conference on aging, championing an area of study that was, at the time, not main stream. At the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Roth has played central roles in the creation of both the Benedum Geriatric Center and The Aging Institute of UPMC Senior Services and the University of Pittsburgh. His work as the chief medical officer at UPMC included ongoing support of the Living at Home and Staying at Home Programs designed to help older adults age in place.
· The Seeders and Weeders Garden Club was chosen as the Community Champion for its special 25-year relationship with the residents of Canterbury Place, a UPMC Senior Community, located in Lawrenceville. Longtime garden club members Eleanor “Gishie” Scully and Jean Robinson were approached by then Canterbury Place administrator, the Rev. John Fetterman, who inspired them to invite fellow gardeners to undertake the design, planting and upkeep of a new terrace garden to provide an outdoor sanctuary for Canterbury Place residents. Eleanor and her daughter, Deborah Scully, will accept the award on behalf of the Club.
· Jean Curtis, a seven-year resident of Seneca Hills Village in Penn Hills, will receive the Good Neighbor Champion for her many years of volunteer service. She has worked with the Girl and Boy Scouts, receiving the “Thanks Badge” from the Girl Scout Council of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Her decades-long service to Beulah Presbyterian Church has touched many lives, both young and old. She also has worked with the Pittsburgh Literacy Council, teaching adults how to read, and has hosted many foreign exchange students. Today, she works with veterans at the Pennsylvania Southwestern Veterans Center.
· Robert Shuster will receive the Caregiver Champion award. After becoming a resident at Strabane Trails Village, he befriended another new resident, Ken, who had vision problems and later developed mobility issues and eventually became blind. His caregiving efforts extend to many of his friends and neighbors and former neighbors. He treats his fellow choir members to special gifts on practice nights at Houston Methodist Church, and visits seniors in local nursing homes, bringing them treats and personal items.
In addition to honoring the 2012 Champions, more than 60 primarily WWII Veterans of each military branch, who are residents in the UPMC Senior Communities, will attend the dinner and auction. A special presentation will feature pictures of many of these veterans then, in uniform, and now. The River City Brass Band, in a special tribute, will perform a medley of the themes of each military branch and the national anthem.
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About UPMC Senior Communities
UPMC Senior Communities offer residents the finest in retirement living — a lifestyle that promotes health and wellness, eliminates the burdens of home ownership, and offers security. More than 2,000 western Pennsylvania seniors reside in UPMC Senior Communities at 20 independent, assisted living, and skilled nursing facilities. Each community provides wellness education programs and easy access to the world-class care of UPMC. The communities are staffed by experts whose focus is improving and enriching the lives of older adults so that they can stay active and independent. For more information about affordable living options available for seniors, whatever their lifestyle or needs, call UPMC Senior Communities at 1-800-324-5523.
