Insights
The Blog of UMRC & Porter Hills
‘Kindness, Compassion, Empathy’ – Team Member Scholarship Program Helps Dream Come True for Dee Sutawijaya
In November, the UMRC Foundation and Porter Hills Foundation launched a competitive Staff Scholarship program for team members at Porter Hills, emulating the program started in 2014 at UMRC. Part of the Team Member Support Services fund, we are honored to award scholarships to team members at Porter Hills. This includes Dee Sutawijaya, a…
Focus on Faith – Excellence, Outreach, and Values Dr. Pam Kidd and Rev. Dr. Riley Jensen
In 1998, Rev. Dr. Riley Jensen received the call to serve as pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids. Originally from Seattle, Riley and his wife, Dr. Pam Kidd, had no ties to Michigan. At the time, Riley was serving a church in the metropolitan New York area; Pam, a pathologist, was a…
Cavanaugh Lake Neighbors Make Holidays Merry and Bright for Skilled Nursing Residents at Chelsea Retirement Community
On Friday, December 18, Santa’s helpers arrived a little early for the skilled nursing residents of Chelsea Retirement Community, located on the historic campus of United Methodist Retirement Communities (UMRC). UMRC Foundation Board member Chad Losey of Chelsea, his partner Jeff Hall, and Steve and Stephanie Larson, all of Chelsea, brought Christmas gifts to…
Planned Giving – Deep Roots Spring up Strong, Impacting Lives for Generations
A remarkable, 150-year-old red oak tree near the entrance of a Michigan university had welcomed visitors for years…until one windy day in July when it crashed to the ground. The grounds director noticed little shoots coming up around the tree and acorns still attached to the tree’s roots. He harvested some of the seedlings…
‘125% American’ CRC Resident Ann Cameron Served as Army Nurse in WWII
This Veterans Day, UMRC & Porter Hills salutes its many veterans, including 100-year-old Ann Cameron who served as an Army nurse during WWII.Ann Paglia was born in 1920, the 4th of six children of Sicilian immigrants who had moved to the Boston area in the early 1900s. According to Ann’s oldest daughter, Joan Skolimowski,…
Lori and Traci Potter – Living Out the Mission of UMRC & Porter Hills
Lori and Traci Potter began their careers as nurses. Experiences during their teenage years helped cement their passion of caring for older adults. While still in junior high, Traci helped care for an elderly neighbor when her family needed to be away, even learning to give her insulin. For Lori, losing her grandfather when…
Focus on Faith – Words of Hope in a Virtual World
On Sunday, November 1, the Spiritual Life team at UMRC’s Chelsea Retirement Community (CRC) campus will host its annual All Saints Memorial service at 3:00pm EST. This service has become a faithful tradition of comfort and celebration in remembrance of those CRC residents who have passed away. This year’s virtual service will be livestreamed…
Erica Pledger, LPN Follows Her Dream of Becoming a Nurse Thanks to the UMRC Foundation’s Employee Support Services Fund
At UMRC & Porter Hills, we value each of our team members for the important and inspiring difference they make each day in the life of an older adult. It’s why the UMRC Foundation created a competitive Staff Scholarship program in 2014, now part of the Employee Support Services Fund – to elevate and…