Breakfast with Santa at St. Francis Manor
Breakfast with Santa at St. Francis Manor was a fun event for all ages! Over 130 people including four generations of Seeland Park residents Madolyn Braley, Pat Johnson, and Sheila Latcham families gathered for an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. From babies to 99-year-olds, most enjoyed seeing the jolly elf; however, there were a few who couldn’t be coaxed with a candy cane to sit on Santa’s lap! Some of Santa’s elves better known as Seeland Park residents assisted with serving drinks and clearing tables. The event raised just over $2,000 to benefit the St. Francis Manor Foundation in its fundraising efforts to purchase an automatic door locking system for the outside doors of its main building.
Grinnell Mutual Group Foundation has generously issued a $25,000 matching gift challenge to the St. Francis Manor Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, to help raise the remaining funds needed for the installation of an automatic door locking system for the main building on the St. Francis Manor campus.
Seeland Park, an active 55+ Life Plan Community located on the east side of Grinnell, celebrates its 35th Anniversary this month. The very first residents of Seeland Park were Ray and Doris Powell who moved into 906 Penrose on November 15, 1989. Others calling Seeland Park home in 1989 included Noel and Margaret Taylor, Merle Dimit, and Vi Dare. Seeland Park was named after St. Francis Manor Board member and Grinnell College graduate Dick Seeland.
A Veterans Remembrance Program was held on Thursday, November 7, to honor veterans living on the St. Francis Manor campus. Over 100 St. Francis Manor residents, Hammond Center for Assisted Living tenants, Seeland Park residents, and family members attended the program presented by Activity Directors Katie Shaw and Tori Funke. Lorn and Marianne Heyne of New Sharon were the featured speakers who shared their struggles and triumphs during Lorn’s 39 years of military service which involved 15 assignments across 6 countries.
Tenants and staff at the Hammond Center for Assisted Living celebrated National Assisted Living Week (NALW) September 8-14 with a variety of events centered around the theme “Inspiring Generations.”
St. Francis Manor continues to have a 5-star overall rating of much above average on the CMS Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Ratings of Nursing Homes as of July 31, 2024. This overall rating is based on a nursing home’s performance in three categories: health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. St. Francis Manor received 5-star ratings in all three of these categories. Of 300 nursing facilities within a 200-mile radius of Grinnell, only St. Francis Manor and five other facilities have 5-star ratings in all three of the above performance categories. “This is a great achievement as St. Francis Manor has consistently been one of only five or six nursing facilities with 5-star ratings in all categories for several years,” said Executive Administrator Dion Schrack. “Thank you to all of our staff for their dedication to quality in serving our residents.” 
It was a beautiful day for our Senior Health and Fitness Day Walk on May 29, with about 75 people participating in the half-mile walk around campus. St. Francis Manor residents and Hammond Center tenants enjoyed the event, thanks to assistance from staff, family members, and Bayer and Seeland Park volunteers. A special "Thank You" goes to the Seeland Parkers who participated and volunteered to assist residents and tenants in wheelchairs. The 75 participants thoroughly enjoyed the lovely day on our picturesque campus.
Seeland Park Tour of Homes brought at least 49 visitors to the Seeland Park campus on June 9th! The tour showcased a single-family home and five homes updated by recent new owners. Most of the visitors were from Grinnell this year but a few came from Brooklyn, Montezuma, New Sharon and Newton.
Iowa State University Extension is sponsoring the Powerful Tools for Caregivers: Stress Management Workshop in Grinnell on June 6, 2024 from 1:00 – 2:30. This program has been tested and evaluated through a grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging.
Seeland Park and Hammond Center ladies and their guests were treated to a lovely afternoon celebrating Mother’s Day and the upbeat afternoon included a presentation by Jennifer McAlexander with JM Consulting entitled “Just like Mom, Mother’s Day Themed Talk & Color Analysis,” photo ops, and refreshments.
