Orioles Biggest Fan Lives at Pickersgill

In 1954, “I Love Lucy” was the top-ranking TV show, Marilyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio, Eisenhower was president, and the Orioles debuted in Baltimore. For Olga Wagner, 93, a resident at Pickersgill Retirement Community in Towson, Maryland, it was a start of a lifelong love affair with America’s Pastime.

Though Olga grew up in New Jersey, she moved to Baltimore when she was 20, and Maryland has become her home. The Orioles have been her favorite team since the team came to Baltimore in 1954; she cheers them on through every game.

Pickersgill is Proud to Offer Area Social Workers CEU-Credit Courses

Ethical issues regarding maltreatment, confidentiality, and end of life care are the focus of three CEU-credit eligible seminars that Pickersgill Retirement Community in Towson, Md., is hosting throughout the next two months.

Pickersgill places a high value on the Pickersgill Educational Program and its continual development. The community looks to become an increasingly important educational resource to the professional/social work community, and values the connections that we have with many area social workers. As we connect through the Pickersgill Educational Program, we tailor future seminars based on the feedback and requests that we receive after each session; this mindset ensures that all programs offered are timely and relevant to the needs of social workers who attend.

Gisele Ferretto, a clinical instructor for both the Title IV-E Education for Public Child Welfare Program and the Child Welfare Academy at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, presented the first seminar, “Addressing Ethical Issues When Making Required Reports of Maltreatment and Harm,” on April 10.

Ferretto will also present the second seminar, “The Ethical Considerations and Complexity of Confidentiality When Serving Individuals and Families,” on May 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

The last program, “Ethical Considerations and Conversations with Individuals Facing End of Life,” on June 3 will cover three different topics on end of lifecare.

The first two topics, “Ethical Considerations at End of Life” and “Courageous Conversations: Helping Families Think About the Unthinkable,” will be hosted by Vernon “Skip” Krause, a clinical social worker with Gilchrest Hospice Care and a social work clinical specialist.

“Honoring Veterans: Talking About Military Experience at End of Life,” the third topic of the final seminar, will be presented by Cynthia Dresser, the community hospice coordinator for the Veterans Administration Maryland Health Care System.

Three CEU credits will be earned for each half-day session attended.

The cost is $25 for each session.  Registration for this event can be found on the Pickersgill Retirement Community website.

Pickersgill Retirement Community is a nonprofit retirement community nestled among dogwoods on a beautiful campus in Towson, Md. Pickersgill has a tradition of excellence, and a rich history. Founded, and named after former board member Mary Pickersgill—the seamstress who inspired “The Star Spangled Banner” with her flag that waved over Fort McHenry—Pickersgill is the rare community that can claim it has dutifully served generations of seniors in the Baltimore area for more than 200 years. To find out more about our community, check out our website, find us on Facebook, or give us a call at 410-825-7423.

Still Deciding on a Retirement Community? Let Me Make it Easier on You

By Brant C. Hart, Pickersgill Retirement Community Executive Director

With several senior living communities to choose from in the Baltimore, Md., area, I can understand why some people have a hard time figuring out where to start their search. As the executive director of Pickersgill Retirement Community, I would suggest starting (and ending) with Pickersgill, of course, and I’ll give you a few simple reasons why:

1.  We are always improving: That might seem like a bit of a blanket statement, but it’s a true blanket statement. We are constantly looking ahead and constantly making upgrades in the community (we just finished a $1 million upgrade to our heating and cooling system), and it gets noticed. A State Department of Licensure employee recently made that comment to me: “Wow. You guys are always making improvements.” We are. We do it because we want residents to see their money in action, whether it’s in a fresh coat of paint in the hallways, WiFi throughout the community, new furniture in our lounge areas or upgrades to equipment used in all levels of care. We have a “replacement fund” for this very reason; our commitment to staying ahead of plant issues and senior living trends sets us apart from the rest.
2. We are affordable—and we maintain that: We keep rate increases to a minimum; on average, residents have seen only a 2 percent rate increase a year in rent since 1993 (and that’s about 3 percent less than many of our competitors). It’s been our mission—for 200 years—to make senior living affordable to seniors in the Baltimore, Md., area and we haven’t broken that promise yet.
3.  Dedicated staff: A good chunk of our good reputation is due to the good work performed every day by our dedicated staff. And I don’t mean that our staff just does their job well, and does it with a smile (which they do), but they keep that energy up for our residents for years, even decades. We have had employees retire after 30, 40, even 50 years of service. They all tell me they love coming to work each day because of the residents. If it weren’t for our community’s overarching commitment to providing excellent care to residents, we wouldn’t have dedicated staff like we have, and we wouldn’t have happy residents like we have, either.
4. Range of Assisted Living Offerings is Minimal: We don’t have a lot of add-ons, which—in some communities—can translate to ‘a lot of add-on fees.’ We offer residents an option to have limited assisted living help, or a more comprehensive assisted living package (which seem to be the two types of people who often need those accommodations). It makes sense to us, and saves cents for residents.
5. Spacious Skilled Nursing Rooms: As a continuing care retirement community, it’s important to us that not only are independent living residents comfortable, but residents in all levels of care—including skilled nursing—are feeling at home. Our skilled nursing rooms are each equipped with their own lavatory, and are very spacious when lined up against our competitors. “High levels of care” means a little more than top-notch medical assistance at Pickersgill (though you’ll get that, too); we value privacy and dignity, and we think residents value us for that very reason. 

Founded in 1802, Pickersgill Retirement Community is named after one of its early board presidents, Mary Pickersgill, the seamstress who created the American flag that inspired “The Star-Spangled Banner." Today the nonprofit retirement community offers a continuum of retirement living accommodations, including brand-new assisted living rooms and suites. To learn more, visit us online at www.pickersgillretirement.org, or feel free to give us a call at 410-825-7423.

Making the Move: Daughter is Happy Her Mother Feels at Home at Pickersgill

As Virginia Modjesky approached her 90s, she was beginning to think about moving out of her Dundalk, Md., townhouse into an affordable retirement community, and shared the news with her daughter, Virginia McCurdy, who was happy to help her mother search for the best place to suit her needs.

McCurdy began her search online, working off of stories she had heard about communities in the Baltimore, Md., area, and looking specifically for communities that her mother could afford. She narrowed her search to two places. After visiting Pickersgill and the other community, Virginia Modjesky chose Pickersgill, and placed her name on the list for an apartment.

Modjesky—who experiences bouts of vertigo, but is otherwise very independent—is now the happy resident of an independent assisted living apartment, where she does not require any help from the nursing team, and is otherwise free to go about her business like a resident of an independent living apartment.

The move brings great peace of mind to her daughter, and their family.

“I’m extremely pleased with it. I would highly recommend people checking it out. It’s bright, it’s clean, the people are friendly--I don’t know what else you could ask for. The meals are good—she’s probably eating more now than what she was at home, which is good. When we had the snow, I didn’t have to worry if she had food in the house, or if the power went off. We just don’t have to worry anymore,” McCurdy said.

McCurdy said that her mother moved into the community about a week before the worst winter storm of the season, which was perfect timing. She and her husband don’t dig out for major storms, and were relieved that they didn’t have to spend the rest of the relentless winter season worrying whether her mother had heat, enough food, or was doing well.

As a daughter who has always been close with her mother, McCurdy said that she paid attention to the many details of the communities they researched. She liked that the nursing staff answered any questions she had about services, that they suggested activities her mother might like, and were friendly. McCurdy attended a fair and a luncheon at the community over the time period in which they were on the wait list, and making their decision. She credited the vendors with helping the family to make the move, downsize and prepare for the transition.

Modjesky, who had been living on her own since 1995, did not have difficulty making the move, McCurdy said.

“She is very realistic and she sees ahead. She’s always been the one to say that she would never move in with either my brother or I; If she had to go someplace she would go someplace,” McCurdy said.

That independence, however, meant that much of Modjesky’s time was spent alone outside of church. It is also a great comfort to her children that their mother now seems to be making friends since moving to the community in January.

“Mom is beginning to think more of it as home. When she moved, she didn’t expect that she would be happy; she expected she would be contented. She hasn’t been happy since my father passed away 30 years ago; she’s been contended. But now she is more outgoing. Each time I go there, she introduces me to someone new, and is getting involved in activities,” McCurdy said. “Before, her only outlet was church, so she didn’t have a lot of contact with people otherwise. She seems to be adjusting very well to it. My brother says just the way she talks is very upbeat.”

 Pickersgill Retirement Community is a nonprofit retirement community nestled among dogwoods on a beautiful campus in Towson, Md. Pickersgill has a tradition of excellence, and a rich history. Founded, and named after former board member Mary Pickersgill—the seamstress who inspired “The Star Spangled Banner” with her flag that waved over Fort McHenry—Pickersgill is the rare community that can claim it has dutifully served generations of seniors in the Baltimore area for more than 200 years. To find out more about our community, check out our website, find us on Facebook, or give us a call at 410-825-7423.

There's No Place Like Home

Pickersgill Retirement Community

Nursing is Cherrie Fleagle’s life. The Pickersgill Retirement Community Director of Assisted Living Resident Services has spent 42 years in the field, and spends days at Pickersgill connecting with family members, talking with residents, and making rounds at area hospitals where residents are admitted for acute care.

Fleagle is always on call. There is always a charge nurse on duty. And she always knows that residents at Pickersgill are getting the greatest care possible.

“The best compliment comes when I go and see residents at the hospital, and the first thing they say to me is, ‘I want to go home.’ And ‘home’ for them is Pickersgill—that’s the atmosphere we work so hard to create for them,” Fleagle said.

From the outside, Pickersgill may look like a large building, but it’s really a small, close-knit community. Residents are always enjoying the company of other residents and staff. Employees walk through the hallways with smiles on their faces. Caregivers alert nurses the instant they have concerns about a resident. And activities for assisted living residents abound—everything from moderate exercise classes to games to visits from local community organizations. Everyone stays busy and happy.

“When we get a new staff member, the first thing I say to them is, ‘You are working in the resident’s home. The residents are not living where you work.’ If they understand that, they will be giving residents the respect and dignity they deserve, and we are living up to our end of the bargain,” she said.

Because Pickersgill is a continuing care retirement community, its assisted living residents have the advantage of having skilled nursing under one roof should they need more help.

“It’s a big advantage, and it’s really what sets us apart—that and the caring attitude of our staff,” Fleagle said.

Pickersgill Retirement Community is a nonprofit retirement community nestled among dogwoods on a beautiful campus in Towson, Md. Pickersgill has a tradition of excellence, and a rich history. Founded, and named after former board member Mary Pickersgill—the seamstress who inspired “The Star Spangled Banner” with her flag that waved over Fort McHenry—Pickersgill is the rare community that can claim it has dutifully served generations of seniors in the Baltimore area for more than 200 years. To find out more about our community, check out our website, find us on Facebook, or give us a call at 410-825-7423.