February Dates to Note

Reminder Regarding Resident Pendants Please remember to leave resident pendants behind at MSV, especially if a resident will be

gone overnight. We have had many pendants lost or left behind at the hospital as of late and have used up

our reserve of spare pendants. New pendants cost us $125 each, and going forward, this replacement fee will

be passed along to the resident, and refunded if the original is located.

Nursing staff will do their best to collect the pendant when someone leaves the community but sometimes

they are unable to. If your loved one is sent out to the hospital, please secure their pendant and return to

MSV for safe keeping until he or she returns. Thank you for your help!

We are excited to announce that Rob

Bennick has been hired as the new Food Ser-

vice Director at Morning Star Village. Born

and raised in Rockford, Rob attended Auburn

and Roosevelt High Schools. He completed his

CDM Course through the University of North

Dakota, and has worked in both long and

short term health care cooking and managing

for several years. He also served as the man-

ager of BackYard Bar and Grill in Loves Park.

He and his wife of 20 years, Renee, have 3

children. He spends his free time enjoying his

family and recording a weekly pod cast. He

plays drums in a local band. Rob says as the

new director he plans to focus on his team, cus-

tomer service and of course preparing delicious

meals for our residents. Please stop and intro-

duce yourself to Rob and welcome him to Morn-

ing Star!

Morning Star Village

1160 North Mulford Road

Rockford, IL 61107

(815)484-9500

www.livewithmorningstar.com

News From our Dietary

Department

Administrative Staff

Executive Director

Jane Stivers

Director of Health

Services

Hilda Pastran

Food Service Director

Robert Bennick

Bookkeeper

Heather Norman

Facility Operations

Manager

Michael Cal

Recreation Director

Latonya Thomas

Community Relations

Coordinator

Marianne Drost

Febr uar y 2 020

8th Harlem Community

Cheerleaders, 2pm

14th Valentine’s Grams

Delivery; Valentine’s

Day Party, 2pm

17th President’s Day

18th Live Entertainment

With Chip Messiner, 2 pm

26th Ash Wednesday

29th Leap Day– only

occurs once every 4 year

February is Black History Month

Surprise Your Valen-

tine With a Valen-

tine’s Gram!

Valentine Grams can

now be purchased at

the front desk! Why

not send one to your

loved one, a neighbor

or a special friend?

Valentine Grams cost

$1.00 per carnation,

and will be delivered

to that special some-

one with your person-

alized message on

Valentine’s Day. Order

one or a bunch– and

brighten someone’s

day with your

thoughtful gift and

message.

Orders due by Feb. 10

diagnosed with some form of de-

mentia.

One test that a Speech Therapist

may complete with a patient is

called the “SLUMS” exam- (Saint

Louis University Medical Status

Exam).

This test offers a method to

screen for Alzheimer’s and other

types of dementia. Test your

memory by taking the test.

You can pick up a free copy of the

test at the MSV front desk or in

the therapy department. Have a

friend or family member ask you

the questions and then calculate

This month we welcomed Lee Johnson in to our Morning Star Family. Please be sure to stop

and introduce yourself to him and make him feel welcome.

your score.

If there are areas you scored low

in, a Speech Therapist can help

you to improve cognition through

various exercises or activities

that help to retrain your brain.

Contact Select Rehabilitation to

inquire how Speech Therapy can

help you live your best life.

News from Our

Therapy

Department

Have you ever wondered what

Speech Therapy entails? A

Speech Therapist works not only

with patients with speech or lan-

guage disorders, but also works

on social communication, cogni-

tive communication and swallow-

ing disorders.

As we age, our memory may not

be as sharp as it was in our

younger years. Many seniors ex-

perience memory loss. Others are

Each year, staff, residents and families have the opportunity

to vote for two staff members they feel have gone above and

beyond in providing exceptional service to our residents and

deserve to be recognized as “Employee of The Year”. This year

we are pleased to announce that Jessica Mahnke (Nursing)

and Tina Greenwood (Dietary) have been selected.

Congratulations to both! We love you both and

appreciate all you two do for

our residents and families.

Em p l o ye e s C e l e b r a t i n g W o r k An n i v e r s a r i e s i n

F e b r u a r y

Teresa Barnard– 3 years of service

Cheryl Carr– 7 years of service

Bruce Pape– 6 years of service

Karen Swinford– 3 years of service

We Our Employees!

Employees of The Year 2020