Michael Escamilla, Executive Director

April at Kirby Pines starts out with a little “fun” as we begin the month celebrating April Fool’s Day. While not everyone appreciates a good joke, laughter is a good way to get out of the winter blahs and certainly a good way to say goodbye to some of the restrictions we have all had to deal with these past twelve months. It is after all the first full month of Spring, and flowers, trees and wildlife are abundant on our sixty park like acres.

The first Sunday of the month is Easter Sunday and Mark Simpson is planning a delicious Easter Brunch for all to enjoy. Along with some traditional breakfast items there will specialized entrees and desserts. 

If you’re anxious to get outside and enjoy the Spring weather, our grounds are a perfect place to enjoy a walk with all that is in bloom. Hopefully the end of the prior month provided enough dry days to complete the walking path around the lake; or to take a peek at the numerous raised beds that the Kirby Garden Club have started to cultivate. 

Of course, you can also just sit on one of several park benches and enjoy the birds, or feed the fish from the bridge, or swing in the swing house.

April brings to us not only the rebirth of Christ, but also the opportunity to remind ourselves how fortunate we are all to see the light at the end these past twelve months; and to welcome back family group visits and hugs.

Happy Easter everyone!

As we slowly move into Spring, now is an excellent time to start thinking about little things we can do to improve our overall health. While the Oasis easily comes to mind as the place to go to improve your health, there are many things that can be done in our own homes. I have listed a few tips below for you to consider.

Stay socially involved – research shows that people who have an active social life are less likely to experience a decline in the ability to reason and remember. The Pinecone lists many activities that you can enjoy and later discuss with fellow residents. For example, the numerous in-house movies.

Eat chocolate – an ounce a day is now determined to be as good as or better than, an apple a day. Dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids which help the body’s cells resist damage. In addition to their antioxidant properties, flavonoids also help lower blood pressure, improve blood flow to the brain and raise good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating chocolate at Kirby is easy. All you need to do is stop by the Blossom Shop for a chocolate bar, or ask for chocolate ice cream with your meal.

If you drink coffee like I do, scientists have good news for us. Drinking coffee seems to lower the risk for heart disease and dying from chronic illnesses such as diabetes or pneumonia. Other research concludes that caffeinated coffee may protect against skin cancers, Parkinson’s and even delay the onset of Alzheimer’s. If caffeine doesn’t keep you up at night, enjoy a cup in the Bistro mid-afternoon.

Living a long and healthy life has a lot to do with living an enjoyable life and researchers have determined that music helps to make everyday living more enjoyable. Listening to your favorite music may be good for your heart, as emotions aroused by joyful music cause tissue in the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow. Music also brings on sound sleep, boosts mood and reduces anxiety. While live performances remain limited during these challenging times, you can listen to many live performers on our in-house television station. So, take a close look at this months’ calendar and make plans now to improve your health.

Happy New Year! We can finally say goodbye to a year filled with so many challenges and losses; and say hello to a year filled with hope and optimism. I remember thinking on Valentine’s Day how loving my siblings and their children are to me, and that Spring would soon surround us all with the beauty of nature that God sends to us each year. That feeling of new growth and beauty quickly diminished as the world came face to face with a challenge bigger than many had ever faced before. However, with faith in hand and love in our hearts, we found our own way of staring the challenge down.

Resident artists, eager to show their talents, went from an art opening with wine and cheese to an art program brought to everyone on our live in-house television station. Truly giving more the opportunity to learn about the works they had created as they listened to resident artist being interviewed and describing their inner passion for creating each piece, which then was hung for all to stop by and see every six weeks.

Resident sewers began making masks almost immediately. Giving some away and selling others in the Blossom Shop. Sharing their creativity and concern for a healthy community for us all. Our house Chaplin, Don Johnson, began using our Shortel telephone system to give a morning devotional to all employees. His words of encouragement and prayer, then and now, continue to help staff push through when the odds sometimes feel heavily stacked against them.

Residents volunteered to deliver mail and packages to those self-isolating; to call on local religious leaders to serve as guest speakers for Vespers, now attended by so many more again utilizing our in-house television station; and others secured local artist to perform on stage in the performing arts center, to a mostly virtual audience. These acts of kindness resulted in Kirby Pines once again being voted the Best Retirement Community by the readers of the Commercial Appeal. Making this our 14th consecutive year to receive this honor.

This holiday season has been the perfect time to pause and remember the best that Kirby has to offer, and to remember those in our hearts, but no longer among us. As I begin my 19th year of service to you and the employees of Kirby Pines, I wish everyone a better and Happy New Year. Remember, Spring and its beauty is just around the corner.

Merry Christmas everyone. This has been a disruptive year for us all, and one that can impact holiday cheer. Yet what can be merrier than the birth of Christ. He is after all the reason we celebrate this season. Resident Jerry Dunnam has reminded us of His birth in her wonderful painting displayed in the main lobby.

A recent survey indicates that instead of families getting together this Christmas, more than 62 percent plan to stay apart and send greeting cards, photos, hold a zoom gathering, or chat on the telephone. I know it would be more cheerful to be with family, but there is nothing more saddening than losing the chance to be there next year. In sending your cards try to interject some light-hearted humor. Just think back to March of this year when you smiled from ear to ear because you had toilet paper and found a can of Lysol on the shelves that you could purchase. You’ll smile even bigger when those face to face visits, hugs and kisses come in the months ahead as vaccines become available to us.

To all of us I wish you a Christmas with peace and twinkling lights. A warm cozy corner on a cold winter night. A place at the table with your Kirby family and friends. A feeling of happiness that never ends.

Celebrating Thanksgiving this year will certainly be different than in the years past. Like so many other holidays throughout 2020, the holiday and the pandemic will be on everyone’s mind. Normally we would be thinking about who we were inviting to dinner here at Kirby Pines or where we might be traveling to meet family and with whom we might be celebrating with in our homes. However, this year we may experience how “un-celebratory” this holiday may feel, so we all need to be mindful of the many blessing we have to be thankful for.

When Thanksgiving was first celebrated, it was customary to be thankful for our blessings and to say a thankful prayer as part of that ritual. As our world has evolved, that tradition continues, despite the movies that depict a more stressful family gathering or an over humorous family gathering. True, there can be stressful factors, whether it’s traveling, family conflicts, or cooking that didn’t meet everyone’s expectation, but the act of engaging in the tradition of gratitude changes those experiences from a negative to a positive.

Regardless of the potential for stress, most people would agree that a holiday centered around food and loved ones, is a great way to spend the day. The bonding that comes from either cooking for others, or sharing a meal with others, is another blessing we can all be thankful for. Mark Simpson and his culinary team plan on providing a wonderful traditional feast for you and Kirby employees this Thanksgiving. Together we can celebrate the bonds of friendship that have developed over the years; the blessings we share by living and working in a community filled with love; and the gratitude we gain from just being good to one another.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

In September, we reflected on the past thirty-seven years of Kirby Pines, and expressed our thankfulness for the “unity” provided to make Kirby Pines, what so many refer to as “the best retirement community in Memphis”. In fact, Kirby Pines was once again selected by the readers of the Commercial Appeal as “THE BEST Retirement Community” for the fourteenth consecutive year in the tristate area; and by the Memphis Business Journal as The TOP Multi Service Retirement Community for the eleventh consecutive year. 

Of course, these awards of recognition would not be possible if it weren’t for the individuals who live and work at Kirby Pines. And what better way to begin the month, than by acknowledging the International Day of the Older Person, October 1st. Designated by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1990, all countries are encouraged to enable men and women to age with dignity and to integrate aging issues into everyday life. Kirby Pines is a daily example of doing just this.

This month we also celebrate: October 2nd, National Custodial Worker’s Day – a day when we should all make an effort to thank the men and women in our housekeeping and laundry department for the hard work they do for us each day; October 4-10th is National Health Care Food Service Week, these dedicated employees are an essential part of our integrated services; October 25th-31sth is National Pastoral Care week, and we should all make time to thank our Chaplin, Don Johnson, and the numerous residents that coordinate such activities as our Men’s Bible Study group and Thursday night Vespers.

Please join me in thanking these many individuals for the time they dedicate to make a difference in our life. You can join this amazing group on October 24th, which is Make a Difference Day. After all, we all have the ability to do something small that makes a difference.

This September, Kirby Pines Estates celebrates its thirty-seventh anniversary. And as with any celebration, a lot of planning will go into making this anniversary one that will be enjoyable and memorable. Each year, a theme and color are selected and this year the color is Faded Denim and the theme is Unity.

Denim is about as classic Americana as one can get, and Faded Denim, the weathered look of a dark indigo, represents a sense of strength that comes from hard work. It can signify respect, and a soothing warmth in knowing you’re in a comfortable strong setting. Kirby Pines certainly is respected in its market place as a strong leader in senior living, and is recognized in getting it right. 

One of the colors selected for our American flag was blue to signify the strength that comes from honor and unity. The theme of “Unity” is difficult to put into words, simply because the word itself means so many things at different times. Certainly, we are all in unity in celebrating our anniversary; in honoring the hard work done by staff daily over the past thirty-seven years; and especially during this year 2020. This year 

is turning out to be one of our country’s most difficult years, and yet it has been with unity that the country has moved forward with a commitment for change, in resolution to find new ways to do the daily tasks necessary to survive and come out stronger once this pandemic is tamed. 

Thus, our thirsty-seventh anniversary will celebrate the hard work that has brought Kirby Pines to where we are today, and where we will together, in Unity, move forward to in the years ahead. 

Please join with us in celebrating Kirby Pines’ thirty-seventh anniversary !

The thirty-seventh anniversary of Kirby Pines, is just a month away and this year our celebration, “Lighting of the Lake”, will not be like those of past years due to Covid-19. Just the same we will celebrate all that is Kirby Pines, and we can kick the celebration off with our most recent city-wide recognition. In July, the Memphis Business Journal named Kirby Pines the number one Memphis Area Multi-Level Care Community. Kirby Pines is currently in the running to be voted by the readers of the Commercial Appeal for the Memphis Most Award – a recognition that Kirby Pines has won for thirteen consecutive years.

Our success is due to residents that know that Kirby Pines is the place to relax and enjoy their retirement years. It’s due to the families of residents who share their beliefs that their love ones have chosen the right place to live while offering them peace of mind. And it’s due to our employees, who amidst this pandemic, have still chosen to work and serve residents and co-workers daily.

Regardless of how long you have been a resident, or have been contemplating a move to Kirby Pines, our upcoming thirty-seventh anniversary is possible because of the trust you and so many in the Memphis community have in us. On behalf of all employees, thank you for your cooperative spirits throughout the years, and may I suggest you take some time to relax away from the hot August sun. 

Summer is officially here! Although it sneaked in towards the end of June, the unofficial hotter, dryer weather arrived sometime during spring. Luckily for us all, our large trees and park-like acreage, provides us with plenty of areas where we can step outside to stroll under the shade of numerous majestic trees. This summer will of course be different during the current Coivd-19 pandemic, but try not to let the hotter temperature nor the daily news bring you down.

The current Covid-19 crisis continues to have a significant impact not only on visits with your families but also on unemployment, the economy and people’s lives in general. Remember in every crisis, doubt or confusion – it is important to take the higher path. The path of compassion, courage, understanding and love for one another.

This July, when we gather to celebrate the birth of our nation, we will also be ending a month of mourning in recognition of all we have lost during this pandemic. However, we must also remember the American patriots of past centuries, who gave their lives so that we could enjoy the fruits of a better country. This July, join me in saluting all past, current and future Americans as we bask in the warmth of their actions and the season. Yes, summer is officially here.

Michael Escamilla,
Executive Director,
Kirby Pines

Residents at Kirby Pines have the security of knowing that they are taken care of in all stages of life, because of the comprehensive life care agreement that is unique to Kirby Pines. However, the life care agreement is only one of many security features unique to living here.

The electronic key system at Kirby Pines – Cliq Key – is designed to record each key put into any lock. A print out of a particular lock, will show whose individual key was put into the lock, and whether that key granted or denied access to that lock. In some locations, we have installed locks that only a handful of individuals have been granted access to, and if a key is inserted into one of those locks, that individual key is “killed” simply by placing into the wrong lock, forcing that individual to come to the administrative offices to have their key reprogrammed. Our key system provides the added security of being able to track the time, date and person using the key.

One of the newest security features at Kirby Pines, is the recent installation of Mobotix Thermal Cameras. These cameras take the temperature of individuals and things passing by them, such as an iPhone, or the battery of a motorized chair, or a simple cup of coffee. These cameras then send an alert message, along with a series of four photos in time sequences, to preselected desk top computers and iPhones. Two images are sent simultaneously, one is a thermal image with a pin point indicator of where the elevated temperature is located; and the other is a clear photograph of who or what triggered the elevated alert on the Mobotix Thermal Camera. Thereby allowing us to act to stop someone who might have an elevated temperature, which is one of the symptoms related to Covid-19.

These enhanced technological devices add to our overall security, but the best sense of security, remains living among friends at Kirby Pines.

Michael Escamilla,
Executive Director,
Kirby Pines