March 31, 2021 | By Joe Stumpe
Rita Hephner calls March 31 her “day of freedom.” That’s the date she expected to return to a more normal lifestyle, having passed 14 days since the second of her COVID-19 vaccination shots. And Hephner planned to celebrate. “I’m going to make an appointment at Beau Monde and have a massage,” she said. Across Wichita, […]
| By Mary Clarkin
Lisa Bramblett had underlying health issues and realized she could die if she caught the novel coronavirus. The licensed practical nurse, who was the charge nurse overnight at Pittsburg (Kan.) Care and Rehabilitation Center, continued to work as the pandemic rolled through 2020. “The nursing home was testing everybody twice a week, and she tested […]
March 24, 2021 | By Joe Stumpe
The Downtown Senior Center and three others in Wichita will reopen on a limited basis April 1, more than a year after closing because of the coronavirus pandemic. Numerous congregate meal sites that provide lunch to seniors have also reopened for in-person dining or announced plans to do so. “Everybody is kind of ready to […]
March 1, 2021 | By The Active Age
Sedgwick County on Friday reduced the age threshold from 70 to 65 for eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations. Here’s what you need to know to get your jab: HOW DO I SET UP AN APPOINTMENT? Appointments are offered Monday through Saturday and can be scheduled online at https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19/vaccine-information/covid-19-vaccine-dose-1/ ; those unable to schedule online can call the county […]
| By Mary Clarkin
It’s not a good time to be 93 years old, says DeAnn Triboulet, director of the Augusta Senior Center. Triboulet recently talked by phone with a friend that age who has family and lots of other friends but whose social interactions have been limited for health reasons during the pandemic. Many older adults enjoy even […]
| By Lacey Cruse
Dear Seniors, The abundance of information around vaccines is confusing and hard to follow. I know there is a problem, and I want you to know there is an entire team of public servants working to administer vaccines we received. We are working for our community so everyone can get back to a life filled […]
February 11, 2021 | By Joe Stumpe
The Active Age Sedgwick County has open appointments for free COVID-19 vaccines for people 70 and older, and those people can telephone for appointments if they aren’t able to register online. The appointments are for next week and beyond. “I know it’s awfully cold” but the county wants older residence to be vaccinated Adrienne Byrne, […]
February 5, 2021 | By Debbi Elmore
When Lakshmi Kambampati arrived in Liberia, the schools had been closed for 14 years due to Ebola and a civil war. It was just the kind of challenge the retired Wichita teacher was looking for when she signed up for the Peace Corps. “I wanted to help and I was looking for adventure,” she said. […]
| By Mary Clarkin
Life became a series of painful choices for the McCary family starting in early November, when Bill McCary, Sr. tested positive for COVID-19 at Ascension Via Christi-St. Francis. He was sent home but fell. He was back at St. Francis on Nov. 3. His wife, Norma McCary, tested positive for the virus soon after. She […]
| By Mary Clarkin
The Active Age New Year’s Eve brought a different kind of celebration at the Kansas Christian Home in Newton: Staff and residents received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. “We were ecstatic, absolutely thrilled that we were finally getting a step toward protecting our residents, family, friends, ourselves,” said Donna Hett, assistant director of […]
December 30, 2020 | By Matthew Kelly
Gary O’Neal of Bel Aire stood on his deck, the smell of frying bacon wafting up from the grill. He wasn’t just enjoying a leisurely Wednesday evening, though. He was meal-prepping for yet another school day. O’Neal has been retired for almost 10 years. At 73, he certainly wasn’t expecting to go back to school […]
| By Amy Geiszler-Jones
Retired mail carrier Linda Barnes doesn’t care for dealing with the wind, cold, ice and snow that can mark a Kansas winter. For the fifth year in a row, Barnes, 71, and her 72-year-old husband, George, a retired Wichita police officer, will migrate south to spend the early winter months of the year. The Barneses […]