LARNED — When Marilyn Bell retired from a 25-year career in nursing, she was looking for something to do that was on a little slower track.
“I did acute care and ER, she said. “I was pretty busy.”
Around the Larned community, Marilyn is known as a connector. Connectors, as a rule, make connections between people and ideas; they are the ones who seem to know everyone. They are, by nature, able to help others by knowing someone who can help directly, even if they themselves cannot.
Connectors like Marilyn go to a lot of meetings. They serve on a number of boards. For Marilyn, there’s the Santa Fe Trail Center, the local hospital women’s auxiliary, church committees and civic focuses.
For the past five years, however, Marilyn’s main focus has been the senior citizens in the community. As meals director for the Welcome Inn Leisure Center in Larned, she connects folks with meals five days a week, available by either dine-in at the Center at 113 W. Fourth St. in Larned; by carry-out, or by delivery.
“Monday through Friday we have frozen meals that we deliver to our homebound if they request them,” she said. “Every day, we prepare a minimum of 100 meals, some days more than that. We have homebound, we have dine-in and carry-out. We also prepare meals for Kinsley, which comes over and picks them up.”
The meals are prepared in advance from a set menu. “It’s a balanced meal every day,” she said.
When the pandemic restrictions set in, “we could only do carry-out,” she said. Those challenges are easing up as restrictions are being removed. Now, “we have quite a varied clientele that comes in to eat,” she said. “The pandemic changed a lot of things for us which haven’t picked back up, but people are coming back to eat bigger than before in some cases.”
Marilyn is also responsible for another important Welcome Inn service; making sure that those who need one have a ride.
The non-profit organization also provides rides for seniors to in-town and out-of-town functions and appointments. The county and city contribute funding that helps keep a wheelchair-accessible vehicle in service, while volunteers serve as drivers and Marilyn provides the connection. “I secure the driver and schedule the bus,” she said. “It fluctuates; sometimes it’s really busy and sometimes not so.” The Welcome Inn’s transportation area includes Hays, Great Bend, Salina, Hutchinson and Dodge City. A 48-hour lead time is required to schedule a ride, she said.
The Welcome Inn is also a social center for the senior community.
“We have Angel Care and the Pawnee County Health Department that come once a month to check blood pressures and update people what’s new in medicine,” she said. “The health department comes in during flu season and gives flu shots.”
Programs from the Southwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging include sending an attorney to come in every quarter to discuss legal issues. Transportation to SWKAA functions in Dodge City such as this week’s Senior Expo at the Dodge City Civic Center is also provided.
The Center is available for organizations and clubs to rent for functions; it is open every weekday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to those who wish to use the exercise equipment in the back room. There are also yoga sessions twice a week. “Occasionally, we also have a potluck or soup supper to raise money,” Marilyn noted.
Some social activities haven’t picked back up since the pandemic, but Marilyn is hopeful.
“Our hope is that we will host more participation activities down the road,” she said. “We used to have people come in to play dominoes, or have card party nights. We’d like to do more of that,” she said.
She is confident that people will continue to make the connection.
“There are a lot of communities that don’t have this kind of operation. We are fortunate that we have tremendous community support, financially and physically. That’s not going to change,” she said.
