November 2015 Events in State College, PA: Cherish The Journey

Family is a simple word, with complex meaning. To some family is the people you are related to by blood, but to some family is the people you choose to hold in high regard, and to others family isn’t people at all, but animals – our beloved pets.

Regardless of the definition, family plays an important role in our personal journey. As the saying goes, “Family is what you make it.” Whether made of blood relatives, friends, colleagues or pets, your family can offer you the support you need to thrive.

This month we celebrate family and reflect on our personal journeys while creating new memories for the future. Join us as we reminisce about these journeys through autobiographical journaling. Plan to share with those less fortunate through our annual food drive from November 1-30 with all non-perishable food items being donated to a local food bank. Also interact and share with others through our community support groups, and know that you are not alone. Throughout the month we will also be hosting several family events as we celebrate family and give thanks. We encourage you to review our calendar and join us for any or all of our events and Cherish The Journey!

Our fabulous November 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care include our:

§  Shopping For A Cause to start your holiday shopping here at Juniper Village at Brookline from various local consultants selling your favorite brands such as Pampered chef, Tastefully Simple, Silpada Jewelry, Thirty-One, Mary Kay and many more with a percentage of all sales going to benefit the local State College Food Bank, so please also bring a non-perishable food item for donation on November 6^th from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

§  Veteran’s Day Celebration to join us in honoring our resident veterans for their service to this great country with a patriotic presentation with special guests, music, and red, white, and blue deliciously-fun fare for our guests and the public is welcome with no RSVPs required on November 11^th at 2:00 pm.

§  Lantern Release Ceremony as each family at Wellspring has their own unique journey and story to be told, this event will be a great way to acknowledge the importance of remembering those who have been lost while cherishing those who are still here as we write family memories and names of those who have passed on sky lanterns, we will release them into the sky and watch as each takes a unique path yet provides a bright and beautiful light in the skies overhead with the Alzheimer’s Association also be in attendance to support and celebrate with the families who take part in the ceremony on November 18^th from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

We look forward to sharing our November 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care with you as we Cherish The Journey.

Fall Festival FUN!

Harner Farm in State College along with Juniper associates, friends and families took to the cold on a chilly October weekend to raise money for next year's Walk to End Alzheimer's. That's right... just one day after this year's walk was a wrap, we geared up for another fantastic year of fundraising. This signature event--now in its seventh year--included  kids' games, face painting, bake sale, hot dogs and signature soups, and Harner Farm's infamous haunted corn maze!

For four hours (even through sleet and an early snow shower) people of all ages packed the farm, gobbling up goodies, trying their hand at the "haunted ghost tower" game, braving the corn maze, and helping us raise nearly $2,000 for the Alzheimer's Association. A special thanks to our friends at Harner Farm for another great year!

Why We Walk...

Team Juniper Village at Brookline took to the track for another successful Walk to End Alzheimer's in State College! On October 17, associates joined more than 100 other participants at the State College Spikes' Stadium for opening ceremonies and a nearly one-mile walk around Beaver Stadium. The Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association President and CEO, Gail Roddie-Hamlin and local television personality Erin Calandra lead the presentation, which also included Wellspring Executive Director, Liz Plozner-Chalfa and Director of Community Relations, Anissa Rupert Ilie. 

While the day was wrought with cool temperatures and a brief, early snow, spirits remained high and moods positive as every one's mission was the same: walking for the 5.3 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. We walk for our parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones. We walk for a cure. 

Homecoming Hoopla!

WE ARE Juniper Village and WE ARE Penn State! Welcome to State College, Pennsylvania, where the Happy Valley is never happier than during PSU Homecoming Weekend! This year at Juniper Village we kicked off the festivities with a spirited tailgate celebration at our Wellspring Community. There were hot dogs, root beer floats, and those famous Grilled Stickies topped with Penn State Creamery ice cream, along with a fun photo booth for the kids and lots of community cheer!

Friday afternoon, residents and associates from across the Brookline campus loaded the "frog bus" and took to the Homecoming Parade route to show our Juniper and PSU pride! While cheering and handing out candy along the way was definitely a highlight, it was the visit and support of the Nittany Lion himself that took the show! Who is that handsome fellow with the frog bag?!

Benefits of the Small House Model: the Gold Standard for Memory Care

At Juniper Communities we have long subscribed to the belief that the keys to healthy aging include staying physically active and socially connected. For some of us, doing one or both can be more difficult over time.  This is particularly true of some individuals who are living with memory loss. Our job as caregivers and partners in caring is to facilitate new ways of helping residents to be connected to the community - their home - while at the same time fostering a sense of independence.

Environmental features are key in both keeping people physically active and connected with others. A 2011 study by Dr. Margaret Calkins, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in the field of environments for the elderly, especially those with Alzheimer’s or dementia,  found that people who lived in small group or cottage settings had less disruptive behaviors and greater socialization.  They (and their families and the staff who cared for them) were also more satisfied—happy.

Another study done in 2011 in the Netherlands by Hilde Verbeek titled Redesigning Dementia Care concurred.  Her research indicated that residents in small-scale living communities were significantly more socially engaged and displayed fewer physically non-aggressive behaviors, such as wandering, than residents in larger, traditional settings.  They experienced greater wellbeing and less stress—they were happier. The study also found that residents in this “person-environment model” developed an individually meaningful experience of choice, mastery and relationship.  They developed a feeling of “at-homeness” or happiness!

Understanding the Small House Model

Caroline Cantley in her 2002 book Put Yourself in My Place stated that there is broad agreement that desirable dementia care homes be small scale, which she defined as 6-14 residents.  Getting much larger, she and her colleagues said, is a distinct move away from a “family feel” towards something more institutional.  Different research provides other specific numbers, Dr. Calkins suggests between 9 and 24 residents, but they all are within this general range.  Larger communities may mitigate their size with their layout, such as linking several smaller houses together to achieve economies of scale.

Juniper has been well ahead of the trend as we have owned and operated two types of small house models for more than a decade.  Two of our small house models, Aurora and Louisville, both in Colorado, were purpose built by Juniper in 1999 and 2000 respectively, as part of our initiative to provide leading-edge care to residents living with memory impairments. These two communities include four small houses, each with 12 or 13 rooms, virtually all private, surrounding a town hall area. Each town hall provides destination locations consisting of multiple familiar spaces such as an office suite, game room, library, country store, and gymnasium, where residents from all houses can go for additional services or programs. In this model, where the houses are linked, all staff are readily available to assist if needed.

Juniper’s other three memory communities although not purpose built by Juniper, were acquired between 2006 and 2014, in part based on their similar design.  All three are based on a small house or cottage model.  For instance our community in Naples, Florida is a campus with six small cottages, each home to 15 residents in a combination of private and semi-private rooms, spread across lovely grounds connected by walking paths and gardens.  Another, acquired around the same time, has three neighborhoods of 12 residents each in a combination of private and semi-private rooms, which open onto a central common area.

In both models, residents at Juniper’s communities live within a short walk to the living room, kitchen and dining areas.  The environment is homelike; there are no nurses’ stations and no medication carts that block the hallways.  Staff wear polo shirts, not scrubs, and are trained to engage residents in activities of daily living, as well as social and recreational activities.  In both models, there are large, accessible and safe outdoor spaces surrounding the community.

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October 2015 Events in State College, PA: Show Your Colors

Every October we turn our Alive in All Seasons focus to holidays and sports as we “Keep the Spirit” during this last celebratory quarter of the year. Sporting events are inevitably part of that celebration for many families.

According to Dr. Renee Clauselle, founder of Child and Family Psychology, “Bonding over sports — the highs and lows of the game — strengthens ties, helps us feel supported, and makes it easier for you to open up about personal things.” Think of sports as an opportunity to connect with others over a favorite – or even rival – team and learn more about each other. Even strangers can learn more about where they grew up, which teams they support, which sports they played and how those sports are different today. You may even learn something about your loved ones that you never knew. Perhaps great-grandma played softball in a women’s league during college. That would be something to pass along to future generations! Watching a sporting event can become so much more than plays and scores; it can become an opportunity to learn the history of someone you love.

Join us this month and “Show Your Colors” as we sponsor a local sports team, get into the spirit of the season with our Halloween Costume Party and honor those associates who go above and beyond with our annual Juniper Spirit Awards.

Our fabulous October 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring include our:

§  Dinner and Discussion on Driving Safely with representatives from HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital as they talk about using DriveABLE™ technology for determining a loved one’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle while a healthy dinner is provided on October 14th at 5:30 pm. (RSVP to 814-235-2041 and please let us know of any dietary restrictions you have when you call.)

§  Harner Farm and Wellspring Fall Festival for a day of family fun for everyone at our annual Harner Farm & Wellspring Fall Festival to benefit The Walk to End Alzheimer’s with a haunted hay ride, kids’ crafts and games, fun fall foods, bake sale and more, so we hope to see you there on October 18^th from noon to 4:00 pm.

§  Safe Trick-or-Treating for a spooky good time with children and families invited to join residents and staff for a fun evening of candy, costumes, movies and much, much more, as residents will be handing out candy and goodies to all children in costumes on October 30th at 6:00 pm. (Event open to public; no reservations required.)

We look forward to sharing our October 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring with you as we Show Your Colors.