Fun for everyone: FAMILY PICNIC!

It's a tradition that residents, friends, and family members look forward to all year long: Juniper Village at Brookline's annual family picnic, the largest and most popular event held throughout the campus. On Sunday, nearly 700 guests enjoyed a fun-filled day that included some of summer's best sights, sounds and tastes of summer.

Though raindrops were falling, outlooks were bright as picnic-goers noshed on hot dogs and hamburgers, fresh grilled chicken, potato salad and baked beans, and pies with Penn State's Berkey Creamery ice cream. Back for another year, was crowd favorite, Deacons of Dixieland, and the Happy Valley Alley Clown troupe, with their in-demand balloon animal menagerie.

All attendees were thoroughly pleased with the get together, with one thank you note perhaps stating it best, saying, "Awesome picnic done by awesome people!"

Wellspring Speaks to Alzheimer's Association on AFA Certification

Juniper Village Wellspring Memory Care at Brookline Executive Director, Elizabeth Plozner-Chalfa, recently attended the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association annual conference. Held in State College, Liz contributed to the conference as both an event host and guest speaker, presenting on JVB Wellspring's Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) “Excellence in Care, Dementia Care Program of Distinction” award certification.

To earn this distinction, Wellspring underwent a comprehensive on-site evaluation and consultation by an AFA Excellence Specialist to ensure compliance with AFA’s national standards on care quality and ability to sustain performance. Wellspring at Brookline is Juniper Village’s fifth AFA-certified community, out of just 48 memory-care communities nationwide.

A Murderously Good Time!

Juniper Village at Brookline and the State College Community Theater recently teamed up for a great cause and hilariously-fun evening with their very own murder mystery dinner fundraiser. "The Wedding from Hell" performance filled the house and raised more than $800 for the American Heart Association's annual Heart Walk, held this September in State College. Team JVB kicked off its charity efforts with its own twist on the Theater's popular murder mystery series.

The "ceremony" consisted of a drunken judge, broken bridal shoes, funeral flowers, tons of exes, and of course, a murder. Members of the SCCT worked with audience members to sort through clues and solve the mystery. A wonderful time was had by those in attendance, all while helping a tremendously worthwhile cause. If you would like more information on how you can join and/or support Juniper Village at Brookline's Heart Walk team, please e-mail Anissa Rupert Ilie for more details.

June 2015 Events in State College, PA: Live in Wellness

We close this quarter’s theme of Healthy Aging: “Let Wellbeing Thrive” with a focus on Food, as we Live in Wellness through our June 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care. Hippocrates advises, “Let food be thy medicine”. Research shows that eating a well-planned, balanced mix of foods every day has many health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, bone loss, some kinds of cancer, and anemia. But, food has other benefits. There are also emotional needs that are satisfied by food. Most of us have fond memories of food from days gone by. Whether it was our mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies, a hotdog from a street vendor or our wedding cake, food has a way of transporting us back to the past. It is in that spirit that Juniper’s dining program is called the H’art and Soul of Dining. The philosophy is that we impart spirited service, companionship and nourishment through the sharing of good food. In addition to meeting our resident’s unique nutritional needs, we also meet their emotional and social needs as well.

Join us for our June 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care to share in our hydration program, complete with healthy snacks and learn more about healthy food and wellness with our dietitian presentations as we continue to Live in Wellness.

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

§  Father’s Day Ice Cream Social from the Penn State Creamery, and antique car show, with therapeutic music by Second Winds on June 14^th at 2:00 pm. (RSVP to 814-234-3141 ext. 5301.)

§  Penn State Hershey “Live in Wellness” Lunch & Learn to join us for a delicious take on healthy eating and living your best life with Penn State Hershey’s Katelyn Bodenschatz, RN, who will discuss heart healthy, low-salt and low-fat, diets and how to live well at any age with a nutritious lunch provided on June 16^th at noon. (RSVP to 814-235-2041.)

§  Farm to Table Juniper Family Picnic a hometown affair, complete with a band, clowns for the kids, and plenty of fresh locally-sourced treats for residents, friends, and family of Juniper Village at Brookline on June 28^th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. (RSVPs required; see invitation.)

We hope to see you at one or more of our June 2015 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care!

Breathe in the goodness!

Nearly everyone loves the smell of chocolate, though not many people have heard of cocoa mulch. Cocoa mulch is a by-product of the chocolate industry and is rapidly gaining popularity. Since only the cocoa bean is used in the manufacturing of food products, shells can and often are turned into this mulch with a fantastic aroma.

In addition to its delicious fragrance, cocoa mulch is very easy to work with. This product works well as a garden mulch because of the great fertilizer and soil conditioner it contains. Most gardeners actually prefer cocoa mulch rather than the wood-chipped variety because it is less heavy and easily distributed, as well as much cleaner than its alternatives. Cocoa mulch is also a lead decorative weed suppressing mulch.

There are also many health benefits to using cocoa mulch. In fact, being exposed to it can help with mood enhancing properties. It can also help lower blood pressure if you are having a stressful day... so take a couple of minutes to relish the smell! Residents at Juniper Village Wellspring Memory Care enjoy going out to our secured courtyard to garden and get fresh air. In addition to helping get residents outside and become more active, this can be an excellent way to stimulate appetites before a meal. Now, who's up for some chocolate?

Fitness Fun!

Throughout the month of May, Juniper Village Wellspring Memory Care at Brookline has hosted a variety of events to help keep residents physically active. Last Thursday, Samuel Jackson, the CEO of UFit Thrive, visited Juniper as a part of our “Grow Strong Daily” theme. UFit Thrive is a fitness program with a mission of changing the lives of people living with chronic illnesses by creating comprehensive fitness programs. 

Samuel presented Juniper’s residents with multiple exercises that they can complete each day to improve their overall physical fitness. Samuel made the exercises challenging, but rewarding for the residents. The activity left residents feeling refreshed, and even resulted in an overall mood boost! 

Pictured above is Juniper Village resident Lorena Mazer performing the dumbbell curls. Lorena felt so empowered by this exercise that she continued to do repetitions even after Samuel was done instructing! Samuel made the program so enjoyable and easy that it often appeared that residents didn’t realize they were exercising! 

2015 Juniper Leadership Conference Awards

Juniper celebrated its 27^th anniversary this year.  Each year communities are honored for their achievements in critical operational and financial areas.

Awards were presented at the 2015 Juniper Leadership Conference, held this year in Baltimore’s historic inner harbor.  Awards were presented by Lynne Katzmann, founder and CEO of Juniper Communities, and Diane Byrne, Vice President of Program, Development, Training & Operational Oversight.

At the recent Juniper leadership conference, Juniper Village at Brookline Wellspring Memory Care was presented the Juniper Culture Award in recognition of “walking the talk” and leading the implementation of Juniper’s Culture and Signature Programs in the midst of a full acquisition transition in 2014.