Lunch & Learn: Colon Health

To wrap up Colon Health Awareness Month, Juniper Village at Brookline recently hosted a Lunch and Learn session in collaboration with community health care partner, Penn State Hershey. Over a light lunch of vegetable kale soup and salad, LPN Erin Keen tackled the very important topic of colon health.

As part of her easy-to-follow presentation, Erin discussed the necessity of a healthful diet and exercise in maintaining optimal wellness. Warning signs of several common colon-related illnesses, including colon cancer were addressed, as well as the steps one should take if experiencing any of the outlined symptoms.

Luck of the Irish

Everyone is Irish at Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline! At least they were on St. Patrick's Day this year. Residents and staff alike showed their Irish greens in clothing, decorations, and even beer!! Residents enjoyed a traditional St. Patrick's Day lunch of corned beef and cabbage or salmon platter and an afternoon of St. Patrick's Day history and celebration. Willows residents enjoyed a special surprise of a visiting Leprechaun (a Willow's residents' daughter) arriving during their noon meal to deliver green beer and many laughs.  Holidays are important days in the lives of Juniper Village Senior Living residents and staff. It is a time to nurture the spirit of life together. Whether it is through structured programs or casual interactions throughout the campus, residents and staff share laughter, love, and luck for each other each and every day!

Art Fosters Integrated Care Model

A picture paints a thousand words and that's just what occurred on Friday, February 19, 2016 at the Willows Dining Room during a referral event with local health care agencies and Juniper Village leadership team members. Amanda Kunkel, small business owner of Happy Valley Sip and Paint, led an art demonstration and class in how-to turn a blank canvas into a beautiful work of art. Agency staff from the local hospital, hospice/home health, and private companion services as well as Juniper staff all took part in this fun evening of fellowship and artist freedom. Guests enjoyed hors d'oeuvres of gourmet cheeses and breads, chocolate dipped cookies, and olives with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers, as prepared from the Juniper Village chef. Included with the hors d'oeuvres was a variety of wines from a local winery.

The Cat's Meow

Meet Spook. Spook is the proud owner of Jane Becker, resident at Juniper Village at Brookline Independent Living.  Appearing on her porch only two weeks after her long-time companion, Sam, a beautiful Maine Coon cat had passed, Spook was welcomed with open arms. Jane friends told her that Sam must have sent Spook to her. Having lived alone since the passing of her spouse in 2000, Jane welcomes pets into her life, as she has always been an "animal lover." This characteristic dates back to when Jane was young, as she had cats, dogs, and horses as a child. Jane reports that her spouse also enjoyed animals and happily shared that story of when her three children were young her oldest daughter brought home a cat. The direction from Jane's husband at that moment was to put the cat in the garage and that he would find a home for the cat the next morning. The stray cat wanted none of that and walked over to Jane's husband, curled up on his shoulder and fell asleep. That was the beginning of a long history of being proud cat owners.
       
When asked if Spook sleeps with her, Jane replied, "I sleep with him." Although Jane is unsure of the exact age of Spook, her daughter in law, who is a veterinarian, guesses Spook is now about five years old. Not quite out of his "teenage years," Jane shares that Spook continues to enjoy jumping on furniture and pushing items off the counter. Jane feels fortunate to have found Juniper Village as a pet-friendly community, as she would not have moved anywhere without him.

March 2016 Events in State College, PA: Your Treasure is Within

As we bring down the curtain on our Creative Expressions series we focus this month on Drama. Juliette Binoche said, “I think acting is about forgetting yourself in order to give the best of yourself. It's passing through you more than you're creating it. You're not the flower, but the vase which holds the flower.”

Through dramatic performance we are able to forget about ourselves while becoming someone else, if only for a moment. We can be transported to another time, another place and another way of thinking. With all of our inhibitions set aside we focus this month on breaking out of our shells to share a bit of ourselves with wild abandon through our weekly drama clubs which will culminate in a fantastic performance or reading of dramatic prose. We invite you to join us in this enlightening journey of self-discovery through the magic of theater this month. We will also be attending theatrical performances around town, where we can let our inner critic loose. One last opportunity to become someone else is offered during our Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, where everyone can be Irish for the day. Join us as we feast on traditional Irish foods such as corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, shepherd’s pie and more! Lastly, March would not be complete without honoring the dramatic achievements of others with our own Oscar Party. This month we invite you to let your inner star shine at Juniper Village.

Our fabulous March 2016 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Senior Living include our:

§  Music Therapy with Sue to experience the benefits of movement through chair dancing— gentle chair movements done to popular tunes— with certified movement therapist, Sue Lembeck-Edens with a fun form of exercise and movement you won’t want to miss followed by a refreshing cool down at our fruit-infused water hydration station on March 10^th at 10:30 pm.

§  Penn State Hershey Lunch and Learn Colon Health with Erin Keen, RN, as she tackles the very important topics of colon health and colon cancer awareness, while we provide a light lunch on March 24th at 6:30 pm.

§  Irish Dance Showcase for an Irish extravaganza as we feature the PSU Rince na Leon dancer and local bagpiper, Tracey Moriarty with Irish-themed snacks, including Guinness beer bread, Reuben dip, and traditional Irish themed beverages will be on tap on March 30th at 6:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our March 2016 events in State College, PA at Juniper Village at Brookline Senior Living with you as Your Treasure is Within.