What's Cooking?

The Pines senior living community at Brookline recently was host to a feast of Asian fare during an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State (OLLI) cooking class. "Guys' Gourmet: Asian Influences” was led by instructors Steve Gentry, Hodge Barton and John Stevens, and featured foods from the Far East like potstickers, barbecued beef, and amazing almond cookies.

Juniper Village at Brookline is an official satellite site of OLLI, which offers year-round continuing education courses for the State College area community. Subjects range from history and science, to art, music, and dance. Brookline residents are offered discounted annual dues and course fees, which normally range between $10 and $30. “Asian Influences” brought in around 20 area community members, all of whom raved about their experience. Said one, “I just love these opportunities… I attend an OLLI class at least twice a month!” And we at JVB love the opportunity to have you here!

P.S. The potstickers were delicious!

Happy 100th Oliver!

There was great cause for celebration this week at Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline, as Pines resident Oliver Runde turned 100 years young! Oliver’s daughter, Debrah, joined her father and a room full of his Juniper friends to partake in cake & ice cream, and a spirited sing-a-long led by local entertainment legend, pianist Ray Fortunato. Oliver told tales of his service in the US Army, and his work as an industrial engineer, and his time as President of Federal Glass in Columbus, Ohio. He fondly recalled his life in Florida with his late wife, Martha, and affectionately paid tribute to his three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. At the end of the celebration, he was presented with special centenarian commemorative certificate from the Pennsylvania Senate.

When asked his advice for living a long and healthy life, his daughter sighted his unwavering positive attitude. Oliver said that we should all “live life the way it’s meant to be”, adding that we “be honest and take care of [ourselves].” Simply put, he shared, “I always just did what they told me!”

Happy birthday, Oliver, from your Juniper Village family!

Welcome New Beginnings: January Events

Welcome to 2015! What a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and forge ahead with new beginnings. January is a time for change when we make and sometimes break our New Year’s resolutions and focus on what we want to make better in the coming year.

January is also the month that Juniper Village begins our Winter Alive In All Seasons theme of Creative Expressions: “Explore Your Creativity” where in January we will focus on music! Research shows that music can help us physically by easing pain, helping us sleep better, eat less and enhance our blood vessel function. It is also suggested that music can help us mentally by reducing stress, relieving symptoms of depression, elevating mood, decreasing anxiety and improving cognitive performance. Hospitals are using music to help cancer patients manage stress and anxiety and to ease recovery in stroke patients.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Harp Therapy as part of New Year, New You Day of Wellness with  the heavenly sounds of Certified Harp Therapist Ellen Slingerland who showcases how her music can have a soothing and comforting effect on listeners in the Second Floor Dining Room at Brookline Rehabilitation and Skilled Care (1950 Cliffside Drive) on January 5^th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; our ReMarkable Music with Grace Between Us to dazzle and inspire you with traditional hymns that are sure to impress in the Gathering Room at Wellspring (610 Whitehall Drive) on January 12^th from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm; our Winter Warm-Up Happy Hour with JT Thompson  for an evening of drinks and hot tunes by this Bellefonte native who is  a regular on the State College music scene in the Pines Piano Lounge at Brookline Senior Living (1940 Cliffside Drive) on January 14^th from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm; our Alive Inside Screening of the inspirational and emotional film dramatically portraying the power of music and memory that left the audience humming and cheering at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in the Willows Dining Room (1900 Cliffside Drive) on January 22^nd from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm; or our Virtual Dementia Tour and Create Your Playlist Event an interactive, experiential journey into the realities of dementia that allows you to “walk in the shoes” of your loved one, enabling you to better understand their needs and behaviors, at the end of which you can create your own personalized music playlist and participate in an iPod and MP3 player donation drive for musical tools to utilize throughout the community in the First Floor Lobby at Brookline Rehabilitation and Skilled Care (1950 Cliffside Drive) on January 28^th from 2:00 pm to 5:30 pm!

Look through our calendar and join us this month as we explore our creativity through music with outings to local musical performances, Elvis’ birthday celebrations and concerts by our Joyful Noise Choirs. We invite you to Welcome New Beginnings at Juniper Village and make a habit of joining us for activities and events throughout the year!

All Aboard With Conductor Colton!

Connections associate Dave Colton has been volunteering and working with the senior living community at Juniper Village at Brookline for as long as anyone can recall. Colton gives 100% of himself each and every day at JVB, but perhaps one of the very best things that he shares is his love of model trains. Collecting train tracks, structures and figures for more than 60 years, he says that it was his parents, grandparents, and some aunts and uncles who inspired his hobby. “I started getting pieces when I was around 10,” he shared, noting that some of his collection dates back to around 1900.

For years, Dave and his wife Dottie (also a valued JVB volunteer) opened the doors of their State College home to neighbors and friends, including past Brookline residents whom Dave would bring to the house himself. When some folks mentioned that bending down to see the trains was hard on their backs, Colton had a special elevated platform built for easier viewing of the display. For the past four years, he has been showing his magical holiday village in the Willows Dining Room for residents, guests and associates to enjoy. “I love it and the people love it!” Colton said. “I get more and more request to run the trains. I have a resident bringing her grandchildren over today at 4:30.” And with that, he was gone… off to deliver packages to Willows residents and spread more holiday cheer. The next time you’re at Juniper Village in December, be sure and stop by to see this enchanted exhibit; Dave will be happy to show you around!

The Giving Season

This holiday season Juniper Village at Brookline residents and associates were busy spreading cheer throughout the State College community. All JVB communities were official Toys for Tots collections sites, helping to collect three large boxes of toys this year for more than 3,000 less fortunate Centre County children. Since 1987, The Nittany Leathernecks Detachment, a community service organization composed of active, retired and former Marines, has headed the Toys for Tots mission in Centre County—considered one of the area’s premier charity events. The Centre County Toys for Tots campaign accommodates all religious protocols—in concert with economic eligibility—for Christmas, Hanukkah, Ramadan, and Kwanza during the December-January holiday seasons.

But that’s not all! Additionally, nearly 1,000 pounds of food and more than $200 in donations were collected for the State College Food Bank this year. Large grocery carts donated by Weis Market on South Atherton Street in State College (as well as $25 worth of groceries) were placed in three main lobbies at JVB, where they were quickly filled to the brim. Carol Pioli, executive director of the food bank—which serves over 300 area households per month—said that “offering a simple ‘thank you’ doesn’t feel enough, because [Juniper Village at Brookline is] helping to provide a basic need to those that are less fortunate.”

With monetary totals not yet in, JVB was one of 10 State College area businesses that teamed up for the “We Are The Kettles” Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign. Local companies and organizations spend a day ringing that famous bell around State College, and Red Kettles are decked with company logos, while associates bundle up for a good cause. This year, 10 JVB associates volunteered their time to the campaign. We even had one very special volunteer who commuted all the way from the North Pole!

Guten Appetit!

Residents of Juniper Village Senior Living at Brookline were treated to some delicious Austrian cuisine at the restaurant of one of their own. Inn resident Herwig “Brandy” Brandstatter played host to a dozen of his neighbors and a few Juniper associates at the downtown State College restaurant he opened with his son Bernd more than a dozen years ago. Herwig’s Austrian Bistro serves up authentic, homemade dishes including gulasch, wienerschnitzel, and apfelstrudel (perfected by Brandy’s late wife, Gundi).

Brandy began cooking with his father at the age of five and later attended culinary school in Salzburg, Austria; the same school where Bernd would attend years later. After leaving their hometown of Igls, Austria and first visiting State College in 1982, the Brandstatter family fell in love with the area, eventually moving here. For the next four years, Brandy ran Herwig’s Edelweiss, his restaurant just outside of State College. After dabbling in the travel industry for a while, Herwig’s Austrian Bistro opened downtown, moving to its current location on College Avenue in 2006.

Residents and associates alike enjoyed their recent visit to their friend’s family restaurant and look forward to returning soon!

Juniper Communities Appoints New Regional Director of Wellness and Wellbeing

Juniper Communities announces that Melissa “Missy” Ebner has joined Juniper as Regional Director of Wellness and Wellbeing. Missy brings a wealth of experience in nursing care, especially with seniors to her position. From a clinical perspective, her role will be to oversee the entire portfolio of clinical care and support for the residents, provide clinical oversight, and staff training. She is a licensed Registered Nurse (RN) in every state where Juniper currently has communities.

“We are very excited to have Missy join the Juniper family,” expressed Lynne Katzmann, CEO of Juniper Communities. “She comes to Juniper with a wonderful background and deep experience in the clinical complainants of senior living. She will be a great resource for our community wellness teams and to the home office team in this changing healthcare environment.”

Missy’s interest in working with senior living communities is that they offer residents more freedom than skilled nursing settings. “The seniors can be taken care of in a homelike environment and you can become a friend, not seen as a nurse or caregiver,” she explained. “Juniper’s staff is wonderful at treating the residents as a parent or grandparent, this doesn’t always happen in institutional settings.”

Juniper Communities owns and operates Personal Care, Assisted Living, Memory-Care, Skilled Nursing and Independent Living communities in NJ, FL, CO and PA.

“Nobody is as forward thinking as Juniper. They are far ahead of the curve in the industry and where healthcare is going. The staff I’ve observed go above and beyond, always doing more even though no one is looking,” Missy described of her building level observations.

Missy Ebner has worked in the healthcare industry since 1987. She received her LPN from the James Martin School of Nursing in 1987 and her RN from Excelsior College in 2005. She is a resident of Willow Grove, PA and born and raised in Pennsylvania. She has been married to Henry Ebner for 26 years and has three children, Corey, Shane and Cassidy.  Something her family and friends know about her is that she loves to shop the Outlets, and loves a good bargain!