Cherish the Journey: November Events

Life is a journey filled with lessons, celebrations and special moments that ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth and we may encounter many challenges. Some of these will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that must be overcome. But, sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, although we may not realize it at the time. How we react to the situations we face will determine what the rest of our journey will be like.

This month Juniper Communities will honor our Families and cherish the journey we have taken together. November is all about celebrating the bonds we share and recognizing where we’ve been and where we’re going. We will do this through autobiographical journaling, reminiscing about family celebrations and breaking bread together in Thanksgiving. In order to support our families along this journey we will continue to develop our support groups and provide additional resources when needed. We will give back through our Annual Food Drive. From November 1 through November 30 all non-perishable food items collected will be donated to a local food bank.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Annual Food Drive where you can drop off non-perishable food items for Sister Carmen Community Center in Lafayette anytime all month long; our You’re The Peanut Butter to My Jelly Day as we honor our staff members by breaking out PB&J sandwiches, buckeyes, peanut butter ice cream sandwiches, peanut butter silk pie, and whatever other appropriately themed treats we can think up on November 5^th all day; our Grandma’s Homemade Bread Day showcasing all sorts of starchy goodies including breakfast sandwiches, scones, muffins, even pie (the crust is kind of like bread) with fantastic giveaways on November 7^th from 9:00 am to 10:30 am; our Alzheimer’s Association Class about dementia care with Amelia from the Alzheimer’s Association on November 19^th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (please RSVP to 303-665-3722); our Thanksgiving Day Feast for our friends, families, and local community with turkey dinner and all the fixings complete with a sampling of desserts from our own families on November 22^nd from 12:00 pm until 1:30 pm.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us for family celebrations, Thanksgiving dinners and many events and activities allowing us all to reflect and Cherish the Journey!

2014 COHCA Administrator of the Year Joins Juniper Village at Louisville

Carmy Jerome has taken the helm of Juniper Village at Louisville as Executive Director. She becomes part of a fabulous assisted living team that provides person-centered care for memory impaired residents in the Louisville area.

“We are thrilled to have Carmy join the Juniper family.  Carmy is a strong demonstrated leader with a deep and unabiding passion for memory care.  Her efforts, which have received national recognition, will dovetail well with Juniper’s programs and new initiatives,” stated Lynne Katzmann, CEO and Founder of Juniper Communities.

Jerome was named the Colorado Healthcare Association 2014 COHCA Spotlight on Excellence Assisted Living Administrator of the Year. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Center for Assisted Living; and has been an active participant on the Quality Committee editing the “Guiding Principles of Assisted Living Care” and “Guiding Principles of Dementia Care.”

“I am excited to be part of a company that is at the leading edge of dementia care. From the building design to the extensive list of programs specifically prepared for people living with dementia, it is clear Juniper Communities has the resident top of mind,” expressed Jerome on her appointment. “I also appreciate that Juniper values educating the staff members, giving them the proper tools to successfully accomplish their respective duties and goals. It’s wonderful to know that at Juniper we “walk the talk” indeed.”

As an advocate of decreasing the off label use of psychotropic medications, she has presented at state and national conventions on a range of topics including Dementia Care, Staff Stability, and Reducing Psychotropic Medications through Person-Centered Care.

Carmy Jerome has worked in assisted living memory care communities for the past five years. Prior to that she was in the restaurant business; however she had much exposure to the industry through her mother who was a nursing home administrator. As a young child she volunteered at her mother’s facility and also worked as an aide during her teenage years.

Show Your Colors: October Events

October brings forth vibrant color in our foliage as well as our sports teams. Our high school football teams will be in full swing and hockey season will prepare to fill the stands with team colors and spirit. Juniper Communities will also be honoring our colors with many sports-themed activities and events. We will be enjoying the changing colors of the season as we transition from summer to fall and the crazy costumes of our annual Halloween celebrations.

While showing our colors we not only focus on our team colors, but also showing our true colors. We recognize that working together as a team, results in better coordination of care, better quality of care and as a result better lives for our residents. This is evidenced by our excellent clinical outcomes data. We are happy to see the results of collaboration resulting in decreased re-hospitalizations and better quality of life for our residents.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our 4^th Annual Chili Cook-Off Competition in Louisville with our annual chili giveaway of a fantastic basket filled with goodies, along with famous people per request of the fire department who will be on hand to judge which chili is the best on October 24^th from noon to 1:30 pm; or our Halloween Monster Bash where Monarch Elementary school ghosts, goblins, and ghouls will be trick-or-treating down our halls and we will be celebrating in our costumes on October 31^st starting at 10:30 am!

Please look through our calendar to celebrate the spirit of autumn with us and Show Your Colors!