Meet Tru: Therapy Dog Extraordinaire!

Tru is a 4 year old certified therapy dog that comes and visits twice a week. Tru started as a show dog. She began showing at 6 months of age and retired when she was about 3 years old.  Not long after retiring Tru become a therapy dog. She graduated from Alliance of Therapy Dogs on December 5, 2014. Tru’s first visit to Juniper Village was on December 17, 2014. Tru also works weekly at Avista Hospital and  Good Samaritan.  Every other week she goes to the Louisville Library’s “Read to Rover” program where kids get to read to Tru.  Tru has also been asked to help out at special events such as going to CU Boulder during finals week to help students destress. She has also gone to a local high school during an Suicide Awareness week to help teach kids other ways of coping with stress.  Tru has worked 166 days and approximately 226 hours of service.

Tru really makes a huge difference in our community.  She has mastered many tricks right in front of our eyes. She can high five, guess what hand her treat is in and catch a cookie that is placed on her nose.  She is a gentle giant with an even bigger heart. She is compassionate, extremely adaptable, and very aware of the needs of our residents.  Tru brings smiles, stories and friendship into our building. We couldn’t ask for a more caring and loving friend to come and visit us! 

2015 Successful Outcomes

April 2016 Events in Louisville, CO: Believe in Yourself

Do you know that embracing a healthy lifestyle promotes brain health as well? This month we embark on our quarterly Alive in All Season theme of Healthy Aging: Let Wellbeing Thrive. Throughout April we will focus on brain health and encouraging you to Believe in Yourself. We will learn more about how physical health and exercise, diet and nutrition, cognitive activity, and social engagement can help keep both your body and brain healthy and potentially reduce your risk of cognitive decline. At the 2014 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, results of a two-year clinical trial of older adults at risk for cognitive impairment showed that a combination of physical activity, nutritional guidance, cognitive training, social activities and management of heart health risk factors slowed cognitive decline. It’s never too late to make changes to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Join us this month as we expand our knowledge of brain health and take steps to boost our brain health through our Healthy Brain series featuring our Daily Brain Builders and Wii Games designed to promote cognitive activity. Continue your research by perusing our Healthy Aging Resource Library, filled with volumes of information to help you and your loved ones age well. And, don’t forget to join us for our Brain Healthy Luncheon where we will nourish mind, body and soul. We look forward to sharing this month of healthful thinking and encouragement to Believe in Yourself – you can do this!

Our fabulous April 2016 events in Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville include our:

§  Way to Grow in Our Community Garden because one of the beautiful benefits of Juniper is our courtyard, an essential tool to complete a balanced experience for our residents, being able to watch the baby birds in spring, and enjoy the harvest of our vegetable garden, gives one a sense of ownership and involvement, and this year we are inviting our friends and family to launch our planting season since many of you have a great amount of knowledge that we could use in our very own back yard, and we will also be serving fruit salads and refreshments on April 5^th from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

§  Food for the Brain Luncheon for a delicious brain healthy lunch prepared right here at Juniper by our wonderful chefs with a menu that will feature baked Mediterranean salmon, quinoa sliders and fresh berry and granola parfaits, plus each attendee will be going home with a brain health gift box on April 22^nd at noon.

§  Be Aware for Better Care a spectacular collaboration with some of the communities most knowledgeable in the field of senior care, so join us in this enlightening community event where you will have the pleasure of learning about alternative therapies for better care as you will also learn about what tools we are using that enable a successful dementia care experience, and brain healthy treats such as salmon, couscous, quinoa and hummus will be served on April 28^th from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our April 2016 events in Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville with you as you Believe in Yourself.

March 2016 Events in Louisville, CO: 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 Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville include our:

§  Experiential Effectiveness as we are honored to have Leslie McKormic with Revolutions, LLC and Molly McLean co-present on this therapy that involves actions, movements, and activities rather than the more traditional “talk therapy” because music and movement can be an essential tool for connecting with our residents, and we’ve found it to be very effective with our residents here at Juniper, so come join us for this event so that you can learn how to use experiential movement therapy successfully on March 11^th at 4:30 pm.

§  Blarney Bash as it has been said, “There are only two kinds of people in this world, the Irish and those who wish they were,” and we should all celebrate as such, so don’t forget your green before joining us in the exciting performance of the Irish Dancers, as all will have the opportunity to Kiss the Juniper Blarney Stone, that is said to grace us with the gift of gab, and we don't stop there because we will also have an entirely green sweet bar, so we hope you can join us, and may the luck of the Irish be with you on March 17^th at 10:30 pm.

§  Easter Brunch because at Juniper we know how to do Easter Brunch right, and we have the most amazing brunch that our wonderful Chefs make, that combined with the company of friends and family make this a cherished holiday, that we are so well known for, and grandchildren bring in smiles and bundles of energy as they race around the courtyard eagerly looking for the golden Easter eggs, and we do mean pure gold, well, at the very least they will have candy which by our standards is as good as gold, and we will have a visit from the Easter bunny who will be teaching everyone how to do the Bunny Hop (because how else would anyone celebrate Easter than by dancing), so make sure to join us for this fantastic event on March 26^th at 10:30 am.

We look forward to sharing our March 2016 events in Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville with you as Your Treasure is Within.

What a fun month February has been!

We started our holiday celebrations off by creating our very own unique Mardi Gras masks! Our residents had a blast with the feathers, glitter and gems.  On Mardi Gras we made sure everyone was ready to party with their beautiful masks, jazz music and of course BEADS!! Our celebration would not be complete without a delicious spread of southern food including jambalaya and fried okra. We finished it all off with scrumptious king cake!

Later that week we were blessed by the fun and faith club from the East Boulder Baptist Church. A small group came and decorated our activity room for Valentine’s Day.  They served refreshments, spread cheer, and lead a wonderful love themed sing-a-long! Our residents absolutely loved the company and thoughtfulness of this celebration! We also had visits from Monarch Middle School, Cornerstone Church, and Fairview High School! We were definitely feeling the love from the community on Valentine’s Day!!

Juniper Berries all in Red

Juniper Village at Louisville residents, friends, family and staff joined together in wearing red to support the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign. Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.  Fortunately, that statistic can change because 80 percent of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented with education and action. The American Heart Association Go Red for Women campaign provides educational opportunities and raises awareness of heart disease and stroke. This nation-wide annual event occurs on the first Friday of February and Juniper Communities was proud to participate in this worthy cause again this year.

February 2016 Events in Louisville, CO: Awaken Your Passion

In February we turn our Alive In All Seasons focus to art and invite you to awaken your passion with us. Leo Tolstoy defines the activity of art as “To evoke in oneself a feeling one has experienced, and... then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling.”

This month we will transmit our feelings using many different mediums to let other share in our experiences, feelings and passions. We will travel through art around the world and experience art as it is meant to be – inspirational and transformative. We will feel the cool breeze and smell the fragrant blossoms of Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France as we gaze upon In the Garden and the Water Lilies series. We will feel the angst of Vincent Van Gogh as we admire his passionate works such as Vase with Twelve Sunflowers and The Starry Night. We will also pour our passion into our own creations evoking memories of the past to share with the future.

Please join us on this journey as we visit local art museums and create our own art through weekly craft programs. Celebrate with us as we recognize Valentine’s Day with sweets for the sweet and Fat Tuesday foods and fun at our Mardi Gras party.

Our fabulous February 2016 events in Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville include our:

§  Memories in the Making Presentation as we discuss our implementation of this industry-leading program and the ways that the community can contribute on February 4^th at 5:30 pm.

§  Mardi Gras Masquerade as we celebrate with fun costumes, upbeat music with dancing of course, and delectable refreshments on February 9^th at 11:00 am.

§  10^th Annual Art Walk as we display our wonderful residents’ beautiful and creative works of Art for all family and community members to enjoy on February 19^th at 4:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our February 2016 events in Louisville, CO at Juniper Village at Louisville with you as we Awaken Your Passion.