It’s fall outside today, the air is cool and crisp and Sacramento’s Veteran’s Day parade just marched passed the CALA office. The day is ripe to pause, reflect, and remember the men and women that serve our country. Last year, CALA posted some resources and information available to veterans.
And thank you to all of our veterans. Today and every day.
Every day, an amazing community of people work to care for our aging population. This intertwined group consists of caregivers, support groups, research efforts, advocacy groups, and often seniors themselves. Everyone is working to help seniors live healthier, live longer and live happier lives. To bring awareness and to celebrate our seniors there are often dedicated events that people can get involved in. Two are happening this month!
September is World Alzheimer’ Month, an opportunity to become familiar with Alzheimer’s advocates’ efforts, to show your support for Alzheimer’ research and care, and to share your own personal stories relating to Alzheimer’s Disease. Go to the website and check out some of the amazing things the Alzheimer’s Association is planning. Better yet – get involved!
In addition this month, September 11th is Grandparent’s Day. Grandparent’s Day is an opportunity to take some time to celebrate the wisdom and lives of those who’ve come before us. The Assisted Living Federation of America has put together a tool kit to help people plan events and help celebrate these lives.
Plan for World Alzheimer’s Month. Plan for Grandparent’s Day. These are great opportunities to show our seniors extra care and recognition.
Atria Tamalpais Creek has been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council as a LEED certified building! Congratulations, Atria Tamalpais Creek!
The LEED Building Rating System was established to created a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green building through a third-party certification program. “By increasing sustainabiltiy, Atria Tamalpais Creek can save money, help the environment and provide its residents with top-of-the-line healthy living,” said Linda Adams, Secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Atria Tamalpais Creek recently underwent a redevelopment and renovation project that included the use of regionally-sourced materials, a clean air initiative using low-VOC paint and carpet, installation of energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, and integration of recycling programs and adequate green space. 93 percent of the existing building was used in the renovation and low-flow water fixtures are expected to reduce water usage by 30 percent.
To obtain a LEED certification a building must meet five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Congratulations again, Atria Tamalpais Creek!
CALA’s new quarterly magazine, News and Views, recently added an additional feature—The Creative View.
Assisted Living is all about people. It’s about caregivers and other staff, it’s about residents and their families. It’s about respecting our seniors and their needs as they age. To this end, this new feature of the magazine seeks to allow different voices into the conversation. Voices that remind us that people are what drive this profession.
We’re thrilled with the submissions chosen for publication for the first run of The Creative View. We hope you enjoy these poems as much as we do.
I Have Walked
By Robert Carson
Dedicated to my friend David
I have walked in summer sunshine, heading into fall
And all I thought that matters, matters not at all.
I’ve gathered my possessions, discounted all my fears
And all I thought that matters changes through the years.
I have walked in winter snow fall, caught snowflakes on my tongue,
Remembering the innocence I knew when I was young.
And, oh, so many friendships have filled my heart with joy.
Still, somehow I have lost the trust I held once as a boy.
I have walked in springtime rainfall, felt the cool rain on my face,
Through trials and tribulations, I’ve not always walked in grace.
Now, I walk in autumn’s color as the summer fades away,
So many seasons of my life, so soon I’ll see that day.
And when my life is over and my memories fade to black,
I pray that I have taken less than I have given back.
Robert Carson is a maintenance worker at Merrill Gardens at Sonoma. A self-taught pianist and carpenter by trade, this is his first time working with the elderly. He is moved by his interactions with the residents to muse on the aging process.
To Sit and Dream
By Rosemary Bishop
While looking for a place to sit
and dream; such as a deep forest,
or a splashing ocean, it would seem;
but, I saw a chair and flopped into it.
In dreams I saw redwood trees
and sun so bright.
But sitting all I saw was my
bony knees and the glare of a car taillight.
Oh, dreams of sailing ships—flying
in the wind—no.
The hard chair crushed my hips,
against the ground I was pinned.
In dreams a lovely scent filled the air.
Really the car exhaust was hard to bear.
I dreamed of beautiful buildings
of ancient Greek design.
I knew the buildings across the street
were dirty and benign.
Then I really looked across the street
and saw a yard full of poppies.
Dreams are reality.
I heard a crow call.
The seat became softer.
The front terrace really is a
lovely place to sit and dream.
Rosemary Bishop is a resident of San Carlos Elms and is 92 years young.
Retirement Home—Just Moved In
By Lou Mohler
You arrive as a stranger in a strange land,
But with no one beside you holding your hand.
A whole forest of people comes into view,
You want to know them and they want to know you.
New personalities unique to behold,
It’s like watching the bud of a rose unfold.
Working to remember names of this long parade,
You need and wish for a good memory aid.
Yes, truly an adventure to know each one,
And then, you discover, there’s still more to come!
Lou Mohler is a resident of San Carlos Elms.
Submissions: CALA accepts of poetry, short stories, and memoirs from California residents exploring issues that would be of interest to our audience, including aging, wisdom, caregiving and community. Visit our submission guidelines.
As the world works to help heal Japan, it’s nice to see Californians working to help each other. CALA member Timber Ridge at McKinleyville recently helped their neighbor – with no expectation of anything in return. Below is a re-post of a recent letter to the editor of the Times-Standard, the local newspaper for Eureka and the North Coast.
Timber Ridge Responds in Time of Need
Letter to the Editor
I work at FMC McKinleyville dialysis and feel the need to publicly thank Timber Ridge for stepping-up during the recent tsunami crisis by transporting our patients to treatment.
Our patients receive vital treatment three times a week. One shift of patients comes from Smith River, Hiochi, and Crescent City. When their area was being evacuated and their own non-emergency medical transport was unavailable, our medical director Dr. Alan Mathew called Timber Ridge administrator Lorana Farnum and asked if they could help.
She not only offered use of their patient bus but also offered the services of their own driver, Lori, who picked up our patients in Crescent City and drove them home following their treatment. Additionally, she offered to do so for free.
It’s stories like this that reminds me what a great area we live in. It’s nice when a problem this large can be handled with a phone call and not get lost in a lot of red tape.
Thanks so much to the Timber Ridge team for providing this invaluable service during our time of need.
Jacki Cahill
Fresenius Medical Care, CCHT
SOURCE: Times-Standard
We can’t think of a better story to start the new year with than this one. Belmont Village Senior Communities recently commissioned photographer Thomas Sanders to visit their Assisted Living locations around the country and photograph all the veterans living in their communities. The end result is a fantastic book, The Last Good War: The Faces and Voices of World War II. In addition to other portraits Sanders had already taken, 72 of Belmont Villages residents are shown in the book.
From the book jacket: “The Last Good War is a chronicle of courage and hardship, sacrifice and determination. The harsh reality of combat is tempered by tender, poignant moments. The overwhelming anguish of last brothers-in-arms sits alongside stories of enduring friendships.”
With more than 150 full color and black and white photographs this book is really a heart felt account of and by the veterans of World War II. It includes first hand accounts from all branches of the military, from corporals, to Women Air Service Pilots (WASPs), to Japanese-American military servicemen. From captains, to privates, to African-American servicemen, to Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).
Many of the images are beautifully rendered pictures of the veterans as they are today, holding pictures of themselves from their time in the military. It’s striking how so much of the young faces of yesterday remain in their older, wiser selves today.
It’s appropriate to spend a little time remembering the past as we ring in another new year and look forward to new things. Happy New Year, Everyone.
As we celebrate all our veterans today, CALA would like to take a moment to draw some attention to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Aid and Attendance pension benefit. Aid and Attendance was established in 1952 and provides a direct pension benefit paid to eligible veterans in addition to the monthly pension.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, a veteran may be eligible if:
This additional benefit was established to assist qualified veterans, and their surviving spouses, to receive financial benefits outside of the traditional VA residential system. If a veteran qualifies, this benefit can provide a direct monthly pension benefit to purchase long term care. For more information about this and other VA benefits, please visit http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/.
Co-Authors of the book, The Silverado Story: Love is Greater Than Fear, Stephen Winner and Loren Shook
Providing meaningful roles in society, involving children, and embracing a love-based approach are how America can successfully cope with the soaring numbers of people with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other memory-impairing diseases. That’s the view of Alzheimer’s futurists Loren Shook and Steve Winner, who say the nation must elevate care for those with the disease alongside the ongoing efforts to develop prevention and cure measures. They issue a call to action in their new book, The Silverado Story: A Memory-Care Culture Where Love is Greater than Fear. The book was published on November 1, the start of National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month.
“Despite enormous activity by researchers, no drugs or medical procedures have yet been found for preventing or curing memory-impairing diseases,” said Shook. ”It is critical that their work continue and we support it. But it’s also crucial to focus on improving the lives of the millions of people who currently have memory impairment and the millions more who will develop it in the future.”
For more information on the The Silverado Story visit www.SilveradoStory.com.
It has already been a year since the Commons at Elk Grove, an Assisted Living facility in Elk Grove, California opened and the facility staff decided to celebrated the community’s anniversary with a Hollywood-inspired party featuring entertainment and activities from the movie Casablanca.
More than 200 people attended including City Council Member Steve Detrick and Assembly Member Alyson Huber.
(From the left): In October, Mary Ellen Bosworth will be 93 years old and is enjoying her visit with her friend Dr Barbra Fitzgerald and Elk Grove City Council Member Steve Detrick.
Approximately $2,000 was raised for the Senior Center of Elk Grove through a silent auction and raffle. Another $80 was raised for the Commons’ walk team, which will be participating in the Oct. 2 Northern California Alzheimer Association memory walk.
This money was raised by attendees learning and playing roulette, just like in the movie Casablanca.
Martin Beal provided musical entertainment and band members, while wine was donated and served by Bel Air store manager Ed White.
SOURCE: Elk Grove Citizen
Every month, Gardens of Santa Monica, a Brookdale Senior Living independent and assisted living care community, hosts a Playdate with Babies event for the residents. During this time, 10 to 15 babies, along with their parents, are invited to spend some time interacting with the residents.
A resident of Gardens Santa Monica, Irene B. Kaufman, and a visiting baby enjoy their time together.
During the last event, the residents were able to experience an emotional and purposeful connection with the children and their parents.
“The residents had such a great time with the babies,” said Anita Daniel, executive director of Gardens Santa Monica. “The Optimum Life concept is truly seen in the interactions between the residents and these children. Being able to help the residents have a good time and socialize is the reason why we create these interactions for them to enjoy.”
Brookdale’s Optimum Life® concept is geared toward cultivating whole-person wellness through fulfillment in six key dimensions: physical, emotional, purposeful, social, spiritual, and intellectual.
SOURCE: Brookdale Senior Living
