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!

Celebrate Little Things: December Events

This month is all about celebrations! Not only will we be celebrating holidays such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve, but we will also celebrate the little things that make life worthwhile. Little things such as the reassuring touch of a friend’s hand, a kind word from an acquaintance and a warm smile from a stranger.

In our all too busy lives we sometimes forget to honor the simple things in life that bring us peace and joy. Most experts recommend that we allow 10-20 minutes of relaxation and stress relief each day. Making time for that can even be a stressful experience! During this busy month of baking, shopping, visitors and juggling tasks take time to remember what is really important.

Here are some tips to keep holiday stress in check: Acknowledge your feelings - you are not alone as holiday stress is not uncommon. Be realistic with expectations - you can only do so much, learn to say no. Ask for help when needed - everyone wants to be needed and may feel more included by being able to contribute. Plan ahead to minimize unplanned expenses and tasks. Take a breather - take a walk at night and do some stargazing, listen to soothing music, or get a massage. Above all enjoy all the holidays have to offer by sharing time with others.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Annual Holiday Extravaganza as we experience the special traditions of the season with beautiful music, dancing, décor and family and friends on December 4^th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm; our Holiday Cookie Exchange where we will be so happy to enjoy the uniquely special cookie recipes of family, friends and our community while listening to beautiful holiday music and having a great time catching up on December 5^th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am; or our Holiday Community Performance for a very special gifted presentation featuring Special Guest Guitarist, Justin Weiner, for a wonderful celebration of music and artistry during the holidays on December 30^th from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm!

Look through our calendar and join us during the busy month of December for our annual cookie exchange and holiday celebrations. Take time to Celebrate Little Things with those you love!

Residents of Juniper Village at Williamstown Warm-heartedly Welcome Visits by Students Attending Rowan University

Through a wonderful partnership, approximately 25 students attending Rowan University visit residents living at Juniper Village at Williamstown several times throughout the year. The students interact with the residents, listen to their stories, talk with them, engage them in activities, and play games such as bingo and charades.

The partnership began in 2011 when Teasha McAllister, Connections Director for Juniper connected with Andrew Perrone, Rowan’s Volunteer Coordinator and subsequently Alexis Johnston, his team member at Rowan Volunteers. Perrone and Johnston took it upon themselves to facilitate and create a wonderful Inter-generational program between Juniper’s residents and Rowan University students. It was the beginning of what has become the enjoyment of a mutually successful relationship.

The most recent visit by the Rowan students was to hold Rowan Bingo Day for the residents.  David Shanks, age 27, who is working toward his Masters’ Degree in Higher Education commented on the volunteer work, “Find the joy in every moment and share it. Bingo is my lingo!”

Other comments by the students involved in the volunteer effort included:

“I love the joy of being welcomed back each time as family.” Alexis Johnston, age 22, Graduate Masters’ Degree Student, MBA Management

“I love sharing the gifts placed inside me with others in need.” Nabria Allen, age 20, Sophomore, Bachelors’ Degree Law and Justice

“I love enjoying memories and creating new ones.” Stephanie Gomez, age 21, Senior, Bachelors’ Degree Education and Math

The students visit with the residents for about one and half hours. “The residents love when the students visit. They connect with them; and, the students themselves are absolutely wonderful,” expressed Teasha McAllister on the partnership.

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 the Food Bank of South Jersey anytime all month long; our Annual Community Candlelight Vigil where we join together to celebrate the lives of our precious family members and friends that have passed on during the year on November 4^th from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm; our Annual Veterans’ Day Tribute Celebration honoring all the veterans in our community as well as remembering family, friends and others who were also veterans with a wonderful patriotic tribute concert on November 11^th from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm; or our Community Harvest Celebration Event as we enjoy the beauty of the season with all of its vibrant colors, a special country ho-down musical celebration along with singing, dancing and great seasonal refreshments on November 13^th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 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!

Showing Your Colors in Williamstown!

This month we were so very excited to join forces with our local educational schools & universities to to "show our colors"and give demonstration of what the spirit of community looks like in the Williamstown area!

Earlier this year, we hosted a "Back To School" outreach event with Bell's School, donating new book bags and school supplies to all of the children in need. It was a huge success and each child was able to begin their school year prepared with all they would need to begin their new school year! In return, the wonderful children of Bell's School decided to do something wonderful for the seniors in our community this month and hand created beautiful crafts for the fall harvest season! They had them hand-delivered by their teacher, so we could give them to the residents just in time to display for harvest!

The residents were over joyed and picked all of their favorites to display on their doors! It was such a touching and beautiful gesture and together we have created such a beautiful synergy across the generations!

In addition, we have developed a wonderful relationship with our students at Rowan university and this year we were asked to take part in Freshman Welcome Week, welcoming new freshman to the community! We were overjoyed to accept this honor and we hosted a beautiful day! The senior students, freshman and residents had a wonderful time!

Join us as we stay connected and "Show Our Colors" with our friends throughout the community in the Williamstown Area!

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 Juniper Village Country Music Jamboree featuring Guitarist Bruce Copp with sounds of the legends of country music from back at the Grande Ol’ Opry up to today’s great country artists from Conway Twitty, Johnny Cash all the way to Tim McGraw & Keith Urban on October 5^th from 3:15 pm to 4:15 pm; our Show Your Colors Sports Presentation a fun, colorful and educational lecture on the sport of Running with Professional Sports Fitness runner Priscilla Fredericks as she shares with us her inside knowledge of the sport as well as fun experiences she has had along her journey on October 13^th from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm; or our Community Halloween Celebration where residents, families, friends and everyone in the surrounding areas  enjoy great sounds and music of Halloween, fun and festive refreshments, dancing, bobbing, costumes and more on October 31^st from 2:30 pm to 3;30 pm!

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

"Spreading Your Joy" With Man's Greatest Friend!

This month as we celebrate friendship here at Juniper Village of Williamstown, we would be remiss if we did not give extra attention to our precious pets! Of course, our home boy, "Gunner"; the yellow lab you see eyeing up his cutest friend, Missie the collie is highly celebrated in our home and in the community! Actually "Gunner" is the most loved team member here at Juniper Village and his fame and friendship far exceeds our home. He is known throughout the surrounding communities and really enjoys his fame!

"Gunner" & his buds have truly shown us what "Best Friends" is all about here in Williamstown!

Lots Going On!

This month at Juniper Village of Williamstown, we celebrate our "Alive In All Seasons" theme of: Friendship: "Spread Your Joy"! And that we did here in Williamstown, as we kicked off September with a Labor Day weekend long celebration! We kicked it off with a music and root beer float & ice cream social on Friday, which were really enjoyed by residents, families and friends throughout the community! We also celebrated with patriotic events throughout the weekend and of course our Military Tribute celebration honoring all of our Vets and Vets around the nation! Residents, families, and community friends and vets enjoyed a wonderful lunch celebration with a musical patriotic tribute and of course many stories of our military and of course prayers for our military around the world!

Join us as we continue to celebrate friendship this month with all of our wonderful events! We will kick off "Assisted Living Week" this coming week from Sept. 6th through Sept. 12th, with the theme: "The Magic of Music"! You do not want to miss these wonderful celebrations with friends enjoying an array of musical surprises!

We will celebrate and honor our existing friendships as well as make new friends and "Spread the Joy" of life to as many people as possible!

Spread Your Joy: September Events

September signifies the end of summer with Labor Day celebrations and the Autumnal Equinox on the 23^rd. In this last month of our “Stay Connected” series we aspire to connect with our friends and embrace the theme of Spread Your Joy.

The Mayo Clinic tells us that friends are good for your health. They can help you celebrate good times, provide support during bad times, prevent loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost happiness, reduce stress, and improve your self-confidence and self-worth. Friends can also encourage you to increase healthy habits – it’s always better to walk, run, swim or exercise with a friend. And friends don’t always have to be of the human kind either! Several studies have shown that heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Assisted Living Week Kick-Off Celebration presenting Larry Harding on the mandolin on September 7^th at 2:00 pm; or our Magic of Music Community Event featuring the music of Neil Diamond on September 9^th at 3:00 pm; or our September 11^th Remembrance Event paying tribute to those who were killed during the terrorist attacks and the first responders who risked their lives to save others on September 11^th at 3:00 pm.

Please look through our calendar and join us for any events that can help you stay connected, cultivate friendships and Spread Your Joy!

Juniper Village at Williamstown Continues the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Today, we accepted our ice bucket challenge for ALS from Juniper Village at Meadville. As you watch the video, you will see who Williamstown challenged.  Heehee. You have 24 business hours! LOL

"Celebrating Life!"

We have truly enjoyed this summer and this month here at Juniper
Village of Williamstown. After the truly harsh winter of 2014, we were
ready for a summer out in the environment, enjoying the: "Breath of
Life"! And that we did here in Williamstown!

Residents, families and friends throughout the local communities have
enjoyed a summer filled with outdoor fun which included trips to
parks, horse farms, the beach and much more! We enjoyed visits from
the Ice Cream Man at our facility with ice cream for everyone! We
also enjoyed great beach & block parties, Annual Community Shredder
Event as well as our Annual Book Bag Community event!

This year, we welcomed a new Principal, Ms. Ginny Grier at Bells
Elementary School and she so graciously visited us along with
Educator, Susan Canzonese for our Annual Book Bag Beach Party Outreach
Event! The best part is that it ensured that all of the children of
Bell's Elementary will receive a brand new book bag with school
supplies to begin their school year. All of these events provided
opportunities to be out in the beautiful environment and providing
service to our communities at the same time! This summer and in
particular, this month was a Win/Win for everyone!

We wish all students a great school year as they prepare to return
back to school! We also welcome our wonderful Rowan University
students and the new oncoming Freshman as they visit our residents
this month and through the school year! Go Rowan!

We welcome you to enjoy the fall season with us as we begin our new
events this September celebrating "Assisted Living"!

"Breathe In Life at Juniper of Williamstown"!

As we celebrate the gift of life this month in conjunction with our
"Alive In All Seasons Theme": "Breathe in Life", we are overjoyed with
providing services to our community that allow us to do everything in
our power to protect the environment for future generations! As we all
have enjoyed the beautiful environment that has surrounded us each day
and, in particular the glorious days of summer; it is our heart at
Juniper Village to ensure that our children and grandchildren and
future generations to come will be able to enjoy this rich environment
as well!

In this effort, we began this month with our Annual Community Wide
Shredder Event, which has become one of our trademark events in the
community! This year even topped all of our previous years for the
huge success of this community wide clean up event. Everyone enjoyed
an outdoor festival with music, summer refreshments, entertainment and
more! People were dancing in the streets as our team "The Ciocca
Boys" & "Juniper Team" assisted in traffic control and ensuring all
items were safely put into the shredder! It was an old fashioned
block party in Williamstown.

We continued through the month with lots of outdoor activities, patio
time, trivia, fitness and more. We welcomed new residents and they
have been having a ball. Of course the star of every event and Major
Show Off, our family dog, (Gunner) just couldn't resist modeling and
literally taking center stage as seen in this photo!!!!

Join us for the many wonderful summer events to come and celebrate our
environment with us!

Breathe in Life: August Events

Our Alive in All Seasons’ theme for August is The Environment. Our communities will focus their efforts on maintaining healthy environments through environmentally conscious activities. Our “Green Canopy” program emphasizes designing and operating buildings that meet new standards of environmental sustainability. We are proud to be the first long-term care company with a building in the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

According to research by Go Green, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour; 25 billion Styrofoam cups and 40 billion soft drink bottles and cans each year. Eighty-four percent of the average American’s household trash can be recycled. If we recycled just 1/10 of our newspapers 25 million trees could be saved. Are we all doing our part?

Join us this month as we learn more about the environment, expand our wide-scale recycling program, learn more about environmental sustainability programs and work with our community Green Teams to promote our “Green Canopy” initiative. We encourage you to accompany us on this environmental journey so that we can all continue to Breathe in Life!

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Annual Community Shredder Event where you can get rid of all of your unwanted documents that have been clogging up your closets in a safe and secure manner while dancing to music and enjoying summer refreshments on August 7^th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm; our Annual Community Back To School Outreach Event to assist children returning back to school please join us for summer music, refreshments and more after donating a brand new book bag filled with notepads, pens, markers and pencils (to which we will add a note of inspiration written by our residents) on August 14^th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; or our Conquering Compassion Fatigue Presentation by Jennifer Parker of Samaritan Hospice to teach us tools to reduce stress and fatigue as we provide care to those we so dearly love on August 19^th from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Take a look at our calendar and join us for any and all activities that will help you make the most of these last few weeks of summer.

"Hearts of Integrity"

This month as we celebrate our "Alive In All Seasons" theme of:
Volunteerism: Stand In Integrity", we are all the more impressed with
the spirit of giving that exists within the human heart! Hearts full
of integrity!

Juniper Village of Williamstown has the expressed honor to extend our
deepest gratitude to all of the most precious volunteers, military,
police, fireman, and all of the beautiful people across the nation and
the globe who live their lives in such a way to be of service to
others! We thank you all! We also extend a very special thank you to
all of those who continually serve our community!

We enjoyed hosting a beautiful luncheon to honor the volunteers who
have dedicated themselves to serving our community! Guests enjoyed a
delicious Italian feast along with strolling accordion musician,
featuring all the beautiful sounds of Italy! Volunteers enjoyed a
great time with friends and received honors and gifts as we spent this
day in appreciation!

Residents also enjoyed a special photo shoot this month and our
"Village Steel" pumping iron team really had a blast with that! They
look so cool! We also enjoyed a beautiful & brilliant classical piano
concert featuring one of our students volunteering in our community!
In addition, we enjoyed a wonderful inter-generational day featuring
the students from Rowen University "Aim High" Science & Technology
Group! They volunteered their time playing games with our residents
as well as enjoying a social to provide a time of interaction with the
future leaders of tomorrow!

It was a wonderful month and we are filled with gratitude!
Join us as we continue to spread the joy of giving and live our lives
with purpose in service to others!

Standing In Integrity In Williamstown!

This month, as we celebrate our "Alive in All Seasons" theme of:
Volunteerism-"Stand In Integrity", Juniper Village of Williamstown is
proud to honor all of our Military and those in Service to our great
nation! We owe all of our freedom and liberty to them! In addition,
we honor all of the beautiful men and woman who give of themselves
freely in service to our country and to others as volunteers! We
honor you all and owe a great debt to all of you!

We kicked off the month of July 2014 with a great Summer Block Kick
Off Party and also kicked off the 4th of July weekend with back to
back events all weekend long! Residents, families and community
friends enjoyed great patriotic celebrations, patriotic musical
tributes, beach block parties and creating fun crafts and flower
arranging as well! Everyone participated in all of the great
festivities and enjoyed making fun patriotic crafts to honor people of
service in our community!

Join us this month as we celebrate all who dedicate their lives in
service to others and to our Country!

Stand in Integrity: July Events

July is the month in which we celebrate our nation’s independence with fireworks, cook outs and by cherishing our own personal freedoms. Nelson Mandela reminds us “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” In that spirit join us as we honor those who “Stand in Integrity.”

Dr. Barbara Killinger, PhD, offers this definition of integrity: “Integrity is a personal choice, an uncompromising and predictably consistent commitment to honor moral, ethical, spiritual and artistic values and principles.” To “Stand in Integrity” does not mean that you are flawless or perfect, it means that you admit your shortcomings; you have influence, not because people like you, but because people trust you, believe you, and follow you.

We will also celebrate this month’s Alive in All Seasons theme of Volunteerism by volunteering our time to others, honoring those who volunteer with us, including our Resident Ambassadors; and learning more about volunteer opportunities in the greater community.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Joyous Days of Summer Community Event where we celebrate with the best summer music vibe, balloon artists, and festive summer refreshments on July 1^st from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; our 4th of July Patriotic Concert Celebration featuring the Lenny B. Duo as we salute America’s great and honorable history on July 4^th from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm; or our Annual Volunteer Celebration Luncheon where we honor all of our precious volunteers with a festive summer meal complete with strolling music and more on July 16^th from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm. Take a look at our calendar and join us for any and all activities that will help you make the most of these last few weeks of summer. 

The Celebration of "Food" and "Living In Wellness"!

This month, we have enjoyed the delightful pleasure that food brings
to our lives! We share so many beautiful moments as we enjoy a
beautiful dinner with family and friends! All of life's most beautiful
celebrations are centered around a feast of one kind or another. Even
the summer festivals all involve delicious arrays of foods, and
desserts! We have continued to enjoy the wonderful summer dishes that
our Dining Team have been preparing. We celebrated the delicious
foods of Italy, China and Greece along with the culture, history and
music that is unique to each location!

In addition, we enjoyed a wonderful Father's day celebration with a
great Beef BBQ, with all the trimmings and a top line magic show that
kept all the Dad's guessing! It was a great day and our dad's all
received new baseball hats! They were really happy with that!

We also beautiful times out at the beach, celebrating the sun, surf
and boardwalk delights! Many brought home the famous Jersey Fudge to
families and friends!

To continue our very special attention to "Living In Wellness", we
received a special visit from our Founder and President, Lynne Katzman
who took time out of her very busy schedule to come to Williamstown to
personally thank and present awards to all of our Juniper Giraffe
Award Winners! It was a beautiful celebration for all! As my
Executive Director, Maria Ciocca said: "It was a Love Fest"!

We look forward to sharing the joys of "Living In Wellness" together.
We hope you will join us as we journey in this Amazing Life, creating
precious moments for others in all we do!