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 2015 Community Kick Off Event to kick off the New Year in Joy and Celebration a festive party featuring a wonderful String Band performance along with special guests “The Mummers”, as well as seasonal winter wines and delicious refreshments on January 8^th at 3:00 pm; our “Get Hip-Don’t Slip” Presentation by Genesis Rehab an educational presentation featuring guest speaker, Grant Welson, MPT, MBA, to provide excellent information and important tips on falls risks and prevention techniques on January 12^th at 3:00 pm; our Elvis Presley Birthday Tribute Event where we welcome everyone to come sing along to your favorite tune as we stroll down memory lane remembering the Legend of Elvis who would be celebrating his 80th birthday this year on January 18^th at 3:00 pm; or 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 on January 22^nd at 2:00 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!

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!