Meeting of the Minds Dementia Conference 2012

This weekend, Welcome Home and some of our community representatives will be attending the Meeting of the Minds conference from the MN/Dakota Alzheimer’s Association in St. Paul.

We are proud to be one of the sponsors for this year’s event!

The Meeting of the Minds Dementia conference is the premier conference for persons with dementia, families, friends and professionals. The Alzheimer’s Association and Mayo Clinic invite you to join us for this day of inspiration and information.

Team members from Thomas Landing, Legends at Heritage Place, River Pointe and Twin Town Villa, will be attending sessions at this year’s conference as well as attending our booth in the exhibit hall.  Be sure to stop by and say hello!

If you would like more information on this event or would like to register, simply click on the link: http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=952142.

Home for the Holidays

By Todd Corrow, Marketing Associate at Legends at Heritage Place and Lisa Lehmann, Director of Resident Services at Twin Town Villa.

As families gather together during this upcoming Holiday Season, some may face seeing changes in their parents.  Our goal is to assist all families with these difficult decisions.  We have started a support group for all families in which the topics cover how to make the best decisions for everyone involved.  When a family comes to us looking to take that next step, we sit down with all of them and take the time for them to communicate exactly what they are looking for and what concerns they have.  We assist the families with finding the solution that works best for them.

Another area that we emphasize is that even if Mom and Dad come to live with us, it doesn’t have to mean that Mom and Dad can’t host the family get together.  This Thanksgiving we are working with several of our residents to bring their family to the community for their traditional family gathering.  We know this will mean the world to not only the residents, but to all of us here.  We will have an opportunity to visit with the family and all our residents will have the opportunity to share in the joy of family.

We as a staff strive to allow the families to become just that – a family again, with the caregiver role becoming ours.  This way the spouse can again become the husband or wife without the stress of taking care of the other, we want them to regain the smiles and relaxing times that we all cherish.  We want the sons and daughters to be able to bring the grandchildren in and have the smiles brighten up the entire building.  Smiles and laughter truly possess a healing power and create a warm and positive environment.

Coming home for the holiday’s can sometimes be an eye opener when you come home to an elderly parent(s).  Sometimes it is amazing what declines we see this month that we didn’t notice six months ago when we were home last.

Things you might notice or signs that you should keep an eye out for –

•  Your parent seems depressed. Depression is common in seniors who are isolated and alone.
• Dad is reaching for the backs of the furniture while getting around the house, leads us to believe that he is losses his balance more often, making it more difficult to get around.
• You notice frequent bruises, although your parent may try to cover them up. This may be a sign of falling or mobility and balance problems.
• Your parent wears the same clothes over and over again or neglects personal hygiene. This can indicate that doing laundry and bathing is physically challenging.
• Did you notice that mom isn’t wearing any of her favorite blouses?  She is having a hard time buttoning them up.
• Mom seems more confused lately, she maybe having trouble keeping her medications straight.  Mixing up the times and doses can lead to more confusion.
• The house and yard isn’t as clean and tidy as it used to be.
• Your parent forgets things, including doctor’s appointments and when to take medication. This may be due to memory loss.
• You notice strange or inappropriate behavior. For example, your parent may dress inappropriately for the weather. This can be a sign that your parent is experiencing confusion.

So as we gather for the Holidays lets be thankful for the opportunity to come together and create lasting memories.  If you see things that concern you do not fear what the future holds embrace the opportunity to work with a Community which will provide a safe and caring environment where there will be opportunity to create more memories.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Heart and Soul – LCM Workshop

Today, the heart and soul of the care providers visited Welcome Home for their Fall Workshop.

We covered a variety of topics, but the overall goal was sharing information between all of the communities.  What works, best practices, scheduling ideas, taking inventory, and being a leader in the community.

The overall result was a

Great day of discussion – Community Life Coordinator’s Fall Workshop

What an amazing day filled with ideas and great discussion among a bunch of talented people!

Today, we hosted our Community Life Coordinator’s and the Director’s of Resident Services from our communities.  Quite honestly,

Legends at Heritage Place adds “Legends Academy”

October is here and The Legends at Heritage Place is excited about one of their upcoming events for the month.  Called “Legends Academy”, their new educational program is focused on providing useful information to family and friends who know someone with memory loss.

“This has been a goal for our campus to offer the families and loved ones of our campus residents, Information regarding Alzheimers, memory loss, resources for finding out what to do, and where to turn, as well as community shared support.”   states Lina Conradson, Memory Care Coordinator at The Legends at Heritage Place.

Beginning Thursday, October 27th, and one evening a month, Lina and Emma Peterson the Community Life Coordinator, will be having an evening of learning, sharing, and support for famililies and loved ones who have members with Memory loss.

“We want to take our learned experiences of working with residents with memory loss and their families and use it to improve their understanding and communication with their loved ones.” Emma says, “Through my geriatric work experience as well as being a family member having grandparents with memory loss, I have seen the need for getting family education and support as they progress through their journey.his is my way of paying it forward and teaching others what I wish I could have been taught.”

New Information will be provided each month by resources from the Alzheimer’s Association, the St. Cloud State Gerontology program, Assisted Living Federation of America, and Aging Services of Minnesota. They look forward to providing a enjoyable time of learning and fun.

For more information, contact Lina at 320-281-3343.  Details about upcoming events will be posted on their Facebook page.

Dreams coming true…

The Legends at Heritage Place began their quest to make residents Dreams Come True.

On Tuesday, September 13th, We took a resident who lives in our memory care community and his family to the St. Cloud Airport National Guard Base to see a Black Hawk helicopter.

The resident used to fly and was also a mechanic. We all got to see a helicopter taken apart as they were doing a routine inspection. These inspections happen every 120 hours.

 

He was very impressed and was so nervous to go that he couldn’t eat lunch that day.  As we were leaving the airport base we did see one take off as well which really made the trip complete.

It was an amazing moment for everyone involved. A BIG thank you to the St. Cloud Airport and Army National Guard for letting us tour.

This is just the first in our series of Dreams Can Come True at The Legends at Heritage Place.  Look for more in the coming months!

Follow The Legends at Heritage Place on Facebook.

Introducing the team at The Legends at Heritage Place

Over the past few weeks, Welcome Home has been really busy at The Legends at Heritage Place Senior Living. We’ve hired new team members, moved a few people in to new roles, and along the way,  and more importantly, have made a whole lot of new friends.

Today, we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the new team The Legends at Heritage Place.  Some are new, some you will recognize.

A Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Today, as many as 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. In addition, 10 million baby boomers are aging, increasing their risk for developing this fatal disease. Now is the time to end this epidemic!

But there is something we can do to stop this devastating disease. We can walk together to end this disease. That’s why we are participating in the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s™.

The Alzheimer’s Association^®, the leading voluntary organization in Alzheimer research, care and support, is dedicated to finding prevention methods, treatments and an eventual cure for the disease.

This year, two of our communities are participating in area events.  The Legends at Heritage Place team will be participating in their event on September 24th, along Lake George in St. Cloud, MN.  The Thomas Landing team will participate in the Rice Lake, WI event on September 10th starting at the Moose Lake Lodge.

We know we can do this with your support. Would you please consider making a donation? Visit either communities online fundraising headquarters for Thomas Landing or The Legends at Heritage Place to learn more and make a donation.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s™ “The You Factor”

Thank you in advance for your time, generosity and for supporting our team members as they support this cause.

For the love of food

In an older adults life, food plays a vital role.  How it looks, how it tastes, the texture, to how it is perceived.  Every year, we bring our Food Service Director’s together for workshops where we cover topics that are useful to them and their staff in their communities.  These workshops are designed to provide great quality, and a fantastic experience on a daily basis.

Today was our first workshop of the year and we had a great day here in our office.  Along with our food distributor, we welcomed all of the Food Service Director’s along with their Director’s of Resident Services here at Welcome Home for ongoing education.

The room was buzzing as Chef Scott was already preparing food in our training kitchen as our first session began.  Customer service plays such a large role in the overall experience someone gets when they eat food.  From the atmosphere, to the way plates are served and cleared are important.  When we talk about that experience there are four basic needs of our residents: to be understood; to feel welcome; to feel important; and an overall comfortable environment in which to eat.

We spent the next part of the day sampling different varieties of meat, poultry, and fish.  It turned out to be a diet buster for many, but the food was amazing – especially when they brought out the desserts!

The day wrapped up with an excellent presentation on plate garnishing.

We’ve included some pictures below of today’s event.  We want to thank Christine, Terry, and Chef Scott for coming today and for the presentation they gave to our team members.

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