New Jersey Battered Women's Services Fundraiser

To raise money for New Jersey Battered Women's Services, a local service group based in Morristown, Juniper held a Valentine's Day Sale. Items for purchase were homemade baked goods, stuffed animals, festive sunglasses, and other Valentine-themed goodies. It was a resounding success!!! We even received donations from people who just wanted to support the cause without getting anything in return!

Awaken Your Passion: February Events

This month at Juniper Village we continue our Creative Expressions Series with a focus on Art.

Creating art for many of our seniors has been a lifelong passion, for others it may have been a casual hobby or serious vocation. Whatever the reason, art has substantial benefits to our bodies, minds and spirits! In Successful Aging, John W. Rowe, MD, and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, discuss key aspects of successful aging: low risk of disease, high mental and physical functioning, and being actively engaged in life. Expressive art activities promote active engagement in life in positive, healthy, and fulfilling ways - in other words, nurturing the spirit of life. Recent studies further indicate that older adults who participate in art programs have fewer doctor visits, use less medication, and experience a lower rate of depression – all resulting in lower healthcare costs.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Millburn High School Art Exhibit as students from Millburn High School meet with Juniper Village Mentors, for this intergenerational/interactive discussion on art on February 3^rd at 3:00 pm; our The Art of Comedy with Uncle Floyd performance in a not-to-be-missed hilarious comedy spectacular that is sure to make you laugh your socks off on February 8^th at 2:30 pm; our Stories of the Presidents presentation of facts about the Presidents that will surprise you with Darrell Ann Murphy, who reveals some of the secrets we never knew on February 12^th at 2:00 pm; or our Brushstrokes lecture where you can learn everything you wanted to know about impressionist artists as Judith Ebright returns with a new interpretation on this style on February 19^th at 2:00 pm.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us this month and “Awaken Your Passion” as we explore various mediums to expression through weekly art programs and visits to local art museums. Or, if art isn’t your thing, tailgate with us during the Super Bowl, await the Ground Hog’s prediction, our join in one of our festive celebrations on Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day or Mardi Gras.

Florian Schantz Jazz Combo

In keeping with the theme for this month, we were entertained by the Florian Schantz Jazz Combo. Founded in 2012 by then 9 year old musical virtuoso Florian Schantz. The band has delighted audiences in numerous venues in the greater NYC area.

Creature Comfort Pet Therapy

A visit from Creature Comfort Pet Therapy helped make a cold winter's day warm and toasty. Ida, Lucy, Cosmo and Shannon were the best behaved dogs we've met, and everyone enjoyed getting to know them and sharing stories about previous pets.

Juniper Village at Chatham: Our Clinical Outcomes Speak forThemselves

We want to be your partner of choice in the new shared savings environment. At Juniper Village at Chatham, we have been collecting critical data for nearly 10 years. For example, we closely monitor residents to assure successful returns from either the hospital or rehabilitation setting.

Many hospitalizations in seniors are due to poor nutrition and dehydration. Our wellness and care teams monitor changes in appetite daily.

Another contributing factor to acute re-admissions is infections, in particular Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). The senior population can be extremely susceptible to infections and proper care and monitoring is paramount. Our wellness response team is skilled in recognizing symptoms of UTI in order to provide proactive interventions that reduce the need for hospitalization.

Communication is key and Juniper Village at Chatham takes communication to the next level through:

• Use of Electronic Health Records (Point Click Care)
• Optimized care transitions protocols
• Full implementation of INTERACT (Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers)
• Use of a highly recognizable and consistent transfer information packet
• Focus on resident and care giver education and engagement
• Individualized care and service

Contact us today to see how we can assist you in managing your patient transitions.

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 What’s in a Name presentation where we will learn about common last names and how the names were derived from trades while viewing slides of artifacts from the museum’s collection that relate to these names on January 8^th at 2:00 pm; our New Orleans Jazz performance featuring Paul White playing Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot Jazz or Early Jazz, developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century on January 15^th at 6:30 pm; or our Elvis is in the House event with Elvis impersonator, Richie Santa, where we put on our Blue Suede shoes and Rock n’ Roll down memory lane on January 19^th at 7:00 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!

Holiday Party!

Our holiday party was wonderful! Spirits were high as families and friends gathered to enjoy great food and entertainment. Santa was there, as well as strolling carolers who looked and sang fabulously. It was a joyful evening for all.