Your Treasure is Within: March Events

Our Alive in All Seasons program is alive and well at Juniper Village. This quarter’s seasonal theme is on Creative Expression: “Explore Your Creativity” and serves to promote our philosophy of encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit. For March, we will turn our focus to Performance: “Your Treasure is Within”.

This month on March 2, 2014 we look forward to the 86^th celebration of the Academy Awards. As we watch popular comedian and talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres host the festivities while the beautiful stars dressed in their finery walk the red carpet we can’t help to stop, to pause and reminisce of all of the great performances of past years. Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Vivien Leigh, Meryl Streep, Peter Ustinov and Dustin Hoffman; the list goes on! In addition to guessing who might win the Oscars for 2014, this month we will be learning about and experiencing all different types of great performance art, enjoying cultural events and trying our hand at acting in drama club.

It’s going to be a theatrical month at Juniper Village at Aurora filled with creativity, great experiences and memorable performances! You are cordially invited to attend our Mardi Gras Celebration Fat Tuesday Dinner Party on March 4^th at 5:00 pm, an outing to Overland High School for a Musical Performance: Once Upon a Mattress on March 5^th at 9:00 am, our St. Patrick’s Day Dinner and Irish High Step Dancers Performance on March 17^th at 5:00 pm, our Creative Corner: Springtime Flower Pots activity on March 29^th at 2:00 pm, or any of our other activities (see our Newsletter for a complete listing).

So come in, and join in on the act to find that “Your Treasure is Within”.

Rodeo Days!

In the Wild West there’s a long standing tradition…attend the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado for the stock show and rodeos, in January.  One might ask the question, ‘why in January?’…well the answer is simple:  January was a practical choice because, coming after the fall harvest and before spring calving, it was a convenient time for stock growers. Denver businessmen liked the idea of a January show because the post-Christmas period was the slowest time of the year for sales. What better fix for the mid-winter doldrums than a convention that would draw large numbers of visitors and get Denverites out of their homes to see the stock show.  The first show was in 1908, where over 15,000 attendees; the show has been an on-going, all time fav’ for 108 years!!  In 2014, the attendance was a record 644,022…that’s up by over 15,000 from the year before.

There is a lot of history and growth in and around the National Western Show.  Over the years a lot has been added to draw attention and attraction to show.  Chances are if you’ve been to Denver during the Rodeo Days, you just might have been to a show!  Juniper wanted to keep that tradition alive in our spirits by taking a trip to a rodeo show…and ending the day with a cowboy dinner, back at the ranch.  Those that were able to get to the rodeo showed their grand time of enjoyment with the smiles on their faces.  It’s not everyday you get to see those cowboys lasso a sheep!  City folks have always enjoyed everything from prize-winning livestock to exhibits of farm and ranch machinery at the January extravaganza.  Attendees of our Cowboy Dinner enjoyed not only some of the best Beef Stew and Shepard’s Pie ‘round town, they had the pleasure of listening to some true blue cowboy music!

Juniper Village at Aurora Scores Excellence for Third Time

How many times can an organization be rewarded for its excellence in care? One assisted living community is still finding out. We are going for the record when it comes to being recognized for its outstanding person-centered care, staff training, and programming in serving the memory-impaired.

For the third consecutive interval, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has awarded us its “Excellence in Care, Dementia Care Program of Distinction”. This status is considered the highest hallmark of recognition for long-term care communities offering services for the memory impaired. We received it in 2009-2010; 2011-2013; and 2014-2016.

The team of reviewers from the AFA look to award the status to a company that goes above and beyond every day expectations.  Reviewers observe how the staff interacts with the residents, eye contact, voice and tone used. At minimum, 75% of the staff must be trained in the dementia care curriculum. There is also an evaluation scorecard that rates pain management, education for family and friends, quarterly in-service, observance of safety and security, and an activity program that meets need of residents.

“Receiving the designation reflects the dedication of Juniper’s staff to stay current with the skills they need to provide the best quality care to the residents. It’s also an affirmation that the programs we offer do nurture the spirit of the residents and keep them engaged in living,” expressed Jennifer Harris, our Executive Director.

We provide a continuum of care to 52 residents with dementia. We are part of Juniper Communities, which owns and operates long-term care communities in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and offers a signature program called Alive in All Seasons that focuses on residents’ wellness in mind, body and spirit.


We are the first facility in the Southwest and the 13th in the nation to earn this distinction after meeting AFA’s set of comprehensive standards in 2009.