Luau

What does Hawaiian music, a Vibraphone, Hawaiian dancer, colorful attire and fun all have in common? A summer celebration in the courtyard at Juniper Village at Aurora. Rick was playing the Vibraphone playing Tiny Bubbles in the Water and various Hawaiian music while Nadine entertained us with her beautiful Hawaiian dancing. She even gave our residents a dance lesson teaching them how to tell a story through moving their hips and waving their hands in the air. A wonderful afternoon was enjoyed by all. Aloha!

Howard & Yvonne

Our residents at Juniper Village at Aurora really enjoy giving back to those less fortunate. Yvonne and Howard were instrumental in putting together buckets of joy for babies in need.  Through word of mouth we found local families needing just that something special to bring smiles to their young ones.  Whose bucket was filled more, our residents or the families?  I know our spirits were filled to the brim by enriching the lives of others.  Way to go Yvonne & Howard!

Kona and Lori from Bessie's Hope

Kona went to pet heaven July 9, but he wants Lori to continue with the elder visits that he enjoyed so much.  He will definitely be there in spirit. Below is a testimony from Lori Powers for a feature we wanted to do.  He died just a couple of days after this was written.  Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to Lori, and our gratitude goes out to both Lori and Kona, for all the difference they have made in the lives of elders. Below is a note we received from Lori just before Kona's passing:

Kona and I are SO privileged to be a part of the Juniper Village family. And yes, we do feel like part of the family. We’ve seen growth in one particular resident who lives in Garden House. She had a rocky start when first moving into this wonderful community. In the beginning we were unable to encourage her to interact with Kona and me. We persevered visit after visit. Talk about baby steps, she began petting Kona minutes at a time. Then she began talking with me a bit. Every interaction was a victory. We’ve seen her blossom, comfortably accepting and becoming a part of Juniper Village.

So many residents have blessed us. Kona knows when someone starts their day on the wrong side of the bed. He just knows this stuff. After introducing Kona to the person, I ask if they would like to pet him. They may only give him one or two pats on the head then stop. However, Kona continues to stay with that resident, lying beside their chair for several minutes. They will look down at him occasionally, smiling. We can get residents to speak to him when they seem unable to do so. We can get residents allow me to move their contracted hands to pet Kona. Their smiles bless us. With no urging some residents will talk with us about their childhood, clearly remembering every detail of that time long ago. The biggest victory is when Kona brings a resident back to the here and now. If only for a few minutes. When our visit ends so does the victory. Or does it? We still get a smile from that person. Sometimes it’s the small things which make all of us happy. Now that’s victory!

Thank you for the privilege and blessing of being a part of Juniper Village.

July 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Stand In Integrity

Each summer Juniper Village begins our quarterly Alive in All Seasons focus on Staying Connected. We promote staying connected to the community, the environment and each other. In July we shed light on staying connected to our community through volunteerism. Do you know that, as a company, we receive more than 10,000 hours of precious volunteer time each year? We have many volunteers, both human and animal, who contribute to our mission of nurturing the spirit of life. Elizabeth Andrew said it best, “volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” This month we honor all of the wonderful volunteers who make time to share a bit of their heart with us. We appreciate those who lead groups in our communities; those who share their unique skills and talents with our residents; those who provide friendly visits to our residents and give a reassuring hug or comforting puppy kiss; and the many, many other special people who enhance our lives.

This month as we focus on volunteerism we invite you to find a way that you can make a difference. Whether helping us at Juniper Village or another organization, volunteering has countless emotional and physical health benefits. Volunteering gives a boost not only to those receiving, but to those giving of their time as well.

Review our full calendar and make time to join us for any and all events.

This month we highlight our Ambassador Program and other volunteer opportunities for residents. In addition to volunteer opportunities, we invite you to join us during July for our summer celebrations and share our thanks as we honor those who Stand In Integrity with us.

Our fabulous July 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Volunteering and Serving Seniors (Caring for the Caregiver) to reach out and stay connected to those in the community who are in need of a helping hand, please join our Juniper Village Task Force, as we prepare to visit the community at large and graciously serve our ever so loved senior population who are in dire need of an extra helping hand, full of support, care, and love, so if you know someone in need, call us today at 303-341-6335 to share your story and help will be on its way the entire month of July.

§  Memories in the Making: Auction and Artwork to come join Juniper Village and unleash your “Inner-Picasso” with a silent auction honoring our residents and their Memories in the Making, programming with all donations to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, as appetizers and refreshments will be served on July 20^th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

§  Meals on 4 Wheels as our team will assemble our Task Force and be ready to drop off meals to those seniors most in need, so please share who we can help by calling us today at 303-341-6335, because we are ready to put our capes on and fly Juniper style on July 26^th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our July 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Stand In Integrity.

Car Hop

Wow, amazing, what a great time we had were the comments from our Father’s Day Car Hop at Juniper Village at Aurora.  Family members, car club members and motorcycle members were just delighted and reminisced about the vintage cars.  One family member said to her husband, “look honey, this car is as old as you are”. The 10 motorcycles and their riders were a wonderful addition to our car hop this year. Shelvis and The Roustabouts performed a “sell out” show as usual while residents, family members and friends danced to the tunes such as You Ain’t Nothing But A Hound Dog and other famous Elvis songs.

We are so excited for next year’s show as it will grow and grow with more excitement, cars and motorcycles.

The Power of Music & Memory

“Music, what a joy it brought to my heart on this day!” Krystal Ryan, Connections Director remarked as she focused her attention on Ronnie sitting in the back of our room enjoying live entertainment and wanted to find a way to engage her. Krystal began to sing and dance beside her, her eyes filled with joy, heart and happiness. Ronnie’s mood changed to pure happiness and delight as she came to life through the music. As you can see, she began to dance, clap and play the piano with her hands.

Music is something that we all take for granted, but if you take the time to listen, you’ll find yourself enchanted!

Music is for everyone, the young, the old, and those in between. Now, take some time to listen and find what music means to you!

June 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Live In Wellness

“You are what you eat.” The old adage is now truer than ever. Good health is largely dependent on good nutrition, so much so that doctors trace many physical and emotional ailments back to a diet deficient in vitamins and minerals. Eating a well-balanced diet is a major part of encouraging long life, lowering the incidence of disease, and helping sick people recover. On the flip side, inadequate nutrition and poor quality foods can generally cut life span and open us up to many illnesses and disease. In effect, food is medicine per Webster's definition of medicine: "The science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease." Food acts as medicine - to maintain, prevent, and treat disease.

With this month’s Alive in All Seasons focus on food, we’d like to give you a prescription for a healthy diet: breakfast daily (do not skip); meals x3 (at least) daily; foods from each of the food groups per meal daily. The food pyramid defines the food groups as grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and proteins. The amounts vary according to age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity level. Here’s a good guideline to start you on your way. Make half your plate fruits and vegetables. Make half your grains whole grains. Move to low-fat and fat-free dairy. Vary your protein routine and eat and drink the right amount for you.

Join us as we continue our focus on healthy aging by shedding light on our hydration program with healthy snacks and juices, and demonstrate how food and nutrition help us to Live in Wellness from a dietitian’s point of view.

Our fabulous June 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Annual Father’s Day Car Hop & Car Show to celebrate Father’s Day 1950s style with a good old fashioned classic car show as we join the Juniper Car Hops for an afternoon of fun, fun, fun ‘til your daddy takes the T-Bird away with “Shelvis and The Roustabouts” who will entertain you with their classic rock and roll tunes on June 10^th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm.

§  The Alzheimer’s Association and Juniper Present The Basics Class because Alzheimer’s Disease is not a normal part of aging, and if you or someone you know is affected by Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia it’s time to learn the facts, so the Colorado Alzheimer’s Association presents “Understanding the Basics and Fundamentals of Dementia” with this program held at Juniper Village of Aurora that provides information, detection, causes and risk factors, stages of the disease, treatments, and much more, as Caregivers, Family Members and Professionals are all welcome, and light refreshments will be served on June 17^th from 10:00 am to noon. (RSVP to 800-272-3900 or email holden@alz.org.)

§  Kick Off To Summer Luau to pull out your grass skirt, dust off your coconut shells, grab your lei because it is time to kick off summer with tropical drinks and eats, entertainment and fun for all, so come get on your Limbo on June 21^st from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our June 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Live In Wellness.

Juniper Village at Aurora Gives Back

We are so blessed at Juniper Village at Aurora with the volunteers that show their spirit and compassion for our residents, we decided to make goodie bags for the homeless women veterans that served our country.

Ron and Yvonne enjoyed filling the bags with candy, socks, tissues, toothbrushes, toothpaste knowing those women who have fallen on bad times would be blessed and hopefully their spirits lifted knowing Juniper Village at Aurora cares for them.

May 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Grow Strong Daily

Continuing our Spring Alive In All Seasons focus on healthy again, we continue to let wellbeing thrive with a May focus on Fitness. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible and at Juniper we promote fitness every day of the week! We recently shared on our Facebook page a New York Times story, authored by Gretchen Reynolds, providing results from the Mayo Clinic who recently conducted an experiment on the cells of 72 healthy but sedentary men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64. The volunteers were randomly assigned to a particular exercise regimen. There were some unsurprising differences: The gains in muscle mass and strength were greater for those who exercised only with weights, while interval training had the strongest influence on endurance. But more unexpected results were found in the biopsied muscle cells. It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was “corrected” with exercise, especially if it was intense, says Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did. So pick up those weights, get on that bike and remember it’s never too late to benefit from exercise. And if you’re not doing so already, follow us on social media so you don’t miss a thing.

We invite you to Grow Strong Daily along with us with programs such as Fitness Five and our Route 66 Walking Program. Learn more about fitness and keeping your heart healthy at our Heart Healthy Luncheon and educational presentation. Staying fit throughout all seasons of life is possible.

Our fabulous May 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Mother’s Day Brunch and Tea for all the women we hold so very dear, let’s celebrate YOU as for all the love you’ve shown us and for all that you do we invite you to share in a delicious brunch with a fine assortment of teas on May 14^th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. (Please RSVP by May 10^th to 303-341-6335.)

§  Happy Hour with Doc Molly for cheers, beers, and Q&A’s as we have fun and get fit with knowledge on how to remain independent, healthy, strong, and whole during this light-hearted lecture on healthy aging through all seasons of life on May 25^th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

§  Annual Memorial Day BBQ complimentary, low-key celebration with traditional fare shared by residents and staff that will help you kick off the summer season in great style on May 29^th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. (Please RSVP by May 26^th to 303-341-6335.)

We look forward to sharing our May 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Grow Strong Daily.

April 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Believe in Yourself

Each April we begin our Healthy Aging Series with a focus on brain health, and encourage you to Believe in Yourself. We know that believing in yourself has a positive effect on your mental health, but did you know that self-confidence influences your physical health as well? Recent studies show people who exhibit self-confidence are generally healthier and tend to live longer. That's because confidence is a positive emotion and positive emotions have countless health benefits for your mind, body and spirit. In nurturing wellbeing by encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit, Juniper is also building self-confidence. The link between health and confidence also may be related to the ability of positive emotions to boost our brain's power to hold attention, be aware and remember things. We are better able to learn, build new skills and relate with others when we are feeling optimistic. Also confident people are better able to handle chaotic situations in a positive manner. This helps to reduce or avoid excessive stress, high blood pressure, anger, confusion – all the negative side effects of feeling powerless, overwhelmed and out of control.

If you need to kick start your confidence, here are a few things to try: smile; count your blessings; surround yourself with confident people; learn how others have found their confidence and follow their lead; challenge negative or inaccurate thinking and replace with accurate, constructive thoughts; and encourage yourself. You can also plan to join us this month for uplifting discussions and a focus on brain health with offerings such as Daily Brain Builders, Wii games, and a Brain Healthy Luncheon.

Our fabulous April 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Easter Brunch Extravaganza as we enjoy a delicious meal and find out who will be the lucky child to find the golden egg while hopping alongside the Easter bunny on April 15^th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

§  A Day In My Shoes for an educational, out of the box experience, to go through first-hand what it’s like living with dementia and the many challenges it brings on April 20^th from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. (RSVP to 303-341-6335.)

§  Spring Into Lunch to grab your greens, your favorite protein, and don’t forget your antioxidant healthy dark chocolate dessert, all to-go, on April 27^th from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. (RSVP to 303-341-6335.)

We look forward to sharing our April 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Believe in Yourself.

Connect4Life Leads to Better Outcomes for Residents

Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets the Triple Aim from Cindy Longfellow

Data shows Connect4Life’s high-tech/high-touch integrated services lead to higher quality care and better outcomes for residents

Executive Summary: Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets
the Triple Aim

By Anne Tumlinson, MMHS and Lynne Katzmann, PhD

According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, more than 190 million Americans, or about 59 percent of the population, are affected by one or more chronic illnesses. Over the next 15 years (between 2016 and 2030,) 80 percent of the United States population will experience one or more chronic conditions, costing more than $42 trillion in medical care spending and losses in employment productivity.

To address these challenges and enhance the resident experience, Juniper Communities, a Bloomfield, NJ-based national owner-operator of seniors housing, developed the Connect4Life model, which provides on-site comprehensive therapy, primary care, pharmacy and lab services, integrated with other services using a “high-tech/high-touch” communications protocol that transfers information through an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and coordinates care through a human navigator.

Juniper Communities retained Anne Tumlinson Innovations (ATI) to compare Connect4Life outcomes and utilization data with data on the broader Medicare population from the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). The findings suggest that the Connect4Life model contributes to lower hospital readmissions and the utilization of inpatient services among a high-need resident population. The results affirm the potential of integrating select clinical care and services in a seniors housing environment that provides supportive services to those who have chronic conditions, functional limitations, and complex social needs.

The results suggest an integrated program of services in seniors housing—like Juniper’s Connect4Life —can contribute to reducing the cost of care and services to Medicare beneficiaries residing in seniors housing. More importantly, the data points to the value of the Connect4Life model for managing population health because of its ability to efficiently target integrated care interventions in the high cost, high-need Medicare population.

Juniper Communities has been a thought leader in senior living care, developing nearly a dozen innovative service and delivery programs to enhance aging, lifestyle and resident health. Recognizing opportunities in to meet the triple aim of recent health policy changes in the United States – improved customer satisfaction, evidence-base quality and lower healthcare utilization, Juniper is pioneering Connect 4 Life – one of senior living’s first truly integrated care models of assisted living care and service.

Read more in the FREE White Paper!

Men's Club

How nice to hear the sounds of men sanding, hammering on wood and nuts and bolts being sorted into  various containers. Meghan Morrisey from Sensory Outings Company brought her bag of tricks to Juniper Village at Aurora for  our men’s pub gathering and they went to town doing what they do best.

What a delight to see them working figuring out which bolt or nut to place into which hole and tighten them down. Tom was given sandpaper to smooth the edges on the baseball bat. Bob was busy calculating his every move with the matchsticks into the proper sized slots of the container he was working with. Marvin was busy making sure all the wing nuts fit the proper screws and enjoyed meticulously figuring them out. While Leon was a natural making the wooden box fit together like a glove ensuring the screws were tightened down just right.

Thank you Meghan for fulfilling the spirit of our men and bringing back those memories for them to enjoy. We can’t wait for you to return again with your bag of tricks and enrich the lives of our men with fond memories of yesterday.

March 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Your Treasure is Within

Theatrical readings, colorful costumed dancers and spectacular vocal performances bring to a close our creative expression quarterly theme with a focus on performance and honoring our inner treasure – our self-worth. With so many demands on our time these days, it’s easy to always put others first and forget to care of ourselves. Also as we get older, retire from work and in some cases caretaking, we may forget our sense of value – our self-worth. A large part of nurturing the spirit of life is providing opportunities for purpose.

This month we will put an even greater focus on identifying our continued purpose and self-worth by performing purposeful activities, reminiscing and creating opportunities to treasure ourselves. Motivational speaker Anne Naylor offers these tips to help you treasure yourself: Treasure your thoughts with kindness – nurture your thoughts of gratitude and appreciation. Treasure your feelings and emotions – observe and use them as your guide. Treasure your body – treat it well with exercise, nourishment, rest, joy and laughter. Treasure your spirit – breathe, meditate and enjoy the goodness in your life. We hope you all enjoy the treasure of your wonderful self.

Please join us as we dramatically embrace performance throughout March with our weekly drama club, outings to live theatrical performances and our Oscar-themed party. Celebrate the Irish culture in grand style with our Saint Patrick’s Day event filled with food, fun and, of course, dancing! Honor yourself and recognize Your Treasure is Within this month at Juniper Village!

Our fabulous March 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Your Treasure is Within because you are our treasures, we invite you to visit our treasure chest all through the month of March and select a special prize – including tickets to local professional performances all month long.

§  Dine and Dash to celebrate the First Day of Spring by Springing in for our Chinese Take Out Lunch on March 20^th from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.

§  Daffodil Dash because daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings, a sign of winters end, and a lucky emblem of future prosperity, stop by and pick up a treasure cup of daffodils on March 30^th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our March 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as Your Treasure is Within.

February 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Awaken Your Passion

This month, our focus on creative expression continues with a focus on art. Art, as with beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It is understandable that some have great artistic ability and others do not. But, at Juniper we know that everyone has a passion for creative expression, regardless of ability or age. Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” He is speaking about becoming inhibited as adults. With our various art programs we encourage uninhibited creativity as a form of therapy. Creating art affords the opportunity of self-exploration and self-expression leading to both physical and mental benefits. Creating art in any of its various forms, is also about sharing a bit of ourselves with each other. Art is one way to express ourselves, and the creations are honest and true representations of our experiences. In sharing our stories through art with others we invite communication and create lasting bonds.

Art typically encompasses painting, sculpting, and drawing. But, the act of creating art can be as simple as doodling. Art is simply the creation of something outside one’s self that often mirrors what is going on within their mind, soul, and body. We use creative arts as a way to nurture the spirit of life. Join us throughout February as we focus on great varieties of art such as photography, needlework, handicrafts, painting, sculpture and more. Please join us as we share a bit of ourselves with our weekly craft classes, experience art on an outing to an art museum, and embrace our celebratory spirit with Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day parties. We look forward to helping you Awaken Your Passion this month!

Our fabulous February 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Balloon Bouquets our annual, much anticipated fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association; order your balloon bouquets anytime in advance and bring a smile to your special sweetheart’s face on Valentine’s Day.

§  Artfully Yours Art Show beautiful Juniper is very proud of our local resident artists; we will be celebrating them with a Wine and Tapas Art Show, so join us and enter to win 2 tickets to Shen Yun, Sunday March 5, 2017 at the Buell Theater on February 22^nd at 5:30 pm.

We look forward to sharing our February 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Awaken Your Passion.

Tristan Appreciation

The following is a letter from Tristan who was one of 5 students with Crossroads Public School in Aurora who volunteered every Thursday by taking out the trash, vacuuming and speaking with our residents on a 1:1 basis. He seemed to have that special touch with our residents and they adored him too.

Dear Juniper, I think that all of our new students should volunteer at Juniper, because they will get to learn how to interact with residents over at Juniper. I have volunteered at Juniper for the Past 2 years at Crossroads.

This is what I have learned at Juniper: I learned how to interact with new people in a nice manner. This is why I think our new Students that are going to come here next year should volunteer at Juniper because it is a very nice environment to be at. All of the staff members are very nice to you and all of the residents are very sweet and kind to you. I love Juniper because they are really sweet to me, staff and residents. I hope that the people that volunteer there are happy with their job site like I was for the past two years here at Crossroads. You will make a lot of new friends here and at your worksite.

I got to clean the houses at Juniper I got to talk to the residents and have a lot of fun with all of the staff there. I really love working there because the people are really heartwarming. They are very sweet and loving to all the people around you I am going to miss everyone at Juniper. I hope I get to come and see all of you guys again at some point. I am wondering if you guys will let me do in internship over at Juniper. I am really sad that I have to leave school and I really was hoping that I could get a job at Juniper someday. 

My advice for the new volunteers is that they show a lot of respect to the staff there that were nice to me.

Love,

Tristan

January 2017 Events in Aurora, CO: Welcome New Beginnings

Welcome to 2017! What a wonderful time for us to reflect on the past year and forge ahead with new beginnings. January is a time to begin again; a time when we make (and sometimes break) our New Year’s resolutions and focus on how we want to improve 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! Do you know that 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. Because of this, Juniper Communities has adopted the Music & Memory program.

Through the use of MP3 players and headphones our teams download personalized music for each resident. These musical favorites tap deep memories and can bring participants back to life, enabling them to feel like themselves again, to converse, socialize and stay present. Learn more about our Music & Memory program by talking with our Connections Director and consider making a donation to this worthwhile program. We accept donations of new or used iPods, new over the ear headphones and iTunes gift cards.

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 resolution to join us for activities and events throughout the year!

Our fabulous January 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

§  Celebrate Elvis with Shelvis because the “King of Rock and Roll”, Elvis is remembered here, so come have a rocking good time with Shelvis and her band on January 8^th at 6:30 pm.

§  New Year New You as we would like to say Thank You for your partnership, and to show our gratitude we are offering Free 15 minute Massages with Tours on January 26^th from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

We look forward to sharing our January 2017 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora with you as you Welcome New Beginnings.