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.