Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt

Mother Nature was kind to us again this year for our annual Easter Brunch and egg hunt!  Everyone enjoyed the fun and spending time with our Easter bunny!! What a fun filled event for our residents, staff and families!

What a Wonderful Show of Community Support!

Karen Wuertz, Fine Arts Department Chair at Regis Jesuit High School Boys Division, and the students and families of Regis Jesuit High School, have taken on the challenge of helping Juniper Village at Aurora reach their goal of providing every resident with iPods, headphones, and playlists as part of our Music and Memories implementation.

They have gone above and beyond with cash donations for iTunes cards and iPods and even took on the task of downloading resident’s personal song choices onto the iPods!

We say at Juniper Village at Aurora, “It Takes a Village”, and Regis Jesuit High School, and Karen Wuertz really embrace this concept by donating their time and expertise and we are so grateful for their support of our community!

April 2015 Events in Aurora, CO: Believe in Yourself

Welcome to April - the name derived from the Latin word Aperire meaning “to open”; the month when everything starts to bloom and come alive. What better time to really put forth your best efforts and see the true beauty inside than the month in which everything begins anew! Diana Ross, in the Wiz, advises “believe in yourself, right from the start. You'll have brains; you’ll have a heart; you’ll have courage to last your whole life through if you believe in yourself.” So let’s put our best foot forward, believe in ourselves and we can move mountains!

Join us for our April 2015 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora as we pull pranks on April Fool’s Day; honor Jesus Christ on Good Friday, followed by hiding Easter eggs; celebrate the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery on Passover; and celebrate mother earth on Earth Day and Arbor Day. Peruse this month’s calendar as we focus on the brain through our Daily Brain Builders, Wii tournaments and our Healthy Brain Luncheon. Plan to join us for any and all events. Also, check out our Healthy Aging Resource Library to learn more about the brain or any number of health related topics. We look forward to seeing you during this fun filled month.

Our fabulous April 2015 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora include our:

Ø  Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt as we share a delicious meal in a festive atmosphere and are joined by the Easter Bunny to help the children find hidden eggs on April 4^th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

Ø  Dispelling Myths About Hospice Workshop on hospice criteria, hospice insurance coverage, benefits of hospice care, and the importance of advance care planning featuring educational materials in both English and Spanish with questions and answers at the end and light snacks provided on April 7^th from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.

Ø  A Journey Through the Mind Interactive Presentation to explain how everything we do is related to the brain; meet with our chef to hear about our food and how what we serve is important to the mind; meet with our therapy department and learn about the importance of exercise and staying strong and more on April 23^rd from 7:30 am to 9:00 am.

We hope to see you at one or more of our April 2015 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora!

Regis Jesuit Year of the Arts Benefits Juniper Village at Aurora

Regis Jesuit High School will host a special screening of Alive Inside, winner of the 2014 Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, on Thursday, April 9, 2014 at 7:00 pm in The Z Theatre in the school's Performing Arts Center & Student Commons. This powerful film demonstrates music’s ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Following the screening, there will be a question and answer session with representatives from Juniper Village at Aurora, a long-term memory care community. The screening is free and open to the public, thanks to funding from Regis Jesuit's Year of the Arts.

In conjunction with the screening, the school will conduct a drive throughout the month of April to collect used iPods (all generations), new iPod Shuffles, iTunes gift cards and cash to benefit the Music & Memory Foundation and the implementation of Music & Memory programming at Juniper Village at Aurora.

Serendipity played a significant role in the coming together of the screening, associated drive and partnership with Juniper Village at Aurora. One of the school's music teachers, Karen Wuertz, was browsing Netflix looking to watch a documentary. Alive Inside kept surfacing as a recommendation, so she watched an excerpt. "I was immediately and profoundly moved by what I saw," she said, continuing, "Two of my passions, music and service, were coming together in this beautiful, emotional story." After watching the documentary, Wuertz visited the Alive Inside website and started following them on social media. She kept seeing information about hosting a screening. Knowing that Regis Jesuit had named 2014-15 a Year of the Arts, she wondered if hosting a screening at the school could be part of the special programming planned for it. Funding provided by an anonymous benefactor of Year of the Arts was available to make the screening possible, and so it was scheduled.

The relationship with Juniper Village at Aurora came later. After getting the screening scheduled, Wuertz began researching facilities locally using programming from Music & Memory. When she foundone in the same city as the school that was beginning implementation of the program for its residents, it again seemed destined. She reached out to Valerie Valdez, the Executive Director of Juniper Village Aurora, to see if they needed help. Valdez jumped at the prospect to work with students and staff from Regis Jesuit on setting up playlists and other technical aspects of the program for their residents. Of the relationship, Valdez states, "It has been a pleasure having Karen and the students at Regis Jesuit partnering with us on this incredible project! The assistance we have received has allowed us to meet our goal of getting the program up and running. We also want to partner with the students on other intergenerational activities. Music does bring people to 'life,' and we experience that on a daily basis because of the amazing program!"

The hope is to draw a significant crowd for the screening. "I think the students will really enjoy it; and for those with grandparents who might be dealing with memory issues, the message is one of hope," said Wuertz. The film should also appeal to current parents who may be dealing with these issues with their parents, as well as the school's alumni, many of whom are in or approaching their Golden Years. "Everything just seemed to align to make this event possible – our Year of the Arts, seeing this film when I did, the availability of funding, and finding we had people in our own backyard who could benefit from the school's culture of giving and service. It all gives me goose bumps," says Wuertz.

Juniper Communities Introduces Theralink for Onsite Integrated Therapy at Juniper Village at Aurora

Juniper Communities, a national owner-operator of Juniper Village senior living communities, is rolling out Theralink in all its facilities, and locally at Juniper Village at Aurora. Theralink is an on-site program designed to help residents regain and maintain independence, fitness and overall wellbeing. It is being implemented through a newly established partnership between Juniper Communities and Genesis Rehab Services.

“Rehabilitation, restorative services, and fitness are vital to healthy aging and whole person wellness,” explains Lynne Katzmann, CEO and Founder of Juniper Communities. “Coordinated with other clinical services permits, Juniper will be able to provide integrated post-acute care onsite at the communities through Theralink. This is especially important for Juniper’s residents who want and need more intensive rehabilitation services in their ‘home’.”

Grant Welson, Area Director for Genesis Rehab Services states, “Juniper is taking an industry lead by creating Theralink to offer onsite therapy services where they are integrated into everyday patient care. Feedback from preliminary implementation from Juniper’s residents has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The Theralink program will provide physical, occupational, speech, and when needed respiratory therapy that is integrated into the care Juniper currently delivers. Elements of Theralink include special balance and strength training, and fall prevention programs; technology and apps that facilitate and record personal fitness training; dementia management programs that integrate cognitive and occupational therapies; cardiopulmonary management; and monthly assessment reports.

March 2015 Events in Aurora, CO: Your Treasure Is Within

Treasure hunting has been around forever! The search for riches has evolved from archaeological digs revealing lost treasure to present day treasure hunts such as television’s “The Amazing Race”. Much has been written about the allure of treasure, but one thing that we’ve come to realize is that the treasure within is the most valuable of all. Each one of us has a treasure within and through our March 2015 events in Aurora, CO we will be exploring that treasure at Juniper Village at Aurora - be it your ability to sing, play a musical instrument, recite dramatic prose or balance a spoon at the end of your nose. No treasure is too small! In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow, “Not all treasure’s silver and gold, mate.”

With our March 2015 events in Aurora, CO at Juniper Village at Aurora we end our Creative Expressions Series with a focus on Performance. Please join us during our March 2015 events in Aurora, CO while we recognize “Your Treasure is Within” as we provide opportunities to express yourself through our weekly drama clubs and by attending theatrical performances. If step dancing and corned beef and cabbage is more your thing, sample all that is Irish with our annual St. Patrick’s Day party or walk the red carpet and share your movie trivia skills at our Oscar Party.

Our fabulous March 2015 events in Aurora, CO include our Overland High School Outing for a special performance by their outstanding theater program on March 4^th at 9:00 am; our International Women’s Day Presentation on the most influential women of history and their remarkable contributions on March 8^th at 3:00 pm; our Balloon Volleyball game which provides fun and exercise for residents as well as staff and other participants on March 21^st at 4:00 pm; or our Cooking Club Activity as we will be making delicious peanut butter cookies on March 27^th at 1:00pm.

We hope to see you at one or more of our March 2015 events in Aurora, CO so check out our calendar for more!

PLAY IT AGAIN: Music brings Aurora Alzheimer patients to life

For Beulah Foelsch, life is circular. At 88 years old, the former Wisconsin dairy farmer spends her days moving her wheelchair through the never-ending hall of the main building at Juniper Village in Aurora.

Barbershop, gym, health care office. Barbershop, gym, health care office. Barbershop, gym, health care office.

Those are the places she passes every day. They never change, but they’re always new.

Like all the residents at Juniper’s Aurora location, Foelsch’s memory is hazy, filled with distant tidbits and foggy factoids that whimsically arrive and sadistically disappear, coming and going as they please.

Some days are good. Others aren’t. That’s the cryptic, devastating way in which Alzheimer’s disease works, as the families of the some 5 million Americans who live with the disease know painfully well.

“I’m too old for shocks,” Foelsch says after seeing a group of strangers approaching.

Her face is distraught and her brow stuck in an upward furrow. Clearly confused, her eyes are worried, scared and glassy.

“Where’s my daughter?” she asks as Valerie Valdez, executive director of Juniper’s Aurora location, approaches and gently slips a pair of headphones over her ears.

“Let me know if it’s too loud,” Valdez whispers before hitting the button on a lime green iPod with a small triangle on it. As soon as she does, something changes in Foelsch’s demeanor. Something profound...

Read the rest of this fabulous story and see the incredible video from the Aurora Sentinel.

By Quincy Snowdon Aurora Sentinel Staff Writer