"Tapping Into Your Talents" Case Managers Event

Juniper Village at Cape Coral along with Coral Trace Rehab and Preferred Care Home Health sponsored our first "Tapping Into Your Talents" event on Friday, August 29^th. The event was our way of giving our busy hospital case managers a chance to de-stress after a long week of work. Vino & Picasso is definitely the way to obtain this goal, as not only was the event a lot of fun, but it was truly a unique way to end a stressful work week. As we sat painting our wine glasses the time flew and before we knew it, three hours had gone by. The results of our wine glasses were absolutely beautiful.  The three sponsors plan on hosting a "Tapping Into Your Talents" evening monthly.  Our goal is that each month, we will be learning a different medium, such as making pottery and beading.

At our  next event on September 26^th will be learning how to make jewelry using metal. We look forward to sharing the creations as we expand the left side of our brains. 

Juniper Village at Cape Coral Sponsors Tony Rotino Senior Center's Friday Night Bingo

Can you say " BINGO"? This was the winning word for the night as Juniper Village sponsored the Tony Rotino Senior Center's monthly fun filled BINGO night on August 8th.  Not only was it a night of fun and games it was an opportunity to raise food for the Lee County Senior Friendship Center Food Bank, as well. Each member in attendance brought a canned food item which then allowed them to be entered for a chance to win one of the many prizes Juniper Village donated for the event.  Everyone was winning, whether playing Bingo or having their name drawn for a Juniper Village prize, it was a lot of fun. Oh!, and let's not forget the delicious refreshments that Juniper Village brought, as well.  The theme was "The 50's" and you would think everyone would come in bobby socks and poodle skirts, but the only who dared to dress up, was Shellie with Juniper Village. That said, the center did a fabulous job decorating and playing music from the 50's. We hope that everyone who attended enjoyed themselves and look forward to doing this again next year.

Lee Memorial Health System's Annual Case Manager's Meet and Greet

A big thank you goes out to Lee Memorial Health Systems for hosting their Annual Case Manager's Meet and Greet on August 25^th at the Araba Shrine Temple in Ft Myers.  Vendors included assisted living communities, skilled nursing facilities, home health companies, DME and other medical providers. Numerous vendors helped by donating breakfast and lunch from Panera Bread which was "yummy" to say the least. The case managers from all four Lee Memorial Hospitals came ready to hear about the services we each had to offer and not to mention get the "goodies" we all brought.  Juniper Village gave away their infamous "Frog Bags" which are made of recycled bottles in support of our "Green Canopy" Program.  Not only did the case managers grab the bags, but the other vendors were just as eager to get one, as well. Coincidently, we were lucky enough to have the designer of the bag, Vickie Stotler-Smith from our corporate offices, in attendance.  We were pleased to share with the case managers; Juniper Village's 2013-2014 low re-hospitalization rates, which has become a main focus for hospitals today.  The hospitals want to work with those who strive for successful outcomes. We at Juniper Village put the care of our residents over anything else, and I'm certain the case managers could see how well we do.  All in all, we had a great turn out and met quite a few case managers and it was good to see our community colleagues all in one place.

Spread Your Joy: September Events

September signifies the end of summer with Labor Day celebrations and the Autumnal Equinox on the 23^rd. In this last month of our “Stay Connected” series we aspire to connect with our friends and embrace the theme of Spread Your Joy.

The Mayo Clinic tells us that friends are good for your health. They can help you celebrate good times, provide support during bad times, prevent loneliness and give you a chance to offer needed companionship, too. Friends increase your sense of belonging and purpose, boost happiness, reduce stress, and improve your self-confidence and self-worth. Friends can also encourage you to increase healthy habits – it’s always better to walk, run, swim or exercise with a friend. And friends don’t always have to be of the human kind either! Several studies have shown that heart attack patients who have pets survive longer than those without.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Craft Class where we will be creating colorful floral Aloha Wreaths on September 11^th at 10:30 am; our Cooking Demonstration with Lisa making authentic Hawaiian cuisine using traditional fragrant herbs and spices on September 17^th at 2:30 pm; or our 7^th Annual “ComeOnIWannaMeetALuau” where we say Aloha from Juniper featuring festive Hawaiian decorations with music and food to match on September 19^th at 2:30 pm.

Please look through our calendar and join us for any events that can help you stay connected, cultivate friendships and Spread Your Joy!

Creating With Clay

As we celebrate the environment throughout the month of August we looked forward anxious to start a new craft class titled "Creating With Clay". This class requires no firing and you can complete your masterpiece in one class. Our instructor, Tanya greeted us with such a warm hello, it felt as if we had known her for years.  As the class started our residents were instructed to roll and mold the clay. We were told this is also an excellent type of exercise for arthritis. This class brought back memories of years past. Many of our ladies  remembered creations that they had made over the years. One still had a cookie jar that she had made years ago. It was unanimous how much fun everyone had. Our creations were going to be shared with families and friends.

Juniper Village at Cape Coral Obtains Limited Nursing Services Licensure

The State of Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) has granted Juniper Village at Cape Coral a Limited Nursing Services Licensure. This allows Juniper Village to provide more nursing duties than a standard licensure that they had previously held. Juniper Village at Cape Coral is an assisted living community that can accommodate up to 100 residents per their licensure.

Linda Donato, Vice-President of Operations for Juniper exclaimed, "Brenda Ortiz and her team at our Cape Coral community are incredibly skillful, caring, and cohesive.  When the opportunity to apply for the advanced licensure was presented to me, I knew that they would work together to achieve this goal.  This licensure is truly a recognition of the high quality care and service that we have always provided at Juniper Village at Cape Coral.  We are extremely proud of their accomplishment."

A survey – state inspection – conducted in March showed Juniper Village to be basically deficiency free explained Executive Director Brenda Ortiz. With the guidance of one of AHCA’s  Supervisors,  the community decided to apply for the licensure and was granted the Limited Nursing Services Licensure level effective July 18, 2014.

“I wanted to make sure we were really ready before we applied,” said Brenda Ortiz. “The AHCA Supervisor was extremely helpful in lending her guidance and I am grateful for her assistance.”

Breathe in Life: August Events

Our Alive in All Seasons’ theme for August is The Environment. Our communities will focus their efforts on maintaining healthy environments through environmentally conscious activities. Our “Green Canopy” program emphasizes designing and operating buildings that meet new standards of environmental sustainability. We are proud to be the first long-term care company with a building in the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

According to research by Go Green, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour; 25 billion Styrofoam cups and 40 billion soft drink bottles and cans each year. Eighty-four percent of the average American’s household trash can be recycled. If we recycled just 1/10 of our newspapers 25 million trees could be saved. Are we all doing our part?

Join us this month as we learn more about the environment, expand our wide-scale recycling program, learn more about environmental sustainability programs and work with our community Green Teams to promote our “Green Canopy” initiative. We encourage you to accompany us on this environmental journey so that we can all continue to Breathe in Life!

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Preserving and Protecting Wildlife presentation on local Burrowing Owls and how we can preserve and protect these beautiful owls and keep them in their natural habitats on August 12^th from 3:00 to 4:00 pm; or our Let’s Get Pampered “Green” Style event where you can get a relaxing massage, learn about the benefits of using mineral based make-up, get a makeover using only natural products and even an environment friendly manicure on August 22^nd from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm (please RSVP by August 18^th to 239-542-3121). Take a look at our calendar and join us for any and all activities that will help you make the most of these last few weeks of summer.