Juniper Communities Appoints New Regional Director of Wellness and Wellbeing

Juniper Communities announces that Melissa “Missy” Ebner has joined Juniper as Regional Director of Wellness and Wellbeing. Missy brings a wealth of experience in nursing care, especially with seniors to her position. From a clinical perspective, her role will be to oversee the entire portfolio of clinical care and support for the residents, provide clinical oversight, and staff training. She is a licensed Registered Nurse (RN) in every state where Juniper currently has communities.

“We are very excited to have Missy join the Juniper family,” expressed Lynne Katzmann, CEO of Juniper Communities. “She comes to Juniper with a wonderful background and deep experience in the clinical complainants of senior living. She will be a great resource for our community wellness teams and to the home office team in this changing healthcare environment.”

Missy’s interest in working with senior living communities is that they offer residents more freedom than skilled nursing settings. “The seniors can be taken care of in a homelike environment and you can become a friend, not seen as a nurse or caregiver,” she explained. “Juniper’s staff is wonderful at treating the residents as a parent or grandparent, this doesn’t always happen in institutional settings.”

Juniper Communities owns and operates Personal Care, Assisted Living, Memory-Care, Skilled Nursing and Independent Living communities in NJ, FL, CO and PA.

“Nobody is as forward thinking as Juniper. They are far ahead of the curve in the industry and where healthcare is going. The staff I’ve observed go above and beyond, always doing more even though no one is looking,” Missy described of her building level observations.

Missy Ebner has worked in the healthcare industry since 1987. She received her LPN from the James Martin School of Nursing in 1987 and her RN from Excelsior College in 2005. She is a resident of Willow Grove, PA and born and raised in Pennsylvania. She has been married to Henry Ebner for 26 years and has three children, Corey, Shane and Cassidy.  Something her family and friends know about her is that she loves to shop the Outlets, and loves a good bargain!

Celebrate Little Things: December Events

This month is all about celebrations! Not only will we be celebrating holidays such as Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve, but we will also celebrate the little things that make life worthwhile. Little things such as the reassuring touch of a friend’s hand, a kind word from an acquaintance and a warm smile from a stranger.

In our all too busy lives we sometimes forget to honor the simple things in life that bring us peace and joy. Most experts recommend that we allow 10-20 minutes of relaxation and stress relief each day. Making time for that can even be a stressful experience! During this busy month of baking, shopping, visitors and juggling tasks take time to remember what is really important.

Here are some tips to keep holiday stress in check: Acknowledge your feelings - you are not alone as holiday stress is not uncommon. Be realistic with expectations - you can only do so much, learn to say no. Ask for help when needed - everyone wants to be needed and may feel more included by being able to contribute. Plan ahead to minimize unplanned expenses and tasks. Take a breather - take a walk at night and do some stargazing, listen to soothing music, or get a massage. Above all enjoy all the holidays have to offer by sharing time with others.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Holiday Tribute with Turner Talent in what has become a holiday staple at Juniper Village featuring the fabulous Turner Talent dancers who will once again entertain us with their rendition of Marilyn Monroe’s “Santa Baby” and many other tributes that will be sure to have us longing for Christmases past on December 12^th from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm (RSVP to 239-542-3121 by December 8^th); or our Christmas in the Courtyard to enjoy the transformation as you enter our “Christmas Wonderland” where  maybe Santa will stop by for a sip of the eggnog punch and leave a few goodies behind for our guests on December 17^th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (RSVP to 239-542-3121 by December 15^th)!

Look through our calendar and join us during the busy month of December for our annual cookie exchange and holiday celebrations. Take time to Celebrate Little Things with those you love!

Happy Halloween From Juniper Village

What an honor it was to have Hugh Heffner (AKA  Victor) stop in at Juniper Village for our annual Halloween Party. Our lady bug flew right in from our garden when she heard Hugh was here. Laura enjoyed clowning around with the staff. Many compliments were given to her for her  professional make-up job that she did herself. Peace and Love was sent to everyone from  Frank when he entered the party. Our staff joined in on the fun as we performed  the "Cupid's Shuffle. It goes to show you, that at any age we can still appreciate the silliness of dressing up and having fun.

Cherish the Journey: November Events

Life is a journey filled with lessons, celebrations and special moments that ultimately lead us to our destination, our purpose in life. The road will not always be smooth and we may encounter many challenges. Some of these will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith. Along the way, we may stumble upon obstacles that must be overcome. But, sometimes these obstacles are really blessings in disguise, although we may not realize it at the time. How we react to the situations we face will determine what the rest of our journey will be like.

This month Juniper Communities will honor our Families and cherish the journey we have taken together. November is all about celebrating the bonds we share and recognizing where we’ve been and where we’re going. We will do this through autobiographical journaling, reminiscing about family celebrations and breaking bread together in Thanksgiving. In order to support our families along this journey we will continue to develop our support groups and provide additional resources when needed. We will give back through our Annual Food Drive. From November 1 through November 30 all non-perishable food items collected will be donated to a local food bank.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Annual Food Drive where you can drop off non-perishable food items for the Harry Chapin Food Bank anytime all month long; our “A Symbol of Remembrance” event where we learn about the poem In Flanders Fields and the Red Poppy as a representation for death, renewal and life, while making homemade flowers for a local Veteran’s Museum; or our 2nd Annual Surviving Hurricane Season Party featuring drinks, appetizers, and door prizes for guests in our beautiful courtyard, as we thank our lucky stars for an uneventful hurricane season on November 13^th from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us for family celebrations, Thanksgiving dinners and many events and activities allowing us all to reflect and Cherish the Journey!

Show Your Colors: October Events

October brings forth vibrant color in our foliage as well as our sports teams. Our high school football teams will be in full swing and hockey season will prepare to fill the stands with team colors and spirit. Juniper Communities will also be honoring our colors with many sports-themed activities and events. We will be enjoying the changing colors of the season as we transition from summer to fall and the crazy costumes of our annual Halloween celebrations.

While showing our colors we not only focus on our team colors, but also showing our true colors. We recognize that working together as a team, results in better coordination of care, better quality of care and as a result better lives for our residents. This is evidenced by our excellent clinical outcomes data. We are happy to see the results of collaboration resulting in decreased re-hospitalizations and better quality of life for our residents.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Black Hatters Witches Tea Party for all witches, ghosts and goblins to join us and our special guest servers for tea and cookies and some good old fashioned trick or treating fun on October 15^th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm (RSVP by Oct 10^th to 239-542-3121); or our 5th Annual Juniper Village Colorful Fall Festival where you can let the little kid in you out for a day as we have fun with music, face painting, water games, a bounce house, and let’s not forget the hotdogs, cotton candy, and popcorn on October 18^th from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm (RSVPs to 239-542-3121 appreciated but not required)!

Please look through our calendar to celebrate the spirit of autumn with us and Show Your Colors!

"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.