At Ecumen Bethany Community: A Winter Wonderland Where the Ice is Icing
Ecumen Bethany Community Adult Day Services in Alexandria, Minn., created a luscious Winter Wonderland Village to celebrate the holidays. The buildings are constructed completely with delicate royal icing. Day Service clients worked with staff and used candies, cookies, goldfish crackers and many other colorful accents to create a village for all to enjoy.
Top 5 Blog Posts - December 22
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
Top 10 Gifts for Seniors: Ecumen Staff Offers Advice
We recently polled staff at several Ecumen communities for their advice on holiday gift-giving for seniors, particularly those who are in assisted living or care centers. Here are the top 10 suggestions. Read more...
Ecumen Lakeview Commons Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Ecumen Lakeview Commons in Maplewood, Minn., celebrated its 20th anniversary December 16, 2014, at a festive holiday gathering of more than 100 residents, community leaders and Ecumen staff. Read more...
Policy and a Pint Event Brings Aging Issues to the Millennial Generation
Millennials crowded into a downtown St. Paul bar recently to have a few drinks, socialize and talk seriously about aging. yes, you read that right. Aging. Read more...
Ecumen Centennial House Named "Best of Assisted Living" by National Senior Housing Listing Service
Ecumen Centennial House of Apple Valley has received a SeniorAdvisor.com award for "Best of Assisted Living" in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. Read more...
A Child's Heavenly Christmas Surprise - by Ecumen Blogger Jim Klobuchar
I grew up in a mining town in northern Minnesota a few miles from the Canadian border. In winter the cold was no mystery to us; nor was the spectacle of the blazing starlight on clear nights. We grew up able to identify the formations of the Milky Way, the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt and the rest. Read more...
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
A Child’s Heavenly Christmas Surprise — By Ecumen Blogger Jim Klobuchar
An astonishing gift in the Christmas Eve sky almost 80 years ago keeps on giving.
Ecumen Centennial House Named “Best of Assisted Living” by National Senior Housing Listing Service
Ecumen Centennial House of Apple Valley has received a SeniorAdvisor.com award for “Best of Assisted Living” in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul metro area.
SeniorAdvisor.com, the nation's largest senior living review site, gives the awards to recognize senior living and home care providers who receive consistently high ratings from online reviewers.
Fewer than one percent of providers nationwide receive the “Best of Assisted Living” award, says SeniorAdvisor.com.
“We’re very grateful to receive this award,” said Janis Rivers, Housing Director at Ecumen Centennial House. “It’s especially meaningful since it’s based on actual reviews by customers.”
Ecumen Lakeview Commons Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Ecumen Lakeview Commons in Maplewood, Minn., celebrated its 20th anniversary December 16, 2014, at a festive holiday gathering of more than 100 residents, community leaders and Ecumen staff.
Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell officially represented the city, telling guests “we are honored to have such a great organization as Ecumen providing easy access to health and home care for our city’s seniors and also being an incredible employer. This is a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful people.”
“We are proud to offer exceptional care,” Ecumen Lakeview Commons Housing Manager Glory Hill told the guests. “Our residents are our family, and sometimes we also become part of their family, too.”
To “re-dedicate” the community, Maryann Schaefer, Sales and Marketing Director of Ecumen Lakeview Commons, led a ribbon-cutting and toast ceremony along with representatives of the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce.
Shelley Kendrick, Ecumen Vice President of Operations, gave a brief history of Ecumen Lakeview Commons and said: “We look forward to another 20 years of success and community and in honoring our resident’s choice to make this their home.”
Policy and a Pint® Event Brings Aging Issues to the Millennial Generation
Millennials crowded into a downtown St. Paul bar recently to have a few drinks, socialize and talk seriously about aging. Yes, you read that right. Aging.
At the Policy and a Pint® event series co-sponsored by the Citizens League and 89.3 The Current, an engaged audience of the relatively young took an evening to focus on aging issues in a session entitled: How are we taking care of Mom? The Current's Steve Seel and guest panelists, including Eric Schubert, Ecumen Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, led the discussion on how changing demographics are shaping the way we think about aging in the 21st century.
The discussion also addressed issues that people in their 30s and 40s should be thinking about — from "the talk" with mom and dad, to finances, to housing and care options, to transportation challenges, to blended family obligations, to the process of being deliberate about how they want to live during our own golden years.
Listen to the hour-long conversation or download the MP3 or find choice quotes and photos from the event.
Top 5 Most-Popular Blog Posts - December 15
Did you miss last week's most-read Changing Aging blog posts? Ecumen's online visitors found these articles most interesting:
NPR Story Highlights Ecumen Awakenings Approach to Dementia Care
Ecumen Awakenings once again received national attention for its innovative approach to dementia care. National Public Radio (NPR) aired a three-part series on the dangers of medicating elderly dementia patients with antipsychotic drugs. The third segment - titled "This Nursing Home Calms Troubling Behavior Without Risky Drugs" - focused entirely on Ecumen Awakenings as an example of a better way to care for those with Alzheimer's. Read more...
Top 10 Gifts for Seniors: Ecumen Staff Offers Advice
Because the following was one of our most popular posts last holiday season, it's here for a return engagement. We recently polled staff at several Ecumen communities for their advice on holiday gift-giving for seniors, particularly those who are in assisted living or care centers. Here are the top ten suggestions... Read more...
Ecumen Nurse Maria Reyes' Personal "Awakenings" and Triumph Over Adversity
Ecumen Quality Improvement Nurse Maria Reyes learned valuable lessons taking care of her grandmother as a young teenager in Puerto Rico - lessons that still guide her today as she teaches other professionals about honoring and empowering the seniors in their care. Read more...
Ecumen Employee Gabbi Langan: "I Love Every Single Day"
Outside the main office at Ecumen Prairie Lodge in Brooklyn Center, several people are trying to load a large television set into a small car. One of them is Gabbi Langan, who is the new manager in charge of Prairie Lodge. It's an insight into her management style. Gabbi is a hands-on problem-solver, and no problem is too big or too small. Read more...
Home for the Holidays: Red Flags That Aging Parents Need Help
It's not at all unusual for adult children to come home for the holidays and see signs their aging parents are in declining health - a messy house, unopened mail, unwashed clothes. It's also not unusual that the first response is one of panic. The Star Tribune offers some advice from experts on what to do if you see things that concern you... Read more...
You can read these articles and more at ecumen.org.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 103rd Birthday Iola Stark
Ecumen honors Iola Stark, a resident of Ecumen Bethany Community, who is 103.
Ecumen Century Club: Happy 105th Birthday Judith Johnson
Ecumen honors Judith Johnson, a resident of Ecumen Parmly LifePointes, who is 105.
Top 10 Gifts for Seniors: Ecumen Staff Offers Advice
We polled staff at several Ecumen communities for their advice on holiday gift-giving for seniors, particularly those who are in assisted living or care centers. Here are the top 10 suggestions.