Jewish Senior Living | October 2014

Jewish Senior Living Newsletter October 2014 - Volume 2, Issue 7

Keeping you connected to our communities.

Adult Day Center Fund Building a Compassionate Community

In This Issue Adult Day Center Fund-Building a Compassionate Community

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Chai Point Senior Living Receives 2013-2014 Excellence in Action Award

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Training Your Brain to Think Positively

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Upcoming Events

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Stay Connected Visit our website and donate online at jewishseniorliving.org JSL in the News Read about our intergenerational programming in the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle

Social Media facebook.com/ jhccfoundation @JSLiving Jewish Home and Care Center

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by Liza Holle, Donor Stewardhip Coordinator

s you enter the café at the choices, respecting individuality and Adult Day Center, the vibrant finding ways to connect through energy fills your heart as you commonalities. Participants come see participants, family members, before systems.” This is evident through and staff interacting: enjoying coffee the staff ’s daily work; always focusing together, reading the latest current first on the needs and desires of events, or partaking in a participantparticipants. chosen activity. This energy is created through The Adult Day Center the Adult Day Center represents the individuals philosophy-believing who attend. For example, that when participants participants expressed have increased the need to renovate the engagement and develop café. Members asked social relationships, it for smaller tables to can lead to happier and improve socialization, healthier lives. Building color on the walls to help relationships leads to a improve appetite, and a sense of community. At positive restaurant dining the Adult Day Center, experience through the the community is a use of linen napkins and strong one; opening flatware. Time was spent Drum Circle in doors to seniors of all faith looking through design the Adult Day Center background who are in books and giving input to early stages of memory staff to help implement loss or desiring social interaction. the changes. The transformation of the café was a collaborative effort of Many of us have heard the term the Adult Day Center community.

Person-Centered Care or have seen Together, they created an environment the term thrown around in a variety focused on those who use it. of senior care settings. So what does it mean to have a Person-Centered Drum circles, yoga, wellness and Care approach? Dawn Adler, Director exercise classes, artist-in-residence of the Adult Day Center, says, “It is programs, drama classes, musical getting to know the person, offering performances, and cognitive games see “Adult Day Center,” page 4

Chai Point Senior Living Receives 2013-2014 Excellence in Action Award

by Becca Loss, Communication Specialist My InnerView by National Research Corporation, the nation’s leading provider of performance-improvement solutions for the senior care profession, presented the annual Excellence in Action award.

The honor recognizes long term care and senior living organizations that achieve the highest level of excellence. This is demonstrated by overall resident or employee satisfaction scores that fall within the top 10 percent of the My InnerView product database, the largest in the U.S.

Howard Loeb, Chairman of the Board; Deborah Rosenthal Zemel, MS, Director; and Michael I. Sattell, President & CEO

“Chai Point is honored to receive the 2013-14 Excellence in Action award,” said Michael I. Sattell, President and CEO. “Our staff members at Chai Point work hard to deliver the best care possible; always putting the needs of our residents first. We are always mindful of our responsibility and commitment to the mothers and fathers of our community.”

The 2013-2014 award recognizes 547 skilled nursing, assisted living, and independent living communities that have made a commitment to continuous quality improvement and have successfully made quality a priority to better serve the needs of their customers and employees. The customer award was earned by 347 organizations while 200 received the workforce award.

Chai Point staff: Carolyn Schuman, MSW, Social Worker; Jackie Nowak, Administrative Assistant; Dana Rubin-Winkelman, MSW, CAPSW, Social Worker; Jim Heisler, Activities Coordinator; Trish Cohn, Director of Activities; Howard Loeb, Chairman of the Board; Deborah Rosenthal Zemel, MS, Director; Cheyenne Ensor, Receptionist; Michael I. Sattell, President & CEO

“I am proud of our staff and their dedication to our residents,” added Deborah Rosenthal Zemel, MS, director of Chai Point. “It is a joy to come to work because of our residents. Without them, this award would not be possible.”

To find out more about Chai Point Senior Living, visit our website at http://www.chaipoint.org.

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Training Your Brain to Think Positively

by Liza Holle, Donor Stewardship Coordinator Does seeing the glass half full mean you will be healthier later in life?

A growing amount of research and evidence suggests that positive thinking is correlated with less illness and longer lives.

If you are already an older adult, it is still important to continue to have a positive outlook.

Positive thinking has a variety of health benefits.

Researchers continue to explore the effects that positive thinking and optimism have on health. In many research outcomes, it’s unclear why positive thinking leads to specific health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook helps manage stressful situations. People who live a life of positivity consistently engage in activities that maintain a healthier lifestyle, such as getting more physical activity and following a healthy diet. Some of the health benefits of thinking positive include: • Increased life span • Lower rates of depression • Lower levels of distress • Greater resistance to the common cold • Better psychological and physical well-being • Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease • Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

continue to think positively, write down what you are grateful for at least once a week. This friendly reminder can turn into a habit of training your brain to think positively Repeat Positive Messages: As salespeople or advertisers know, the more often you hear a message, the more likely you are to believe it. The same is true with saying positive messages about who you are and what you are capable of doing. By repeating positive statements about yourself every morning, you are training your brain to believe them. Choose a couple of messages that align with your values and goals. Examples could include: ”I can handle whatever comes my way,” “I can learn something new” or “I am going to try my best.”

If you are one who thinks negatively or tends to be more on the pessimistic side, there are always ways to re-train your brain to think positively. Try these tips to help train your brain to stay positive: Express Gratitude: When facing challenges it’s important to look at what is going well in your life.

Thinking about the good in your life can help balance those biases; it gives the brain extra time it needs to register and remember a positive life event. To

see “Think Positively” page 5

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Adult Day Center continued from page 1

are just some of the activities provided at the Adult Day Center. Throughout the day, multiple programs are available depending on one’s interests. Activities encourage life-long learning and growth-both physical and spiritual. With the professionalism of the staff and use of creative questions asked to participants, a variety of programs are developed and adapted to continuously changing needs and interests. On a daily basis, participants share knowledge with one another, increase their awareness with the latest research on health and wellness, and express creativity through hands-on art and music projects.

The Adult Day Center is a safe, structured and nurturing environment where a loved one can enjoy the social interaction of peers, while providing caretakers and families the freedom and respite they need. Whether that means going to work, running errands, visiting a doctor or friend, or simply taking personal time; there is comfort in leaving loved ones in our care. “My idea is that every person who attends will be so well understood by our staff, that everything we do throughout the day can focus on each person’s individual strengths, abilities, experiences and memories,” says Dana Rubin-Winkelman, social worker. Dana Rubin-Winkelman is truly there every step of the way, meeting participant’s needs and reaching out to families, being a resource in connecting services to our participants.

Participants, professional staff, volunteers, and families at the Adult Day Center have devoted themselves to creating this community, and in return, it has provided purpose and meaning to all those who enter its doors.

The Jewish Home and Care Center Foundation will be celebrating the Adult Day Center and ReCharge!

Program at the upcoming Annual Dinner on Sunday, November 16. Watch for your invitation, or call Liza Holle at 414-721-9255 for information.

Be there as we honor the staff and participants of these life-enhancing programs.

Jim, an Adult Day Center participant, sketches during art class.

Alice, an Adult Day Center participate and Carol Ann Skurulsky, COTA, enjoy coffee in the café.

Help us in continuing to serve the community by donating to the Adult Day Center Fund. Set up specifically for the Adult Day Center of the Jewish Home and Care Center, it provides for activities and other greatest needs. Donations can be made online through our website. Go to http://www.jewishseniorliving.org and click on “Get Involved.”

In the September 2014 issue of the JSL newsletter, Judy was misidentified as Esther in the front page photo.

We apologize for the error.

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Think Positively continued from page 3

Challenge Your Negative Thoughts: When negative thoughts arise, how we respond to change that thought process is important. Challenge yourself to end negative thoughts with an optimistic statement. At first this may seem difficult, but over time it will become more automatic and negative thoughts will be less likely to fill your mind.

Everyone ages; it’s a natural part of life. Looking at the glass half full can lead to positive aging. Seniors thinking positively can go a long way. It shows that the connection between our mind and body does affect the way we feel. Training the brain to think positively can be an easy tool to share with seniors to live more active, engaging and fulfilling lives.

References: -Emling, Shelley. “Positive Thinking On Aging Helps Seniors Heal: Study.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2014.”How to Train Your Brain to Stay Positive.” Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2014.”Stress Management.”

Positive Thinking: Reduce Stress by Eliminating Negative Self-talk. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 201

Upcoming Events

Mordecai Lee, UWM professor and former Wisconsin state senator Sunday, October 19 at 2:00 pm Sarah Chudnow Community, Posner Town Square Interfaith Choral Concert Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 pm Sarah Chudnow Community, Posner Town Square Suzi Hanks, Docent Educator at MAM presents Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting Wednesday, October 22 at 2:30 pm Chai Point Senior Living, Rubenstein Pavilion Singer Julie Thompson Sunday, October 26 at 2:00 pm Jewish Home and Care Center, Peck Hall Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Alan Borsuk examines the Wisconsin Governor’s race Tuesday, October 28 at 3:00 pm Chai Point Senior Living, Lobby

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