Willow Springs And Eldergrow Launch Therapeutic Gardening Program

BRICK – Residents at Willow Springs Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center in Brick Township are embracing their inner green thumbs thanks to the skilled nursing facility’s new partnership with Eldergrow. The Seattle-based company brings nature indoors with mobile gardening programs designed to promote hands-on enjoyment and learning.

At Willow Springs, Eldergrow’s Therapeutic Horticulture Garden program combines a sensory garden full of colorful and fragrant plants with in-person enrichment classes. The bi-monthly classes – on topics ranging from horticulture, to culinary, to garden arts – are facilitated by Eldergrow educators, who also assist with garden maintenance.

“Many Willow Springs residents have a lifelong love of gardening and are now delighting in the opportunity to spend time enjoying the mobile garden and participating in the therapeutic horticulture classes,” said Pam Montemurno, regional director of market development at Marquis Health Consulting Services, which supports Willow Springs and was instrumental in facilitating the Eldergrow partnership.

“Eldergrow is a perfect example of how life enrichment activities can promote both wellness and fun.”

Therapeutic horticulture is shown to offer significant mental and physical health benefits for seniors, including reducing depression and improving balance, among numerous others. In a study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Health, scientists reported planting and cultivating a garden can “improve brain nerve growth factors related to memory, and can

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Page 10 improve functioning in the hippocampus, which is critical for memory, and cortical regions of the brain.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Willow Springs for this new program,” said Eldergrow’s Orla Concannon, founder and CEO.

“Therapeutic horticulture supports Willow Springs’ focus on programming aimed at boosting physical and mental wellness for residents by bringing nature – and its many benefits – indoors all year long.”

Willow Springs’ reputation for quality care and services is well established. The facility was recently named one of the nation’s top skilled nursing facilities in Newsweek’s “America’s Best Nursing Homes 2023” and maintains a five-star rating for quality measures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). More infor- mation can be found at willowspringsrehab. com

Founded in 2015, Eldergrow enhances the quality of life for older adults by creating meaningful connections to nature. In addition to its Therapeutic Horticulture Garden program for skilled nursing centers, it offers a DIY Culinary Herb Garden for assisted living communities, with fresh herb deliveries and engaging “Around the World” programming. Both programs are centered around Eldergrow’s indoor, mobile gardens which are beautifully handcrafted in the U.S.A.

Brick-based Marquis Health Consulting Services provides administrative and consulting services to skilled nursing facilities and senior housing communities along the Eastern Seaboard. The organization’s operational guidance enables its client facilities to overachieve their quality and customer service goals by embracing a progressive, multi-specialty approach to healthcare.

Life Line Screening

BRICK – St. Thomas Lutheran Church will be hosting a Life Line Screening on April 25 at 9 a.m.

Life Line Screening, the nation’s leading provider of preventive health screenings, will offer affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings.

A package of five screenings to identify cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions will be offered:

• Carotid artery ultrasound that scans the carotid arteries for buildup of fatty plaqueone of the leading causes of strokes.

• Abdominal aortic aneurysm ultrasound screening for an abdominal aneurysm that could lead to a ruptured aorta.

• Heart Rhythm Screening (AFIB) A quick and easy test using a 6-lead EKG placed on the arms and legs to identify the presence or absence of an irregular heartbeat.

• Peripheral Arterial Disease Screening-Evaluates for PAD in the lower extremities, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

• Osteoporosis Risk Assessment-Ultrasound screens the shin bone for bone mass density. Osteoporosis is painless and silent in the early stages.

Schedule your appointment today and receive special package pricing. Register by calling toll free 1-800-690-6495, text the word “circle” to 797979, or register online at llsa.social/HC.

College Planning Workshop

BRICK – Join for a free educational college planning workshop that will focus on high school and middle school students. Workshop will be held on March 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Brick Township High School. They will discuss college financial aid forms and all other information you need to understand in order to maximize the amount of aid you are eligible to receive!

Even if your family is not eligible for needbased aid, we will cover strategies on how to pay for college on the most efficient basis. They will discuss picking colleges that might give you the best opportunity to receive aid. How savings might impact your eligibility. How to get ahead by developing a customized plan and how to lower the out-of-pocket cost.