Laughing Out Loud

They say laughter is the best medicine, so we decided to invite Lenore Farkas to share her joy with us. She is known as "the woman with the tickle in the middle". Lenore taught us that laughter therapy can bring happiness back into our lives and help relieve the pain; and it's contagious! Everyone enjoyed playing silly games, sang amazing songs, and exercised our internal organs.

Oh what fun we had laughing away!

Celebration of Life

We hosted a celebration in honor of a wonderful woman named Oma. Oma was a woman who ran her own business in the 1920's and rode a motorcycle in her mid-70s. She was always ready to share her laughter, wisdom, and sheer love of life. She lived life to the fullest and raised an amazing family. We would like to shine a light on her granddaughter named who we proudly call our founder - Lynne Katzmann.

Lynne loved her grandmother so much and was so inspired by her love of life. Juniper Communities is a place where Lynne's vision of seniors living in a community honoring the concept of being alive in all season of life truly comes to fruition!

April 2017 Events in Naples, FL: Believe in Yourself

Each April we begin our Healthy Aging Series with a focus on brain health, and encourage you to Believe in Yourself. We know that believing in yourself has a positive effect on your mental health, but did you know that self-confidence influences your physical health as well? Recent studies show people who exhibit self-confidence are generally healthier and tend to live longer. That's because confidence is a positive emotion and positive emotions have countless health benefits for your mind, body and spirit. In nurturing wellbeing by encouraging an active body, an engaged mind and a fulfilled spirit, Juniper is also building self-confidence. The link between health and confidence also may be related to the ability of positive emotions to boost our brain's power to hold attention, be aware and remember things. We are better able to learn, build new skills and relate with others when we are feeling optimistic. Also confident people are better able to handle chaotic situations in a positive manner. This helps to reduce or avoid excessive stress, high blood pressure, anger, confusion – all the negative side effects of feeling powerless, overwhelmed and out of control.

If you need to kick start your confidence, here are a few things to try: smile; count your blessings; surround yourself with confident people; learn how others have found their confidence and follow their lead; challenge negative or inaccurate thinking and replace with accurate, constructive thoughts; and encourage yourself. You can also plan to join us this month for uplifting discussions and a focus on brain health with offerings such as Daily Brain Builders, Wii games, and a Brain Healthy Luncheon.

Our fabulous April 2017 events in Naples, FL at Juniper Village at Naples include our:

§  Family Caregiver Discussion Group with Debbie Fulton of the Alzheimer’s Support Network who will be our guest speaker this month, so join us as we learn how to care for ourselves as the caregivers and learn how to reduce stress and let our wellbeing thrive on April 11^th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. (RSVP by April 5^th to Dinelle at 239-598-1368.)

§  Brain Healthy Family Luncheon because we need more than nutrients essential; our human brains, have so much potential; assorted berries, a memory boost; apples protect us, cancers reduced; cherries fight inflammation; dark chocolate boosts our circulation; oysters provide us with plenty of zinc; aging and healing, there is a link; eggs and fish, will build our brains; all these foods, have countless gains; so join us to feed your brain on April 12^th from noon to 1:00 pm. (RSVP by April 5^th to Dinelle at 239-598-1368.)

§  Make Laughter Part of Your Life for Mind and Body Wellbeing with Lenore Farkas, known as The Woman with a Tickle in the Middle, who is a Certified Laughter Leader, whose passion is to place the Joy of Abundance in Everyone’s Heart, so join us for a belly laugh or two on April 13^th from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. (RSVP by April 6^th to Dinelle at 239-598-1368.)

We look forward to sharing our April 2017 events in Naples, FL at Juniper Village at Naples with you as you Believe in Yourself.

Music is the Treasure

On this beautiful day, we found Bill outside on the greens with his one true treasure…his guitar. To Bill nothing could be more satisfying then to sit in the garden playing his favorite tune. Bill is a Florida born and raised resident. His favorite types of tunes to play are country. On the days he isn’t playing a tune, you can be sure to find him in the garden holding tight to his guitar telling stories of the good old days.

Connect4Life Leads to Better Outcomes for Residents

Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets the Triple Aim from Cindy Longfellow

Data shows Connect4Life’s high-tech/high-touch integrated services lead to higher quality care and better outcomes for residents

Executive Summary: Integrated Care in Seniors Housing that Meets
the Triple Aim

By Anne Tumlinson, MMHS and Lynne Katzmann, PhD

According to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, more than 190 million Americans, or about 59 percent of the population, are affected by one or more chronic illnesses. Over the next 15 years (between 2016 and 2030,) 80 percent of the United States population will experience one or more chronic conditions, costing more than $42 trillion in medical care spending and losses in employment productivity.

To address these challenges and enhance the resident experience, Juniper Communities, a Bloomfield, NJ-based national owner-operator of seniors housing, developed the Connect4Life model, which provides on-site comprehensive therapy, primary care, pharmacy and lab services, integrated with other services using a “high-tech/high-touch” communications protocol that transfers information through an Electronic Health Record (EHR) and coordinates care through a human navigator.

Juniper Communities retained Anne Tumlinson Innovations (ATI) to compare Connect4Life outcomes and utilization data with data on the broader Medicare population from the 2012 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). The findings suggest that the Connect4Life model contributes to lower hospital readmissions and the utilization of inpatient services among a high-need resident population. The results affirm the potential of integrating select clinical care and services in a seniors housing environment that provides supportive services to those who have chronic conditions, functional limitations, and complex social needs.

The results suggest an integrated program of services in seniors housing—like Juniper’s Connect4Life —can contribute to reducing the cost of care and services to Medicare beneficiaries residing in seniors housing. More importantly, the data points to the value of the Connect4Life model for managing population health because of its ability to efficiently target integrated care interventions in the high cost, high-need Medicare population.

Juniper Communities has been a thought leader in senior living care, developing nearly a dozen innovative service and delivery programs to enhance aging, lifestyle and resident health. Recognizing opportunities in to meet the triple aim of recent health policy changes in the United States – improved customer satisfaction, evidence-base quality and lower healthcare utilization, Juniper is pioneering Connect 4 Life – one of senior living’s first truly integrated care models of assisted living care and service.

Read more in the FREE White Paper!

Cottage Updates

We have been very busy lately updating and remodeling our cottage, and we think the results are simply stunning! New appliances, cabinets, counter tops, and back splashes in the kitchen, with new paint and flooring in the main rooms all lead to a remarkably welcoming and warm atmosphere. Stop by for a tour to see the beautiful results for yourself; you won't believe it until you see it.

“Peaceful Art”

Caught in the act on this day… Sal was living with challenging behaviors ~ restlessness and anxiety. When presented with the opportunity to express his feelings, he creatively transitioned to the photo that we now interpret as peaceful art.

Let this be a reminder that in every moment is an opportunity for hidden therapy.