| Auburn Hills |
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Auburn Hill Residents Ring in the New Year!
We all had a great time ringing in the New Year here at HarborChase of Huntsville! We enjoyed good food, good entertainment , and great friends! We ended the night toasting in the New Year with Sparkling Cider!
Auburn Hill Residents Celebrate Christmas
The holiday spirit continues at Harbor Chase of Auburn Hills! After putting up the holiday decorations and putting the finishing touches on the trees the residents spent the afternoon making Gingerbread houses. A great time was had by all! Many smiles were shared as residents reminisced about Christmas traditions with their own families.
| Aiken |
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Aiken Memory Ride Hunter Show
The Memory Ride Hunter Show and HarborChase Assisted Living & Memory Care presented a check to the Alzheimer's Association of South Carolina for $7,000. The Memory Care Hunter Show, Luncheon and Silent Auction was held September 25 at Three Runs Plantation. Over 60 riders rode in the show and Diane Voss ran a beautiful and successful silent auction. A fun day for a wonderful cause!
| Columbia |
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HarborChase of Columbia
HarborChase of Columbia enjoyed a fun filled day with a group of volunteers from The University of South Carolina. They participated in Martin Luther King, Jr. Service day. Seven students from the University volunteered their time to enrich the lives of many residents. They began the day helping with maintenance activities such as painting, cleaning windows, and making our community beautiful. As the day progressed, many residents started talking to the volunteers and enjoying the company of the younger generation. They played many games with the residents. Our community was full of bowling, miniature golf and games of darts. We also enjoyed a bowling competition on the Wii. The residents enjoyed beautiful piano music by one of the volunteers. Overall, it was a great day and a day many will remember throughout the year.
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| Coral Springs |
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As our 2011 Calendars quickly filled with different things to do
HarborChase Coral Springs had to be prepared, that much we knew
We stared at our SMAP wondering where we should start
We knew we had a strong team behind us that would help do their part
We starting preparing for all the upcoming events that we had set
And inviting all the new contacts and prospects that we had met.
Our residents were happy which always sets the tone for the month
And we had so many prospects that joined us for lunch
Happy Hour was the biggest turn out it had ever been
As people talked about how many Harbor Chase dollars they still could win
They were collecting it all for their favorite event of the week
As the Auction prizes were displayed so they could get a little peek.
Kids Care came to visit to help the residence make decorations for Valentine's Day
It always touches everyone's heart to see the kids and residents interact in that special way
As the month came to an end we had one more very special day
When we all realized our census hit 100 there was only one thing our ED, Diane could say
"EXCELLENT".. A word that she uses to help motivate us to shoot for the stars
We think that this year is going pretty well so far!!
| Gainesville |
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HarborChase of Gainesville celebrates the New Year!
On New Year's Eve. Residents enjoyed champagne, sparkling grape juice, and a firework display. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon festivities. It was a beautiful day to be outside. Residents also enjoyed throwing pop-its on the group and listening to them pop. This activity brought back many childhood memories of New Years and Fourth of July. When it was dark, residents went out again and enjoyed more fireworks. It was a great start to a new year.
| Huntsville |
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An article in a local Huntsville paper
With Dementia, Time’s Not Kind
Editor's note: Times columnist Mark McCarter writes occasionally about the challenges- and triumphs- in dealing with the care of his mother, who has dementia
People in our family catch ourselves talking a lot in terms of passage of time, an instinctive sense that, sadly, our mother has lost.
Things like, "Can you believe that 15 months ago, she was actually driving?"
That's how quickly and how cruel dementia can impact a person and, indeed, her entire family
It was a year ago Labor Day when my brother Bryan and I arranged to move our mother to assisted living in Huntsville, moving her from her longtime home in Chattanooga. The phrase "kicking and screaming" does not greatly exaggerate her reaction.
The greatest blessing has been giving the two of us and our wives in the same city to help her, and to help each other. We've also gotten great guidance from specialists and the staff at the assisted-living facility to which she moved, in which she was ultimately moved to the memory care unit. We had consultation with the Alzheimer's Association. We have gotten support from others who are going through the same ordeal.
It's a horrible disease to face. I can't imagine facing it alone. No one should have to. Any of a number of memory-care facilities in the area can offer guidance. The Alzheimer's Association is a clearing house for resources. It has regular support groups that meet.
Every 69 seconds, says the Alzheimer's Association, someone is impacted by the disease. By 2050, as people continue to live longer, projections are that one in two could be afflicted with some form of dementia.
There are 287,000-plus people in Alabama right now serving as unpaid caregivers – that's a spouse, child or other relative – for Alzheimer's patients.
Sadly, there are no success stories for dementia, of which there are some 60 varieties, including Alzheimer's.
On Saturday, a walk was held for breast cancer awareness. Survivors were celebrated. A few weeks ago, there was walk to raise awareness for Alzheimer's. There were no survivors in it.
To go back to the theme of passage of time, I can't believe it was a year ago we were dealing with a physical crisis with my mother. (Funny what sticks with your, but I remember scrambling to come up with a note, on hospital letterhead, to verify that she had surgery just so I wasn't obligated for a long-reserved football-weekend hotel room.)
We were cautioned that the trauma of surgery, the anesthesia and the post surgical pain medications might accelerated her mental decline. We didn't make the decision to proceed lightly, but recognizing the decline was inevitable and the physical ailment could be debilitating, we opted for the surgery.
Sure enough, she emerged worse for the wear mentally. She was transferred to the memory care floor. I can't believe it's been eight months since then.
She can't articulate a full sentence. She has a sad, distant look in her eyes. But she's doing OK physically. She's adjusting socially. She remembers us when we visit, though not always by name.
She has little sparks and seems to remember on occasion when we talk about her grandchildren or some old friends. She is, as gratingly cliché as it may be, "comfortable." As Kerry Grimes of HarborChase of Huntsville told me, "It's tougher on you and your brother now than it is on her."
I stopped by to see her Wednesday. She was in the activities room, with a sweet, peaceful look on her face as a visiting pastor was singing hymns.
She didn't see me come in, so I sneaked around to the back to listen, so as not to disrupt her.
After a few songs, the pastor began singing "Amazing Grace." I remembered it was my father's hymn. I hoped, somewhere deep inside her, my mother was remembering that, too.
| Jacksonville |
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Jacksonville Fall Festivities
Harbor Chase of Jacksonville kicked fall up a notch! Residents and visitors alike are greeted by our Scarecrow who guards our lobby pumpkin patch. The autumn adventure continued to our patio where we celebrated fall with apple butter sampling. This is just the kick of our fun fall festivities!
Jacksonville Gorgeous Grandmas
We love our Gorgeous Grandmas’ at Harbor Chase of Jacksonville! Our stunning ladies had a great time participating in Gorgeous Grandma Glamour Shots! Mary Kay has nothing on our community! Our volunteers worked their magic utilizing a table covered with make-up, hair accessories, and jewelry. Topped with a bright boa they had everything they needed to make our beautiful residents into Glamour Gals! Everyone had a fantastic time and loved showing off the beautiful keepsake photos. Enjoy!
| Naples |
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HarborChase Naples
Anne was born on May 27, 1907 in Brooklyn New York to Cosma and Daniel Falisey. She had two younger brothers, Jack and Anton. At the age of 19, Anne entered The Perish Blood Convent located on Long Island and became a Carmelite nun. She received her master's degree in foreign language. Anne taught high school Spanish at Rockaway New York Catholic School. After fifty years she retired as a nun, moved to Centereach Long Island and taught in that public school system for another few years. After retiring once again from teaching; Anne moved to Boca Raton and then in 1980 she came to live in Naples to be closer to her family. Annes 104th birthday party was held on May 27, 2011 with her family and friends here at HarborChase of Naples.
| North Collier |
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HOWDY PARD'NER!!
On August 29th it was a "WILD" West Day here at HarborChase Memory Care of North Collier. Residents, staff and even family members all dressed in their cowboy best.
We started our day by hanging up the wanted posters. Our very own concierge, Josh Amacker and his artistic talents, created over 50 posters. Each one displaying a resident's picture and their crime! The resident family members got such a kick out of them; some took them home to frame.
We had a fabulous lunch round the chuck wagon. Rib eye steaks, baked potato and for dessert good old apple pie. We had over 20 family members join us that day for lunch. And all that was heard is what a great steak that was that just came off the grill. Hats off to the kitchen for another fantastic job.
After lunch we played some horseshoes and tried our hand at some roping. "Fiddling Bill" was the entertainer for the afternoon, and wow can he fiddle!
We thank our wonderful team for participating and making the day so special for all the residents and families. A big thank you to Jennifer Dalton and staff, for her great idea for a Cowboy Day and for turning our living room and dining room into a scene from the old west.
A great time was had by all cowboys and cowgirls as they rode off into the sunset. YEE HAW!!!
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| Palm Harbor |
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Palm Harbor Summer Olympics
Our residents enjoyed taking part in several different activities for our Summer Olympics. We had a wide variety of choices so everyone could find a game that would interest them. Our games included; Shuffle board, bean toss, bocce ball, volleyball, & chuk-em. It turns out that, chuk-em was chosen as the favorite game by our residents. Chuk-em has since been incorporated into our monthly activities for the residents. It was really fun to see the residents enjoying the day!
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| Rock Hill |
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Celebrating SPRING!
With the warm weather and the blooming of flowers here in Rock Hill we have been blessed with 9 new residents and 5 new associates joining our HarborChase family. The beginning of March our life enrichment team partnered with our residents and planted over 10 different fruits and vegetables from seeds and nurtured them into plants. On April 1st Todd, our director of maintenance tilled up an area in our memory care courtyard for our garden! We are exciting to enjoy in the fresh produce that we have grown and will be using them for our daily social!
The month of March is a very busy time here in Rock Hill. Rock Hill hosted its annual "Come See Me" festival, where over 5,000 people come to our area to celebrate in this traditional week long celebration of Spring. HarborChase was a sponsor this year and on March 25th we hosted the Come See Me VIP party which kicked off the festival! We had over 500 people in our community and we featured the culinary skills of our very own Scott Duncan who provided an extensive menu featured around the culture of Hawaii.
On March 23rd we treated our local ambulance stations, churches, and firefighters with personal visit and deliveries of baked goods. On our very own bus we deliver hand made pound cakes with our residents to the different stations to thank our EMS drivers, ministries, and firefighters for everything they contribute to our community.
We are excited to announce that our respite program has taken off! For the month of April we have had 5 respite stays and already 3 respites stays scheduled for May! On April 12th we hosted the monthly "walk to end Alzheimer's" meeting here in our community. We had over 18 people and Scott served a wonderful lunch! On April 16th we were honored to sponsor the Teepa Snow Seminar which is a credited educational seminar on Alzheimer's and dementia. We sent two of our very own associates, Marion Graham from Life Enrichment and Deb Thomas from our direct care staff. As always we are excited to see what May has in store for us! On May 1st our new Director of Resident Care, Terri Rivers will be joining our team!
| Sterling Heights |
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Christmas Party!
Every year HarborChase of Sterling Heights has a magnificent Christmas Party for the residents and their families. We celebrated this year on Tuesday and Wednesday night. We have wonderful, fun entertainment provided by Barry Manilow (a.k.a Frank Sterrett) who our residents love to see perform! Our Director of Food and Beverage, LaMarr Thomas, and his kitchen associates provided a fabulous family dinner with all kinds of delicious food. Santa Claus makes an appearance also! He brings gifts for every single resident who lives here and he has his picture taken with them all. The happiness Santa brings to our home is priceless. Everyone involved had a very Merry Christmas because of this phenomenal party! Merry Christmas from HarborChase of Sterling Heights!
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| Tallahassee |
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HarborChase of Tallahassee residents enjoy the holidays.
Christmas Eve was celebrated in the Harbor Room with refreshments, presents, and a virtual fireplace. All Residents gathered in a circle, and one person would select anyone in the room, and give them a compliment. The person receiving the compliment would be given a box of chocolates, and then they would select another person to compliment, and so it went on. Everyone attending gave and received a compliment!
New Years was celebrated in Memory Care and Assisted Living with families, refreshments, and many resolutions for a wonderful New Year!
Tallahassee Hole In One Golf Tournament a Big Success!
HarborChase of Tallahassee has been an ardent supporter of the Alzheimer’s Project whose goal is to provide comfort, support and education to the caregiver’s of those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Their services are provided free of charge. This year our annual fundraiser in celebration of National Alzheimer’s Month was a Golf Tournament at Southwood Country Club on November 17th.
Fifty six golfers enjoyed a light breakfast, boxed lunch, give away bags and a barbeque dinner that evening at the Awards Banquet. There prizes for the Winning Team, Second and Third place teams and the Last Place Team was as well recognized for their effort!! Prizes were awarded for the Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin and many came close but no one won the “$5000 hole in One” Prize !!
Golfers had the opportunity to purchase a mulligans and raffle tickets to further support the Alzheimer’s Project. The winning raffle tickets were drawn during the awards banquet.
Our golf tournament was a huge success through the support of the golfers, 21 participating sponsors, 24 in kind sponsors, sale of mulligans and proceeds from the raffle tickets, the Alzheimer’s Project was later presented a check for $4000.00.
We are already making plans for next year’s tournament !!
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Winner of our Wii Giveaway!
Congratulations to Brenden Lata, Community Educator for Maxim Healthcare Services for winning HarborChase of Tallahassee's Wii Gaming System Giveaway drawing held on December 21, 2011. Invitations were sent to community partners inviting them to tour HarborChase of Tallahassee's Assisted Living and Memory Care community. Several people responded and were happy to learn what makes Harborchase such a special place to live. Brenden was excited to receive his "early Christmas present" and looks forward to enjoying his new Wii system!
| Tamarac |
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T’Was the Season at HarborChase of Tamarac
December was a festive month at HarborChase of Tamarac. From the moment you opened our doors, you were greeted with the sights and sounds of the holiday season. We began our month of holiday celebrations with a Menorah lighting for the celebration of the eight nights of Chanukah.
Following this, a group of our residents from HarborChase of Tamarac had the opportunity to visit the 2011 Spectacular Holiday Fantasy of Lights in Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, Florida. Santa (our very own life enrichment coordinator, Peter Vincent) drove our bus through the wonderful display of colorful lights while singing Holiday carols with our residents. During the 3 mile ride, our residents viewed giant animated holiday displays as well as illuminated trees, including our very own HarborChase sponsored Penguin on a Surfboard display. A good time was had by all!
We saved the best for last…a Holiday Brunch for our residents and their families. We began with buffet tables lined with appetizers including cheese, crackers, bagels and lox, sushi, crudités and much more. Following this, we served all of our residents and guests a lunch including omelets made to order. Everyone ate to their heart’s content. We accompanied our piano player with singing and dancing to the holiday songs. We ended with an array of pies, ice cream and assorted fruits. Everyone enjoyed spending time with their families.
A great time was had by all and we look forward to many more exciting events in the New Year!
| Venice |
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Venice Rated 5-Stars by Medicare.gov and the AHCA Nursing Home Guide!
HarborChase of Venice is one of only two skilled nursing communities in Venice rated five stars by Medicare.gov and the AHCA Nursing Home Guide! That places us in the top 10% in the country in overall quality of care. What does this mean to you as a consumer? The Five-Star Quality Rating System was created to help consumers compare nursing homes more easily. The rating is based on three sources of data: Health Inspections, Staffing and Quality Measures. These three areas are rated and then combined to calculate an overall rating. Congratulations Venice!
Christmas in Venice!
We had a wonderful time celebrating the holiday season at HarborChase in Venice. Starting with Thanksgiving we enjoyed seeing all of the families and friends visit their loved ones. We took the time to have meals together, listening to music, enjoy the beautiful Christmas decorations and lights throughout the Venice area.
After having so many groups come in and visit, often entertaining our residents by singing and playing instruments we celebrated with our Annual Resident and Family Party. Santa stopped by for a visit during the affair and brought so many smiles and laughs as he took the time to individually visit each of the residents and their guests.
From HarborChase in Venice we hope you had a blessed holiday and we look forward to a healthy and happy 2012!
| Vero Beach |
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Christmas at HarborChase of Vero Beach
What a busy month we had here at HarborChase of Vero Beach! From Christmas Carolers coming to sign to us, evening trips to see the Christmas lights, going to the Christmas concert at the local high school to our 2 wonderful parties. We are exhausted! Our family New Year's Eve party entailed a gourmet menu which consisted of escargot in puff pastries with a champagne toast for our cocktail party. Our residents and guests enjoyed a surf and turf dinner while listening to the upbeat sounds of Ash Reeder. The night was a huge success and were brought in the New Year with bang!
Festival of Trees
We have a lot of residents who love our art and craft activities, so I thought it would be a wonderful idea to get involved in the community. The Festival of Trees is a local fundraiser for Riverside Children's Theater. All designers are encouraged to decorate a Christmas tree to their liking. The trees are on display to be bid on at a Black-Tie event. My coordinator and myself brainstorm in July and come up with an idea. We start working on the project in August. The residents do all the work themselves. Because we have so many levels of residents in our community, there is something to do for everyone; from tracing, cutting, gluing, painting and actually accompanying me to the festival to put the decorations on the tree. My residents work diligently and are very proud of their work! They even make the tree skirt.
In November, we are wrapping it up and heading out to the festival. I take a small amount of residents to Riverside and we decorate the tree. The festival is open to Assisted Living Facilities one day prior to opening day. Because HCVB participates, my staff and I take all the residents who care to join us to the event. You will not believe the smiles when they see their hard work displayed for all of Vero Beach to see. They are so proud! This is our second year participating and both years in a row our tree was bought and donated back to us for the entire community to enjoy! It is a wonderful event and we will continue to participate for years to come.
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