senior assisted living blog

GreenTree at West Lafayette recently celebrated a 100^th birthday.

Dorothy Garrison was born in Young America, IN.,
on May 18^th, 1910. 

At an early age, she and her mother were inflicted with spinal meningitis. Her mother passed away. Dorothy survived, but was not able to walk until she was 3 years of age and was sickly for the first 14 years of her life.

She had four older sisters; but, said that she was her "father's boy", since he had no sons. All of her sisters helped care for Dorothy.  Lucille and Helen attended "teaching school" to help out with the family finances.  One taught school between Young America and Logansport and Dorothy was in her 4^th grade class. When Helen went to school she told Dorothy to pick out a book and she would read it to her that evening. Her favorite poems were "Song of Hiawatha" and "Snowbound". Her sister would read "Snowbound" to her whenever they were snowed in. She remembers lying on the floor listening to her sister read and tried to imagine what her sister was reading. Her father would stop reading the newspaper to listen, too. 

Dorothy was first married to "Cac" Hagenbuch. They were married in 1949 and lived in Fowler. He died in 1954 and left her a life estate in 160 acres of farmland in Benton County. Dorothy managed the farm for many years.   She met Kent Garrison at the Benton County Country Club while playing golf.  She was an accomplished golfer and an avid bowler. Kent and Dorothy were married in 1956. Kent was the owner and manager of the family grain elevator business in Earl Park, IN. Dorothy was employed as a legal stenographer for several years.  She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Fowler and was Past Matron of the Order of Eastern Star, receiving her 75-year award in 2003. Kent and Dorothy enjoyed to travel and did so often.  On one such trip to Boston, MA, while on a walking tour of the city, they viewed the original manuscript of the poem "Snowbound". 

It meant so much to Dorothy and brought back so many happy memories of her childhood and all the staff at GreenTree loved the opportunity to share her 100^th birthday celebration.

Following in GreenTree Assisted Living's tradition of excellence, we are pleased to appoint Dr. Robert J. Parks as the Medical Director of GreenTree's new 30 unit Memory Care neighborhood. GreenTree Memory Care provides exceptional services for seniors suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's related diseases. 

 
Dr. Robert J. Parks
Medical Director, GreenTree Memory Care

Through our partnership with Dr. Parks and our specialized staff, GreenTree Memory Care will provide the compassion, respect and dignity to all its residents.  Dr. Parks has been caring for seniors in the area for over 37 years and his associate Michelle Burwell, a Certified Physicians Assistant, has been working with him for over 20 years.

GreenTree Memory Care is currently providing free complimentary memory loss consultations for those suffering from Dementia and Alzheimer's related diseases.  Please call 618.244.5580 to schedule an appointment.

Green Tree at Mt. Vernon is an 86-unit assisted living community, located at 208 Zachery Street in Mt. Vernon, IL. The new 30-unit memory care neighborhood is located in an adjacent building. The facilities are operated by Provision Living, a premier regional operator and investor in senior housing properties, focused on independent living, assisted living and assisted living based dementia services. The company is based in St. Louis with operations in five states, representing nearly 900 senior living units and 450 employees. www.provisionliving.com

Spring is upon us and many elderly are out enjoying the warm, sunny days. As the days get longer it makes for more time spent outside with family and friends. There are many activities senior citizens can enjoy outdoors that are fulfilling while not being too physically demanding.   

Gardening is a great activity for seniors that enjoy reaping the “fruits” of their labor. Light work in the garden is an excellent way to exercise while also keeping the mind active. This can be enjoyed all spring and summer long because there are always jobs to be done like watering, pruning, and pulling stubborn weeds.  

Family get-togethers at the park or barbeques with friends are great ways to interact with others while being outside this spring. Senior citizens enjoy spending time with their adult children and grandchildren at these events. Simple pleasures like watching the kids play and enjoying a fresh hotdog of the grill can make for the perfect spring afternoon.

For some, the ideal spring activity might just be being outdoors. Walks and bird watching are a great way to enjoy the splendors of nature while also exercising. Not only are these activities enjoyable but are also in many cases free.

For some more spring activity ideas visit the link below, or post your own in the comment section:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6324691_spring-activities-elderly.html

The Browders will be performing at GreenTree (4895 Pine Ridge Drive, Columbus, Indiana) on Saturday May 22^nd from 2:30 - 3:00, compliments of WYGS Radio. 

From their beginning traveling together as a family in a Dodge Omni car, to a successful music ministry with national hits, The Browders of Hiltons, Virginia are one of the most exciting groups to step on stage in many years.  This family group consists of Tommy Browder, his sons, Matthew and David, and Matthew's wife, Sonya.  They travel year round, keeping a full concert schedule as well as holding revivals across the country.  One of their most captivating qualities is that The Browders play much of their music live with Tommy on acoustic lead, David on bass, Matthew on rhythm guitar and Sonya on piano.  They also write most of their own music. 

Another success story from Provision Living at St. Louis Hills. This recent article (STLTODAY.com) features the Carrillo brothers. Alex, the middle brother, is currently working for Provision Living as a server in the dining area.  He will be going to Syracuse University in the fall.

His older brother, Alfredo, worked for us previously and is a freshman at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. We hope that Jesse, the younger brother, who is a junior at Vianney will be working for us in the near future. This is another way we carry out our vision and mission at St. Louis Hills.

Pictures (left to right): Jesse, Alex and Alfredo Carrillo stand in front of the wall of fame at St. Cecilia's Academy in St. Louis. The brothers benefited from the non-profit program ACCESS Academies, (http://www.accessacademies.com/) which helps middle schoolers get into a college prep high school and then college.

Read their story on STLTODAY.com 

GreenTree at Post Road And Samara Memory Care
Would like to Welcome
Dr. Stephen A. Rappaport, M.D.
President of Agewell® Health

Samara Memory Care's Support Group Meeting

     When:  Thursday, May 20th
            Time:  6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
 Where:  GreenTree/Samara
               8800 Spoon Drive
                         Indianapolis, IN 46219 
     Please RSVP:  Jodi Barton (317) 899-6777
                              by Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Samara Memory Care monthly support groups and lectures are open to the public. 

Stephen A. Rappaport, M.D. is President of Agewell^® Health http://agewell.biz/staff and a leader in clinical research for geriatric medicine. Dr. Rappaport completed specialty training in the Division on Aging at Harvard Medical School. He holds board certification in both Internal Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Rappaport's research has been published in major scientific journals. He has extensive experience in all aspects of successful aging.

Visit us on the web.

GreenTree Assisted Living's Poetry Contest was held in April and was a celebration of poetry and its vital place in American culture.

Dozens of entries from GreenTree residents and the surrounding community were received.  The following are the winning poems.

Pictured: Karen Brock, Executive Director; Virginia Stoner, GreenTree resident poetry contest winner; and Maxine Adkins Littrell, retired Ivy Tech English professor and contest judge.

View all of the winning Poems.

Congratulations GreenTree at Westwood associate Fran Caldwell!

"Radiance Associate of the Month."  

"We're thrilled to have Fran as our prep cook.  Fran has been a part of our team for 7 years.  She looks beyond her duties for ways to impact the lives of our residents and other associates."
~Karen Brock, Executive Director

www.provisionliving.com

As you may have noticed, Provision Living (www.provisionliving.com) has joined the social networking craze. With pages on Facebook, Linked In, and weekly blogs, our digital footprint is growing quickly.

You might ask why we are embracing this trend so readily?

The answer is simple. The more content on the web, the more connected our associates, residents and their families can become. Information is better when shared, and across multiple social networking sites we can make sure it is shared faster.
 
While we pride ourselves on our sense of community, our social networking is not only for the associates and residents of Provision Living communities. It is for anyone wanting to learn more about our what makes us special. Information on events, recent hires, achievements, and new facilities is available for those wanting to learn more.

Click the links below to visit our social networking sites:

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