Elm Crest Newsletter Sept. 2014

Elm Crest Retirement Community

In This Issue:

Experience the Elm Crest Lifestyle Staying Active Is Easy at Elm Crest Meet the New Elm Crest Administrator Supporting Elm Crest Online

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Experience the

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Elm Crest or nearly 60 years Elm Crest has been known for being a great place to spend your retirement, and that tradition continues today.

We have a wonderful, caring staff, offer home cooked meals, daily social and physical activities, as well as transportation around town–which is particularly convenient during the winter months. Residents feel secure knowing if they ever do need a little extra help, we have a 24-hour staff and

can provide assistance right in their own home.

If you have an interest in senior living, now is the time to stop by for a visit and tour our beautifully renovated Independent Living apartment homes. When you choose to make the move to Elm Crest, your apartment will be new from top-to-bottom with a brand new open floor plan to create a home that is comfortable and welcoming. You also have the opportunity to choose from a variety of granite counter tops, appliances, cabinetry, flooring and tile, making this home truly yours.

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Lifestyle!

This is your home and your style – & now our 80% refundable entry fee option makes Elm Crest the best deal in town.

To learn more about the Elm Crest call today to schedule a personal tour with Sara at 712-755-5174.

The Independent Living apartments at Elm Crest feature the latest in design and care-free living. Totally renovated one and two-bedroom apartments with balconies and garages are available. All apartments offer safety and security with optional meal plans, laundry and housekeeping services. With winter weather right around the corner, now’s the time to make the move to our Independent Living Apartments!

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Activities Abound at Elm Crest

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oday, the idea of aging gracefully has been replaced with the efforts of aging successfully. We all know the importance of physical exercise in maintaining health, but did you know that keeping mentally fit/active and socially engaged are equally as important as we strive to age successfully?

Research has shown that keeping mentally fit and socially engaged can help us ward off many of the conditions and diseases traditionally associated with aging. Maintaining mental fitness is important to warding off Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and mental well-being goes hand-in-hand with keeping our bodies strong. Being socially engaged can help lower blood pressure and may reduce the risks for Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular problems, some cancers, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

At Elm Crest Retirement Community we recognize how important physical, mental and social activities are in helping residents live fulfilling lives. When a new resident makes Elm Crest their home, we see an opportunity to engage that resident in activities designed to help that person live life to their fullest – no

matter what their limitations may be. We welcome the chance to help residents continue to enjoy the hobbies and pastimes they have spent a lifetime mastering – as well as introducing them to new experiences that may just become their new passion.

Amy Hursey, Activities Director at Elm Crest understands just how important engaging the residents is to successful aging.

Amy and her three Activity Aides are responsible for creating the activities that keep residents engaged throughout the campus. Although many activities are open to all residents, there are several programs designed for residents at a specific level of care.

INDEPENDENT LIVING

Independent living residents enjoy an extensive social calendar. There are monthly dinner excursions, and to make it easy, Elm Crest provides the transportation for the group. Residents host birthday parties every month and, of course, celebrate special occasion like the Mother-Daughter Tea, Father’s Day Barbecue and the annual Holiday Dinner. The residents themselves also plan a number of other activities and outings.

ASSISTED LIVING

Life is equally as active for Assisted Living residents at Elm Crest! Exercise classes are offered throughout the week and every afternoon residents can enjoy social

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activities that include musical entertainment and even monthly wine tastings. Assisted living residents also enjoy group outings. Recent trips include the Farm All Tractor Museum in Avoca, driving through Prairie Rose Park and catching a Harlan Cyclones basketball game. And every Wednesday, should residents choose, they can take the Elm Crest Bus anywhere throughout Harlan to go shopping or to other appointments.

HEALTH CENTER

The Activities Calendar is full of all kinds of musical, spiritual, social and entertainment events for our Health Center residents as well. Crafts, baking, movies, even manicures are offered throughout the week. Health Center residents also have the opportunity go on excursions such as fishing trips and country drives.

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Re t ire men t Com munit y Elm Crest also plans monthly events that are open to all residents and families, and this time of year the ice cream and lemonade socials are proving very popular.

In addition, Elm Crest participates in local area parades, hosts weekly Rosary, Communion and chapel services for area denominations.

At Elm Crest, we recognize the importance of integrating physical, mental and social well-being into each resident’s lifestyle or care plan. We are committed to helping each resident reach their fullest potential and we encourage and support each resident to remain engaged and active.

Living a quality life is no longer just the luck of the draw - being mentally fit and socially engaged promotes physical well-being, and all three together provide the best guarantee of aging successfully.

Tim Nauslar Named New Elm Crest Administrator

Elm Crest Retirement Community is pleased to announce Tim Nauslar as the new Community Administrator. Tim brings with him more than 12 years of experience in the Healthcare field, specializing in customer service and creating community that provide quality care.

Prior to coming to Elm Crest, Tim worked with several health center and rehabilitation communities in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri where he was instrumental in improving resident care and customer service programs.

Tim states, “I am looking forward to serving the community of Harlan and greater Shelby County. Elm Crest has a strong history of providing high quality health care to seniors and I am eager to carry on that

tradition. We have a great team at Elm Crest and I am privileged to work with such a talented group of people who are committed to serving the residents.�

Elm Crest is excited to have Tim on board as the community embarks on Tim Nauslar several new improvement Elm Crest Administrator projects. The projects include remodeling the independent living apartments, completing the resident rooms remodels in the Health Center and the renovation of the common areas of assisted living wing.

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Training Gives Elm Crest Employees Alzheimer’s Experience he new training session began like this:

“This workshop allows caregivers to experience how difficult routine tasks can be for those people who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia. We gain insight and a better understanding of their situation, which allows us to become even better caregivers,” said Tim Nauslar, Administrator at Elm Crest Retirement Community.

The woman seemed confused and unsure where to go, what to do next.

Slowly, she picked through the pile of clothing, lifted a shirt and stared at it intently before she dropped it back into the pile and moved on to another table. Not finding Employees participating in the what she was looking for, workshop had some of the same she turned to the man reactions we often see in people observing her, “what am I affected by Alzheimer’s. “I quit,” supposed to be doing?” she stated one employee. “What was I asked, bewildered and supposed to do? I can’t remember,” anxious. The trainer then stated another. A third employee nodded to her and she wandering aimlessly only to later Activity Aide Halie Whitmore works at setting a table during a recent training workshop for Elm explain that she couldn’t see what was removed her headphones, Crest employees. goggles and spiky gloves. on the tables clearly and she was looking for The woman happened to be an Elm Crest something housekeeper taking part in a unique training session familiar to help sponsored by insurance carrier, United Heartland. her move on to The sensory training is designed to provide the next task but employees with a sense of the challenges residents could not find it. with Alzheimer’s or dementia experience every day.

During the training staff members donned visionNauslar obscuring goggles to replicate macular degeneration, explained, “At spiked shoe inserts to mimic foot neuropathy, two Elm Crest we layers of gloves with nodules inside to simulate are very diminished dexterity and headphones playing residentmuffled conversations, alarms, sirens and ringing centered and phones. They were then given a list of four or five commited to tasks to complete. These tasks were representative providing of real chores we all do around the house – sorting quality care, laundry, making lists, setting the table and finding anything we can specific items within a bundle. This may be easy to do to enhance our Elm Crest employees were assigned everyday tasks to complete while do for most of us, but surprisingly difficult for those care or services, wearing devices to simulate the we will do it.” affected by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. challenges of Alzheimer’s.

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Elm Crest Residents Fishin’ for Fun

f the many activities offered at Elm Crest Retirement Community, few are as anticipated as eagerly as the fishing trips to Nishna Bend Recreation Area. Several times a year, the Activities Department organizes these fishing trips for Health Center residents who aren’t able to take such trips on their own.

Working with personnel from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Elm Crest employees from multiple departments accompany residents to the lake located about 5 miles outside of Harlan. There, the naturalist for Shelby and Audubon Counties, Kristina Roelffs, is waiting with fishing rods prepped and ready to use. Elm Crest supplies the bait and within minutes of arriving at the handicapped accessible dock, residents are casting their lines into the lake.

This year, the fish weren’t biting, but a snapping turtle was caught and released.

“It’s not only about catching fish,” said Amy Hursey, Director of Activities at Elm Crest.

“Getting outside, experiencing nature and the lake – that’s what we all really enjoy.”

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Residents and staff of Elm Crest enjoy a day of fishing at Nishna Bend Recreation area. Several times a year, they make the trip to a local fishing hole for a day of fishing and fun in the outdoors.

Now You Can Support Elm Crest Online Through New Website e hope that you have had an opportunity to check out the new Elm Crest website and Facebook pages.

Today we are excited to announce the third part of our new expanded online presence, the new Elm Crest Foundation web page.

You can find the new page at www.elmcrest.net/elm-crest-foundation or under “Community Information” on the main ElmCrest.net web page.

Here you will find information about the many ways you can contribute and become part of our tradition of quality care and service. Please visit us one line and learn how you can give today!

Elm Crest Retirement Community 2104 12th Street Harlan IA, 51537 712-755-5174 www.ElmCrest.net Current resident or

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Elm Crest Retirement Community is owned and operated by American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a not-for-profit provider of senior housing and healthcare since 1930.

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