Mountainvista newsletter winter2014 for issuu

Mountain Vista Retirement Community

A Look At The New Mountain Vista Caregiver of the Year Announced Mountain Vista Sheds The Pounds

Winter 2014

Mountain Vista W

50 Never Looked So Good!

e are turning 50! No, I am not referring to my own 50th birthday back in May of 2013.

I am not sure if I still look good, but Mountain Vista Retirement Community…absolutely!

To understand the history of Mountain Vista we have to go back almost 70 years to the mid 1940’s when the Baptist Home Association of the Rocky Mountains (BHA) was formed. The idea for a senior care community was put forth by several members of various American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains as a non-profit organization, its mission was to provide housing and nursing care for the elderly and disabled.

On July 14, 1963, thanks to the vision, dedication of BHA and in response to a growing need for nursing home care in the Wheat Ridge, Colorado, construction began on Mountain Vista Health Center.

Nearly a year later on June 21st, 1964 we welcomed our first residents. At that time, the Health Center could accommodate 90 residents.

However, as time passed it became evident that the demand for additional services and care was growing. And in 1974, the independent living cottages were built adjacent to the Health Center. This independent senior community offers 47, one and two-bedroom, ground level cottages for seniors with fixed or limited income.

In September of 1993 we completed an expansion of the Health Center along with the addition of two separate 24-bed skilled memory care neighborhoods and 30 long term care beds. Finally, in July of 1999, Vista Village Assisted Living opened its doors offering 47 one-bedroom and studio apartments.

Today, 50 years later, our journey continues and

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Mountain Vista remains a vibrant senior living campus serving over 250 residents and employing 240 staff members. Our mission is clear…

“Mountain Vista, embracing our Christian Heritage and Mission, seeks to create and encourage caring communities offering Mike Maschka health care, housing, and supportive Mountain Vista Administrator services to people of many ages, cultures and conditions. We endeavor to provide environments which nurture self-worth, hope and dignity.”

In keeping with our mission to grow and meet the needs of seniors we are embarking on yet another major project that includes renovating a number of areas in the community and creating new services.

We are thrilled to announce the construction of our new 16-bed short term rehabilitation and recovery neighborhood. To better serve those with memory concerns, we are also constructing a new building dedicated to assisted living memory care! Both will offer amenities and services that are in high demand, including private rooms and showers, an enhanced dining experience, wifi access, state of the art therapy equipment and a new wellness program. Both projects are scheduled to be completed by August, 2014.

As a leader in senior care, Mountain Vista invites you to celebrate what we have accomplished over the past 50 years. We also ask you to join us as we look to the future and continue to offer seniors and families the care and services you have come to expect from Mountain Vista!

50 Years

Mountain Vista After

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It’s Time for a Change ...again

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Artist’s Rendering of New Assisted Living Memory Care

services. We look forward to the newly uring our 50th Anniversary year, we designed renovations and “top notch” think it only appropriate to do some equipment to match our “top notch” major remodeling as well as a major therapists. addition to the campus. We began the first phase of the redevelopment just a few short months ago To further expand the services at Mountain in early December with our rehab area. By midVista we are building new assisted living February we will be doing our first “hard hat” secured memory care apartments. This 14,000 tours of the new Rehabilitation Suites and plan to sq. ft. building will connect to our current open this coming May. assisted living. The new When complete, our new “Mountain Vista has, and continues to offer assisted living memory 11,000 sq. ft. rehabilitation quality rehabilitation services and we look care building will offer 22 forward the beautiful designed renovations” specially designed studio wing will boast its own separate entrance on the apartments all within a northeast side of the existing health center. This secured environment and on a single level. The new wing will have 14 luxurious rehab suites as new building, as seen in the artist’s renderings well as 2 semi-private suites. All of the resident above, will fit right in to our existing campus rooms will have private showers in their and be a great addition to the community. The beautifully tiled bathrooms, flat screen TV’s, other drawing above shows the new outside private phones and a beautiful view of either the courtyard areas between the existing building mountains or our newly landscaped front patio. and the new A.L. memory care. The assisted Additional amenities include comfortable sitting living memory care phase of the project is areas, fine dining, room service, a beauty salon scheduled to open in Fall 2014. and spa. You can enjoy all this after your therapy We invite you to join us on this journey as we sessions in the new 1,800 sq. ft. gym working develop the Mountain Vista of the future. We with our top notch therapists. Mountain Vista know you will not be disappointed. has, and continues to offer, quality rehabilitation

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Mountain Vista Announces

Caregiver of the Year Award!

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Fabiola for the award and had this to say about her….

“Fabi is one of our best caregivers among an outstanding team I have here at Vista Village. She is a true leader, especially when it comes to mentoring co-workers. If a new team member is struggling with a particular task, Fabi will jump right in, demonstrating the correct or better way and ensuring that they really understand it. Fabi is highly respected by both her co-workers and the Vista Village residents. Many residents have commented on the gentle care that Fabi provides.

Fabiola or “Fabi”, as she is known to the Another attribute that Fabi brings to the staff and residents at Vista Village, has table is her attention to quality. She never been working at Mountain Vista for just does what is required of her and always more than five years. Starting at chooses to go above and beyond. These are Mountain Vista Health Center in 2008 Fabiola Sanchez receives her award from just a few of the reasons why I believe Fabi as a CNA, Fabiola transferred over to Robin Dunbar, Director of Visa Village was so deserving of this award. Clearly, CALA Vista Village and has been there ever agreed with me and that is why they selected her out of since. In fact, during the entire 2013 fiscal year, Fabiola the many, many nominations submitted this year for the did not miss a single day of work, boasting a perfect Caregiver of the Year award. How lucky we all are to attendance record. know Fabiola and to have her work here at Vista Robin Dunbar, the Director at Vista Village, nominated Village!” ista Village Assisted Living is proud to announce that one of it’s “very own” has been named the 2013 Caregiver of the Year by the Colorado Assisted Living Association (CALA) at their Annual Conference that was held this past October at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Fabiola Sanchez was able to be there personally to accept this award, made even more special with her son by her side.

Regional Director of Community Relations Hired

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ountain Vista, along with sister community The Community at Franklin Park, would like to welcome Jane Runge as the Regional Director of Community Relations. This position will manage Franklin Park and Mountain Vista, both owned and operated by the American Baptist Homes of the Midwest (ABHM). Previously Jane was the Marketing Director at the Health Center at Franklin Park and has over 20 years experience in healthcare marketing, business development and management. Prior to joining American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, Jane has served in many roles in healthcare, including Regional Marketing and Sales Specialist for Pinon Management, Special Projects Director for the Colorado Gerontological Society, Marketing Director for skilled nursing facilities here in Colorado and Sales Director for a local Infusion Company. Jane also has dedicated many hours to numerous volunteer programs.

Jane has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with an

emphasis in Gerontology from Metro State College in Denver.

Jane loves to spend time with her family, which includes her husband Jon, daughters Lexie and Cassie and son Derek who is currently serving our country as a Marine. She also enjoys helping others in the community and is Jane Runge involved with organizations such as JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes and Research Foundation), Wish of a Lifetime and Adult Protective Services.

Marge McConnell, Regional Director of Operations for ABHM said, “Jane brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position. She has the ability and personal drive to impact census growth of both campuses through focus on improved relationships with case managers, increased community contracts and improved interaction and participation in community functions.

Mountain Vista

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Mountain Vista Taking Wellness to Heart

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Improving the Health of Our Residents and Staff With The Mountain Vista Weight Loss Challenge

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t Mountain Vista our goal is to create an environment of self-worth, hope, dignity, and health for our residents. Over the past several months the staff has added an additional goal: Improve the health of staff members and therefore improve our ability to provide the best resident care.

In April 2013 Mountain Vista kicked off a community-wide weight loss challenge. The motivation to lose weight is different for each person and ranges from a desire to have clothes fit better, to more energy throughout the day, but there remains one common theme: to improve health.

Beginning in April of 2013 we began a sixteen week weight loss challenge with twenty members of the Mountain Vista staff on the team. As swimsuit season approached the team stepped up their efforts and was 115 pounds lighter. The top loser was looking great with a 26 pound weight loss. Second place was a tight race with both winners down 17 to 17.5 pounds. The energy and spirit of competition was seeping into the culture at Mountain Vista and staff members wanted to keep the program going and launched “Round Two” of the weight loss challenge. The stakes were raised when seven employees together lost an impressive 91 pounds in a short ten weeks. This brought the total loss to 206 pounds! Team Mountain Vista decided this was not the end, thus “Round Three” was born with a record thirty-two participants. After completing the first week of the new challenge the team had lost 35 pounds and this was over the Thanksgiving holiday. We currently stand at a 240 pound weight loss and counting!

Coming Spring 2014 we will announce the grand

total, can we make 400?

We asked participants to share their answer to this question, “What is your motivation to lose weight?”

• Live longer and be strong • Increase athleticism • No longer wanting to be overweight • Fatigue • Personal challenge • Look and feel better • Decrease stress • Increase self-confidence • Encouragement from friends/coworkers/family • Diet-related illness • Decrease the effects of aging

Along with improved health of staff members there has been a remarkable culture change at Mountain Vista. One challenge winner reports increased energy, decreased body aches, and overall increased health as a result of losing 35 pounds.

The individuals who have succeeded in losing a significant amount of weight have inspired others to join the Challenge and adopt healthier lifestyle practices. At meetings fruit is now the snack of choice and for birthdays staff has requested fruit and vegetable trays as a lighter option.

Mountain Vista is 240 pounds lighter and well on the road to improved health. What is your motivation to join the race to a healthier you?

~ Torie Christensen, RD

Mountain Vista Registered Dietitian

Mountain Vista

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A Walk Thru Time...

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By Kathy Wilson

Baptist Homes of the Midwest in 2001, we moved our office to Mountain Vista.

Before

Who would have thought back in 1972, being a 19-year old kid fresh out of High School, applying for my first full time job, that 42 years later I would still be at the same place getting ready to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Mountain Vista? Not me!

Back then, 90 residents called our health center “home”. Down in “the valley” where the cottages now sit, it was quite common to see sheep grazing with big black birds on their backs.

Six months after I started, my husband and I moved into a little house that was for rent next door to the corporate office where I worked. Talk about an easy commute. That little house remained there until it was demolished during the construction of the cottages in 1974. We continued working out of that corporate office until 1997, when we moved a few blocks north to 5280 Vivian Street. After merging with American

There have been many changes over the years. Clayton Cormack was the person who hired me and the CEO for the next two years. For the next 25 years, Floyd Harrison was the CEO and he could see things were changing. He orchestrated the addition of a secured memory care and in 1994 expanded the long term care section of the health center. He brought assisted living to the Mountain Vista campus in 1999, thus completing the continuum of care.

As we approach our 50th year of operations, we will be adding a memory care assisted living and a 16 unit rehab community. It’s been exciting to see the many changes that have taken place and it’s hard to believe that a “job” has turned into a career and a second home.

Happy Birthday Mountain Vista!

After

Step Into

Mountain Vista

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Spring!

don’t know about you, but my New Year’s resolutions went right out the door the first week of January! That is why I usually “set goals” not resolutions.

Either way you look at it, I’m no closer to losing those unwanted pounds, exercising, reading that book I’ve been meaning to get to, or spending more time with family and friends. What a great time to renew your commitment to the resolutions/goals you set for yourself than with the renewal and beginning of spring.

April 8th is the American Heart Associations (AHA) National Start! Walking Day. According to AHA Start! Walking At Work Fact Sheet, with just 30 minutes of brisk walking a day you can help:

• Improve self-image and energy level, • Reduce stress and anxiety,

• Improve muscle tone and strength,

• Increase circulation,

• Lower blood cholesterol, triglyceride and

blood pressure levels,

• Reduce weight,

• Lower bone loss.

Physical inactivity doubles the risk of heart disease. A person gains about 2 hours of life expectancy for every hour of exercise, even if you don’t start until middle-age. Not a bad trade-off. By choosing a walking partner you are 76% more likely to stick with a walking program.

I challenge you to dust off those tennis shoes, choose a walking partner, and participate in the AHA walking challenge. Check out the website http://www.mystartonline.org for more information and fun facts to help get you started on your way to better health.

~ Robin Dunbar, LPN

Director, Vista Village Assisted Living

Mountain Vista Retirement Community 4800 Tabor Street Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (303) 421-4161 www.abhomes.net/colorado

Mountain Vista 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.

Mountain Vista Will Be Celebrating Our...

...in 2014!

Watch for Events & Activities Coming Soon!

Save The Date! 50th Anniversary Open House will be Saturday, June 21st