St. John's Living- 2023

There is Beauty All Around Us Educational Partnerships Make Our Community Stronger page 2

St. John’s Roots Run Deep Through Highland Park page 4

New Residents Find a Real Feeling of Security for the Future page 10

St. John’s Rehab Delivers the Skill and Kindness People Need to Succeed page 8 1

Vision St. John’s will lead and inspire a shift in society’s views of elderhood by embracing and celebrating life’s experiences.

Mission St. John’s embraces life with vibrant, caring, and life-affirming relationships.

We embrace living by being . . .

Innovative Friendly Compassionate

Respectful Responsive Fun

Editor: Tom Harner tharner@stjohnsliving.org Contributor: Olivia Bailey Vice President of Marketing: Jennifer Lesinski jlesinski@stjohnsliving.org Chief Executive Officer: Charlie Runyon Executive Director, St. John’s Foundation: Anne Mc Kenna

Cover photo by St. John’s Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Linda Urban Page 2 photo by Rose Chin

Copyright © 2023

stjohnsliving.org 2

College Students Come to St. John’s for Impactful Learning Experiences Dr. David Steitz learned early on in his career that while most college courses are taught inside traditional settings like laboratories and lecture halls, some learning experiences can and should happen outside of the classroom. In 2009, Dr. Steitz first brought his Nazareth University Gerontology class to St. John’s Meadows—a place that he felt, given the curriculum, would provide a more natural environment for his students to learn about older adults.

By including St. John’s independent living residents as active participants in the class, college students would have frequent interactions with the types of older adults their future work would impact.

Each semester since the launch of this unique program—officially called the St. John’s Collaborative for Intergenerational Learning (SCIL)— Dr. Steitz and Nazareth students have traveled to St. John’s Meadows on Tuesday nights for a truly unique learning experience. “The students learn how to communicate,” some of whom he explains are following

career paths towards work as occupational therapists, speech therapists, and other professions where their work directly impacts older adults. “They learn how to have a conversation, listen, and ask questions. They’re not just learning the facts or theories around these issues that they are studying. They get to see firsthand how older adults experience these things and how they’ve learned to adapt and cope.”

Benefits Abound for Resident Participants Any true collaboration brings positive returns for all involved and the Nazareth/St. John’s partnership certainly delivers. “The elders in this course get a challenge,” adds Dr. Steitz. “They are pushed by the (younger) students. They welcome that opportunity to be creative and share all that they have learned—for better or for worse—over the course of their lives.”

St. John’s Meadows resident Isadora Kunitz has taken part in

Dr. Steitz’s class every semester since a neighbor recommended the program to her four years ago. A lifelong learner, she jokes that she “likes to rub shoulders with 20-year olds,” though she also says that the rotation of three different course offerings makes the experience fresh from semester-to-semester.

Playing an active role in the students’ education is meaningful to Kunitz, who references a conversation she had with a Nazareth student this past Spring to illustrate just how impactful this partnership can be. She asked the student how the experience of taking classes in an independent living community has affected her future plans in the workforce. “It opened up a world they never knew about,” says Kunitz, explaining that the student was now leaning towards a career working with older adults, a path she had not been considering prior to her classes at St. John’s Meadows.

A Full Calendar of Intergenerational Programming

joining in on group fitness programs, and further interacting with independent living residents in the communities where they live.

The afternoon session features what Dr. Jonathan Millen calls The Longevity Games, a “high impact learning” offering for students that “investigates relevant questions in aging, longevity, and healthspan.”

For years, Dr. Millen has looked to partner with senior organizations to give his students practical experience outside of traditional classrooms. The model of learning at St. John’s Meadows is one he hopes to replicate in other communities across the region.

At St. John’s Home, budding projects that connect college-aged students and long-term care residents are increasing in numbers and scope. A partnership between therapeutic recreation and volunteers from the Rochester Institute of Technology will bring students in for fun activities like a Halloween party and a petting zoo event, not to mention a return of the Cupid Shuffle Prom in March.

Additionally, over 20 occupational therapy students from Nazareth University are meeting one-on-one with St. John’s Home residents for several weeks this fall, learning their stories and coming together on school projects that focus on common interests between student and elder.

A New Definition of Room and Board Two Nazareth University seniors took the idea of intergenerational learning a step further this fall when they moved into a guest suite at St. John’s Meadows for a threeweek stint living among hundreds of independent living residents. The expectations for these students— who had both previously attended Gerontology classes on the St. John’s campus—were to immerse themselves in the community as much as possible during their residency. “We’re pretty much acting like a resident here,” said senior Sarah Daddona. “We eat with them, we do activities with them, and we just chat with them.”

Over time, even more partnerships connecting St. John’s residents and young adults from local colleges have formed and thrived. In recent years, independent living residents have participated in science and humanities classes at St. John Fisher University, taking St. John’s transportation to the school’s campus in nearby Pittsford, New York. These residents join students in their classrooms, taking part in discussions and activities that connect generations and help both students and elders better understand the world around them.

Back at St. John’s, six nursing students from St. John Fisher University are spending their Thursdays hosting wellness clinics and community health forums,

SEE RECENT COVERAGE OF THE NAZARETH PARTNERSHIP:

stjohnsliving.org/new-ways-to-learn

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In the Heart of Highland Park: All Trails Lead to St. John’s It is because of people like George Ellwanger that Rochester, New York is known as “the Flower City.” In 1887, the horticulturist, community leader, and philanthropist joined longtime business partner Patrick Barry in donating almost 20 acres of land in southeast Rochester to jumpstart the development of a public park system in Monroe County. That land endowment would make up the original footprint of Rochester’s Highland Park.

By the turn of the century, Highland Park was thriving thanks to Frederick Law Olmstead’s design and the growing collection of lilac shrubs planted along Highland Avenue by another horticulturist, “Johnny Lilacseed” Dunbar. Founded in 1899, St. John’s Home was also thriving—so much so that it had almost immediately started to outgrow its original location on Lake Avenue. Once again, George Ellwanger donated a parcel of land in the area towards the betterment of the Rochester community when he gifted his mansion adjacent to Highland Park in 1900.

Now comprising 150 acres, Highland Park has inspired Rochesterians for generations. Over time, the connections between these iconic grounds and the St. John’s community have gone well beyond the close proximity they share. Residents at St. John’s Home, St. John’s Meadows, and Brickstone by St. John’s can all say they live just a short stroll from at least one entrance to the park. Many describe how they spent significant portions of their lifetimes enjoying the park, with cherished memories of time shared with their families across all four seasons of the year. Others have been more closely connected to the park through community service and advocacy. At least two St. John’s residents even spent significant time working at the park—including one retired horticulturist, who like Ellwanger and Dunbar before him, put his own personal stamp on the park for visitors to enjoy in the decades that followed.

Highland Park is bustling throughout the entire year, but especially during the Lilac Festival in May. Several St. John’s independent living residents were among the 300,000 or so festival-goers this spring, coming to the park both individually and in groups. St. John’s Home residents once again joined employees and volunteers to take in the festival happening right outside their front door.

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WATCH ST. JOHN’S AND HIGHLAND PARK: A HISTORY:

stjohnsliving.org/park-life

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Thank You

to the St. John’s Foundation Highland Park Society The following donors contribute $500 or more per year and are acknowledged as members of the Highland Park Society.

Ms. Doris Adamek Aetna, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Affolter Alesco Advisors LLC Alstom Signaling Foundation Inc. Mr. Henry W. Altland Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust Anonymous (4) Dr. Bruce Baker Bison Elevator Service Ms. Diane and Mr. Philip Bogaczyk Ms. Elynore J. Booth Dr. Roger J. Boulay Mr. Mark C. Boylan Mr. Peter W. Briggs Comcast NBC Universal Conway Technology Group, A Xerox Company Ms. Barbara Corbett Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation Mr. David C. Davis Ms. Ann C. DeFazio Mr. Richard S. Dennison Ms. Jeanne Driessen Dr. Ghinwa Dumyati Mrs. Adrienne Dykeman Ms. Teri and Mr. Gary Edom Estate of Barbara H. Achzet Estate of George W. Hoffman ExxonMobil Foundation EZaccessMD FirstLight Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Flint Frederick F. O’Connor Trust G&G Foods

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Gallagher Dr. and Mrs. James C. Galloway Mr. Paul M. Gardella Ms. Carolyne Garman Ms. M. Lois Gauch Mr. Thomas R. Gears Generations and Care-a-Lot Child Care Genesee Regional Bank Mr. and Mrs. James G. Gould Ms. Mary Beauchamp and Mr. David Guadagnino Ms. Sue Habbersett Dr. Helen Halewski Ms. Helene A. Harmon Harper Danesh LLC HealthDirect Pharmacy Services High Falls Advisors Mr. Will Hinkston and Ms. Dianne Parrish Hoffman Family Charitable Fund Mr. and Mrs. William J. Hollenbeck Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church Ms. Lois Irwin Rev. Julius D. Jackson Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kingsley Ms. Ann Kowal Ms. Eliza B. Kozlowski Mr. and Mrs. Charles Krusenstjerna Mr. Joseph T. Lapczenski Ms. Judith A. Lazenby Ms. Dianne P. Lochner Louis P. and Betty A. Iacona Fund at RACF Ms. Anna E. Lynch, Esq. M&T Bank M/E Engineering Mr. and Mrs. Jack Maniloff Mr. Wayne D. Martin MatrixCare, Inc. Ms. Anne and Mr. Francis Mc Kenna Mr. and Mrs. Sarsfield McNulty

Messner Flooring Mr. Dean Moore Mr. Richard Muir and Ms. Margaret Briody Dr. and Mrs. Mahendra M. Nanavati Mr. Paul M. Ness Ms. Judith M. Norman Northwest Bank Ms. Barbara Nussmann Omnidon Productions, Inc. Ms. Lisa Osiecki Ms. Patricia J. Parks Pathfinder Engineers & Architects Paychex Mr. DJ Persson Mrs. Margaret Perticone Pike Residential Dr. Rena Pine and Mr. William Faber Postler & Jaeckle Corp Dr. and Mrs. G. Allen Power Radec Electric Corporation Mr. Gerald I. Read Mr. James G. Reed Mr. and Mrs. Keith A. Reese Jr. Mr. John Reynolds Ms. Nancy Rice Ms. Dawn Rivera R-Options, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Charles Runyon Rudolph & Rose Wollner Charitable Trust Mrs. Elizabeth A. Sabo Mr. Wesley E. Saucke Dr. Daryl Sharp and Dr. Robert Cole Mr. and Mrs. Edward Shaw Ms. Bridget Shumway and Mr. David Seconi Siemens Industry, Inc. Ms. Stella Slaight Special Care Systems Spindler Family Foundation

C O M I N G S O O N ( W I T H YO U R H E L P ) :

Mr. Ryan Steenberg Mrs. June L. Stornelli Ms. Wendy B. Strauss SWBR Mr. Nate Sweeney Mr. David Tang and Dr. Olena M. Prokopovych The Bonadio Group The Philanthropic Initiative Ms. Susan Thomas-Payne Trinity Emmanuel Lutheran Church Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Tucker Underberg & Kessler LLP Mr. James M. Underwood Ms. Beverly R. Verbridge Mr. and Mrs. Louis G. Visco Waldron Rise Foundation Mr. and Mrs. William C. Wallace, Jr. Wellington Steele & Associates, Inc. Westminster Barrington Foundation Ms. Maureen A. Williams Mr. John Winkler Janet and Tim Wixom

St. John’s is grateful to all who contributed to St. John’s Foundation from August 1, 2022 to October 13, 2023.

TO SEE A FULL LIST OF CONTRIBUTIONS VISIT

stjohsliving.org/ thank-you-donors

Dementia Resource Center at St. John’s Home Delivering quality care for the most vulnerable older adults among us—those living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia—has always been a source of pride at St. John’s.

With talented staff providing specialized care and support for older adults with memory impairment, our commitment to a resident experience where people feel known and valued as individuals has never wavered. We have consistently been ahead of trends in our industry that reflect the growing need for dementia-focused long-term care and support services.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized something we have known for a long time: caregivers and their loved ones desperately need greater support earlier on in their dementia journey. Additional training, advice, and even caregiver respite are among their greatest needs. As a result, St. John’s will create a physical Dementia Resource Center to better meet the needs of caregivers throughout the greater Rochester community.

At the St. John’s Dementia Resource Center, community caregivers and professional caregivers alike will have access to a range of dementia-specific trainings and expertise. This interactive center will also include a hands-on technology lab, dementia-friendly smart home rooms, a sensory room, and much more—all at our centrally located 150 Highland Avenue location.

With the help of donors, St. John’s Foundation has made this much-needed Dementia Resource Center a priority. Friends of St. John’s have a unique opportunity to in invest in resources that will help to support caregivers in the community both today and into the future.

WILL YOU HELP US BUILD THIS IMPORTANT COMMUNITY RESOURCE?

stjohnsliving.org/donate/make-a-gift or call 585-760-1333

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5-Star Reviews Give High Marks for St. John’s Resident Experience

“ I was very pleased with the care I received while a patient at St. John’s rehab unit. The room was very comfortable with a lovely view of Highland Park. The staff was consistently friendly, in good spirits, and very helpful. They were very prompt in answering my call bell. The food was even good.”

-Kathleen Dalton

“ Difficult as it was, we made an excellent choice of moving here (Brickstone by St. John’s) from our previous home for 45+ years.

Our current residence is beautiful, adequate for two of us, well-kept, and furnished. Services are timely provided.

Neighbors are friendly and pleasant.

Staff is professional, pleasant, and courteous. We are happy here.”

-Mahendra Nanavati

How are we doing?

Review a St. John’s community on Google or Facebook today!

St. John’s Rehab Helps Residents Stay Independent By the time Jan Proctor was in kindergarten, she was already sure about her future occupation. “I always wanted to be a nurse,” she remembers. Decades later, Proctor’s list of professional accomplishments from a lifelong career in health care is both lengthy and impressive. “I’ve been a hospital administrator and a vice president of nursing,” says Proctor, now a resident at St. John’s Meadows since December 2014. “I helped open the first neo-natal intensive care unit in the United States.”

Eventually, Proctor’s nursing expertise shifted towards care for older adults. She was a nursing home administrator in the 1970s and also worked as a consultant for the New York State Department of Health. Proctor says she enjoyed her years working in long-term care in Rochester and learned a lot about how care communities should operate. Little did she know how valuable her experience in geriatrics would be when it came time to consider her own care later in life.

In 2014, Proctor was looking for a place where she could live independently and successfully age in place. “I just knew I had to be in a place, as I grew older, where people would take care of me with skill and kindness,” she said.

For almost 9 years, the St. John’s spectrum of senior services has served Proctor well. Her unique experience includes short-term rehabilitation stays at St. John’s Home.

“I’ve now been to St. John’s rehab three or four times, and I have nothing but good things to say,” she says.

SEE JAN’S STORY IN HER OWN WORDS

stjohnsliving.org/rehab-consistency 8

Merit Grams: Messages of Appreciation for Valued Employees Merit Grams are a way for residents and coworkers to recognize employees throughout St. John’s for a job well done. These testimonials put into writing how the work of individual staff members have a meaningful impact on the people around them.

Earlier this year as she prepared for discharge, rehabilitation guest Elizabeth Froelicher wanted to pay tribute to the staff members that made her extended rehab stay what she called “comfortable for me and my family.”

Though the extensive physical and occupational therapy Froelicher went through during her stay was “really tough work,” she said the employees who helped her return home “really did make a difference.”

“They deserve it,” Froelicher said of the eight staff members she and her family felt compelled to recognize after her recovery from hip replacement surgery. Nursing team member Chanel Collington was one of those receiving a Merit Gram. Froelicher described Collington as “a beautiful little gal with so much energy.” A Merit Gram can provide needed positive reinforcement and inspire employees to continue working hard to care for and support residents throughout St. John’s communities.

The 2023 St. John’s Annual Report highlights those who have written and received Merit Grams over the past year. This collection of stories shows the wonderful connections that our dedicated employees build with the residents who depend on them.

AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ONLINE:

stjohnsliving.org/ annual-report-2023

“ Staying connected and getting reconnected feeds the flow of goodness which empowers our humanity.” -Susan Young Perhaps what is most evident as we close 2023, facing lingering challenges in our industry, is that we are stronger together. Our collective human spirit fuels our continued success and provides a foundation for a brighter future.

From our St. John’s family to yours, may you experience the power of connecting with loved ones this holiday season.

Charlie Runyon President and CEO

Anne Mc Kenna Executive Director, St. John’s Foundation 9

News and Stories Across St. John’s Communities St. John’s Home St. John’s played host to an important aging discussion this spring. WXXI News brought their daily public affairs radio program—Connections with Evan Dawson—on the road to the community center at St. John’s Home on May 11.

Brickstone by St. John’s Denise Slaughter had a very long “courtship” with St. John’s well before she and her husband Tom moved into their Brickstone by St. John’s bungalow. Slaughter had been coming to the St. John’s pool twice a week for over 14 years to water aerobics classes through a partnership with the Arthritis Foundation and the Town of Brighton Recreation Department.

“I made friends here and really was impressed,” she says.

This special broadcast was part of a statewide initiative called Aging Together in New York, and included a meaningful panel discussion in front of a studio audience of St. John’s residents, employees, and aging experts from across the Rochester community.

St. John’s Vice President of Skilled Services Nate Sweeney sat on the panel and discussed some of the ways that staff members from different disciplines help prevent loneliness and social isolation amongst long-term care residents.

In 2022, feeling confident after all of their research, the Slaughters put their name on a waiting list to live at Brickstone

by St. John’s. “I couldn’t find a place better than this,” says Denise of their new home. Prior to transitioning to their newly decorated bungalow this June, the Slaughters agreed to move in to an apartment so that they could have priority status for the next available bungalow. It only took a short time in the apartment for their new, permanent home to be available.

Living in their newly decorated bungalow since late June, Denise Slaughter now says “I just love it here.” Both Tom and Denise have found benefits at St. John’s that suit their personalities. Tom likes his solitude and enjoys running and hiking on the trails. Denise has a list of regular activities such as the writer’s group, meditation group, pool classes, and women’s socials that she attends regularly.

READ THE SLAUGHTER’S STORY:

stjohnsliving.org/the-slaughters

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WATCH THE AGING TOGETHER IN NEW YORK VIDEO:

stjohnsliving.org/ aging-forum

St. John’s Meadows “It’s a labor of love,” Abe Vigoda told WROC TV Channel 8.

The independent living resident was featured in an October segment for his newest carpentry project that involved residents building the first St. John’s sukkah.

Working out of the St. John’s Meadows’ woodshop, Vigoda joined a small group of neighbors to create a sukkah—or temporary hut decorated in fall décor—a structure that helped residents celebrate the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Vigoda told the news station that building the structure connected him to his religion and home culture of Israel.

“It gives me a feeling of my faith,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

Moving forward, the sukkah will be able to be used every year for St. John’s Meadows’ Sukkot celebrations.

SEE THE 13WHAM BRIGHT SPOT:

stjohnsliving.org/sukkah

On the Cover David and Marie Jolkovski marked a significant milestone in 2023 that few couples achieve when they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary together.

The June celebration at St. John’s Home—where the two settled into after years of living independently at Brickstone by St. John’s—was shared with their two daughters and dozens of familiar faces from over the years.

Unfortunately, Marie passed away this fall. Still, the celebration of the Jolkovski’s special day was a highlight of the year for many here at St. John’s. Their anniversary party was even featured by Don Alhart on 13WHAM’s Bright Spot on June 12.

REVIST A SPECIAL CELEBRATION:

stjohnsliving.org/ david-and-marie

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Non-Profit Org. US Postage

PAID

Rochester, NY Permit #87

150 Highland Avenue Rochester, NY 14620

FIND CAREGIVER TOOLS AND RESOURCES:

dementia.stjohnsliving.org

Volunteers Make a Difference St. John’s will celebrate our 125th anniversary in 2024! Throughout our history, St. John’s has always been fortunate to have the generous support of volunteers throughout our communities. Whether they are helping transport people from spiritual services, hair appointments, or physical therapy sessions, volunteers offer a friendly face and a helping hand to get residents all of the places they need to go.

LEARN MORE ABOUT VOLUNTEERING:

stjohnsliving.org/about/volunteer

Tour the St. John’s Green House Homes The St. John’s Green House Homes in Penfield were the Rochester area’s first nursing homes to follow the Green House Project® model for long-term care. Opening in 2012, each of these two beautiful ranch-style homes located in a suburban neighborhood were designed for ten Residents to live as part of a “family” out in the community while still benefiting from the full range of clinical services provided by St. John’s.

Now you can tour the St. John’s Green House Homes—and any St. John’s community—right from your living room!

TAKE A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE GREEN HOUSES:

stjohnsliving.org/virtual-tours