Memory Care America June 2019

Memory Care America June 2019

Memory Care Moments

JUNE 2019

1.833.MEM.CARE • 833.636.2273

www.MemoryCareAmerica.com

MEMORY CARE OF NEW BRAUNFELS CELEBRATES ITS 3RD ANNIVERSARY Growing Together I was recommended to Memory Care America by an acquaintance shortly after I stopped working in the assisted living field. After I received a phone call from their executives, I laughed and said, “Okay, God, are you being funny? If this is what I’m supposed to be doing, just give me a sign.”

Our Communities Memory Care of Naples 2626 Goodlette Frank Road Naples, FL 34103 239.403.0826 memorycarenaples.com

I have been the executive director of Memory Care of New Braunfels for more than three years now, and I don’t have plans of going anywhere else anytime soon. I would not be where I am today without the tremendous team I have had behind me since the beginning. The six department leaders at Memory Care of New Braunfels and myself have been with the community since before it even opened its doors in 2016. Back when Memory Care of New Braunfels was still a cement slab with wooden bones, our team and Memory

Memory Care of Little Rock

2501 Aldersgate Road Little Rock, AR 72205 501.260.7407 memorycarelittlerock.com

to housing about 60 residents at any given time. This May, we celebrated our third anniversary with a fiesta celebration. We had a packed house, and everyone had a great time!

Care America’s CFO set up a little folding table with chairs and got to work. I can still remember the contractor’s disbelief,

Memory Care of Westover Hills

It’s amazing to look back on these three years and see how we have grown by leaps and bounds. We adapt and

10910 Town Center Drive San Antonio, TX 78251 210.802.6653 memorycarewestoverhills.com

I t ’ s been amazing to look back on these three years and see how we have grown by leaps and bounds .

grow every day because that’s the reality of the dementia care field. We have to be flexible when we are working with our residents and their families. It’s an intimate and difficult journey they are on, and we want to enable each family member of our patients to just be the wife, daughter, son, or husband when they walk through our doors, instead of the caretaker. We are

but we were excited to get started. We were ready to provide care to our New Braunfels community.

Memory Care of Simpsonville 645 Scuffletown Rd. Simpsonville, SC 29681 864.962.3038 memorycaresimpsonville.com Memory Care of New Braunfels 2022 State HWY 46 W New Braunfels, TX 78132 830.420.5882 memorycarenewbraunfels.com

In return, this small community has continued to support us. It’s amazing to see the connections our residents and their families have

with each other, and that small-town feel is something we try to emulate every day.

here to care for them and their loved ones, and they should only have to focus on being with their

With the community’s support, Memory Care of New Braunfels has grown from a folding table

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1.833.MEM.CARE • 833.636.2273

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BECKY YOUNG FINDS SUPPORT AND CARE AT MEMORY CARE OF NAPLES Sharing Your Stories

When you think about martial arts, a few images come to mind: Mr. Miyagi, possibly nunchucks, and people breaking objects using impressive disciplined strength. But one of the most powerful martial arts you may not immediately picture is tai chi. This ancient Chinese form of combat in slow motion is an internal martial art that works from the inside out by developing the body’s internal energy, known as qi, or “chi.” In Chinese medicine, balanced qi is essential to good health. Hundreds of studies demonstrate the mental and physical benefits this quiet martial art provides. Because of its focus on posture, tai chi is particularly helpful for balance. In Harvard’s analysis of 20 different studies, tai chi was shown to improve cognitive function and slow the progression of dementia more than other forms of exercise. WHY TAI CHI IS COOLER THAN YOU THINK Better Balance With the Internal Martial Art

In 2011, Kenneth Young was living in an independent senior living facility with his wife, Frances “Becky” Young, when he broke his hip. After

rehabilitation and one day before the couple was supposed to move back home, the facility, concerned with Kenneth’s abilities, told them they could no longer live there. Much like their entire 60-year marriage, the couple knew they had to find a solution to stick together. Kenneth and Becky met after World War II, where Kenneth served in the Army Air Corps. Meanwhile, the war had made Becky a young widow. Together, the Youngs raised a daughter, Sandy Cole. Their entire marriage was spent supporting each other, and when Becky had back issues, Kenneth would hold her hand as she walked. “People would say they were cute, and they didn’t know that Dad was holding her up,” Sandy says with a little laugh. After they lost their home, Sandy called the Alzheimer’s Association in desperate need of a solution. She was directed to a care community and told to ask for Sylvia, who welcomed the Youngs into their facility, sent a bus to pick up their items, and settled the family into their new home — all within a day. “The residents don’t get lost in the sheer size and volume of the place,” Sandy says, adding that the dining staff even cater to Becky’s personal preferences. In addition, the Memory Care of Naples aids have blown them away, Sandy says. They know her mom prefers to sleep with a pillow between her knees, they talk into her right ear because they know she hears better on that side, and they have Becky’s favorite food, watermelon, readily available. “It makes the residents feel they have friends, because some residents there have no visitors,” Sandy says. “So, these CNAs are important. That’s all that some people have.” This past April, Becky celebrated her 100th birthday at Memory Care of Naples. It was a celebration fit for the woman who has been one of Memory Care of Naples’ most beloved residents for the past eight years. In 2012, Kenneth died at 96 years old after fighting Lewy body dementia. Becky still lives in the facility, which is now Memory Care of Naples, because the level of care she receives makes it feel like home.

While the movements appear mild, the practice of tai chi

requires discipline and strength. That’s part of the reason why it provides a powerful punch of health benefits and also why less than 5 percent of people stick with it. Some teachers say it takes three years to learn the basic movements of tai chi — and more than a lifetime to master.

Physical training, combined with the internal meditative aspect

of tai chi, are the reasons martial arts legend Jet Li has turned to the exercise in recent years, even campaigning to make it an Olympic event. In an interview, Li explained his push to make tai chi a more widely recognized and accepted exercise: “In our attempts to push ourselves, we’ve lost sight of an important part of the sporting mindset: balance.” For anyone setting out on a mission to age gracefully, tai chi can help reduce your risk of falling with its focus on posture. An ounce of preventive tai chi may be worth a pound of cure; the Center for Disease Control reports that people pay an average of $35,000 in health care costs every time they fall. Many community centers and health and wellness facilities offer opportunities to learn tai chi, from free community classes to entire tai chi facilities. Go see for yourself why this is the martial art everyone should practice.

“She kept saying, 'I can’t believe they would do all this for me.’ … They had banners and balloons and entertainment,” Sandy recalls. “It was beautiful.”

If you would like to be featured in our newsletter or if you know a family that could benefit from our services, please call 833.MEM.CARE (636.2273) or visit MemoryCareAmerica.com. Don’t keep our work a secret; referrals are the best compliment you can give us.

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Do Not Keep Our Work a Secret!

www.MemoryCareAmerica.com

Caring Communities Memory Care America’s Communities Honor Teachers, Nurses, and Moms

Memory Care of Westover Hills team members Chef Richard and executive director Tawana.

There’s always something to celebrate at our Memory Care America communities, but this spring offered many opportunities to honor our residents and staff. In addition to our Mother’s Day festivities, our communities celebrated their former teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week and honored their nurses for Nurses Appreciation Week.

A Memory Care of New Braunfels Mother's Day celebration attendee smiles for a photo.

The celebrating began at Memory Care of Westover Hills , whose staff joined in on the celebration for the grand opening of Memory Care America’s headquarters.

For Teacher Appreciation Week, May 6–10, Memory Care of Little Rock hosted a beautiful breakfast and snapped a commemorative photo. Their hardworking nurses were honored the same week with a special gift.

Memory Care of Naples makes moms feel special at their Mother's Day celebration.

Each community celebrated mothers in their own unique way this May. Memory Care of New Braunfels hosted a beautiful gathering for residents and their families, while Memory Care of Naples made sure their mothers felt special at a fun

celebration. Memory Care of Simpsonville sat down for a lovely tea in honor of moms everywhere.

Memory Care of Simpsonville celebrates Mother's Day with tea.

Memory Care of Little Rock celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week with a special breakfast for their retired teachers.

All of our communities recognize the commitment and dedication of our nurses. We appreciate all they do to care for our residents.

Memory Care of Little Rock honors its nurses for Nurses Appreciation Week.

If someone you know would like to learn more about our Memory Care communities, don't keep our work a secret! Direct them to our communities with the contact information listed in this newsletter, visit MemoryCareAmerica.com, or find us on Facebook!

June Word Search

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W I I M R V E F D Y W A Q H J G T M T R L A P N H M Z C N J A U H B A P K Z P U T A N H E S P R X S C X B J V S U M E D G O D K J V A U Y A L P S X I O V J B Y L N V T T N T M A S P O D B Q E E O H R U P H O T N M N N Z H H S D M F T O E U F L C U Y C B N E D V Q Q P O F K T D B W S J G V M N C A E B S M W A Y L G G G C B V X Y C D U D G U X F D X K D H Y A I Q G M I A G T R A V E L E H

family. And when their loved one passes, we don’t forget them. Their memory lives on in this small town, and we check in with the families in the aftermath of that tremendous loss. We feel it too. I don’t believe we could have grown and survived the last three years without the community support and dedicated team at Memory Care of New Braunfels. Our caregivers and team members show up in the blink of an eye when we need them, sometimes coming as late as 10 p.m. We have laughed together, cried together, and best of all, grown together.

I can’t wait to see how we grow in the next three years and the many years to come.

BEACH HOT PLAY TAN

BREAK JUNE SUMMER TRAVEL

FUN OUTSIDE SUN VACATION

BEACH

BREAK

FUN

HOT PLAY TAN

JUNE

OUTSIDE

SUMMER TRAVEL

SUN

— Vivian Wideman

VACATION

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

1.833.MEM.CARE www.memorycareamerica.com

2211 NW M ilitary H wy ., S te . 201 S an A ntonio , TX 78213 Inside 1 Vivian Wideman Celebrates

833.636.2273

Memory Care of New Braunfels’ 3rd Anniversary

2 Why You Need to Add This Exercise for Better Balance 2 Supporting Families: Becky Young’s Story 3 Our Communities Honor Residents And Staff 3 Word Search 4 Are All Green Foods the Same?

Memory Care Wellness

THE BEST GREEN FOODS TO ADD TO THE MENU

You need to eat more green foods.

that people who get most of their vitamin E from their diet tend to have a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease. It’s all the more reason to enjoy that avocado toast! Edamame Looking for a filling mid-afternoon snack? Skip the potato chips and help yourself to some edamame. These Japanese soybeans are a familiar sight on sushi menus, but they’re also readily available in the freezer section of your local grocery store. Edamame is delicious and a great source of protein, making it the perfect snack. Watercress Step aside, kale; here’s the real queen of green. With more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, and more vitamin C than an orange, watercress is one of the best greens you’re not eating. With all of these extra vitamins, watercress has been shown to improve heart health, bone health, and even act as an antidepressant. Next time you need a pick-me-up, consider a watercress salad. Your whole body will thank you! Bad childhood encounters with canned spinach or steamed Brussels sprouts are why many people avoid green veggies. But the produce section is full of tasty, healthy options waiting to appear on your dinner plate and improve your well-being.

No, this doesn't mean green Skittles. Green vegetables comprise one of the most important food groups, and most people aren’t eating enough of them. But if you do decide to get more nutrients from green veggies, remember that not all greens are created equal. Dark leafy spinach is basically a superfood, offering protein, iron, vitamin A, and tons of minerals. Meanwhile, iceberg lettuce or celery may fill your stomach up, but they offer little to no nutritional value. Next time you’re at the grocery store, keep an eye out for these top-rated green vegetables that are both delicious and nutritious.

Avocado They’re tasty, they’re trendy, and they’re great for your eyes. Avocados are a great source of an antioxidant called lutein, which improves eye health. They’re also rich in vitamin E. Researchers have recently noted

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Do Not Keep Our Work a Secret!

www.MemoryCareAmerica.com