The Cedars Senior Living Community: Celebrating Rosh Hashanah

Posted by Katharine

Tom Bell and Carl Walsh of the Portland Press Herald joined us at yesterday’s service, here is what they had to say …. Forgiveness, atonement mark the Jewish calendar

With the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah beginning Wednesday, Rabbi Carolyn Braun plays a Shofar, (a horn-like instrument made from a bovine horn) part of a 30-minute ceremony at The Cedars retirement community in Portland on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013

But like any new year celebration, Rosh Hashanah is also a time for rejoicing, feasting and festivities

Jews after sundown on Wednesday filled synagogues to observe the start of Rosh Hashanah, a holiday that marks the Jewish new year and commemorates the creation of Adam and Eve 5,774 years ago.

While the Hebrew calendar may not be scientifically accurate, the concept is a powerful one, said Rabbi Carolyn Braun of Temple Beth El in Portland.

“We have the idea we are celebrating the birth of the world,” she said.

The two-day holiday kicks off a period for both rejoicing and of introspection, culminating in Yom Kippur, which begins at sundown on Friday, Sept. 13.

During this period, Jewish people in Maine and around the world seek forgiveness and atonement.

Like any new year celebration, though, Rosh Hashanah is also festive.

On Wednesday while leading a Rosh Hashanah service at The Cedars, a senior living community in Portland, Braun repeatedly blew a ram horn, a shofar in Hebrew, sending an ancient, trumpet-like call of alert down the corridors.

She also sang several melodies in Hebrew while nearly 20 residents sang along with her.

At one point, at he closing of a silent prayer, Carl Lerman, 86, sang an impromptu solo of Psalm 19:14, using a melody he had sung at his wife’s funeral.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer,” he sang, using several variations of the melody.

Despite wearing a neck brace, his voice held strong.

Braun was visibly moved.

“To me, that is one of the essences of what the holiday is about,” she said after the service of Lerman’s performance.

“It is meant to evoke that kind of passion.”

When asked about the significance of Rosh Hashanah, Lerman offered a simple explanation:

“Happy new year,” he said. “That’s what it means.”

Tom Bell can be contacted at 791-6369 or at

tbell@pressherald.com

Health and Healing in Senior Living

Posted by Katharine

We recently did a workshop with our residents on the basic principles of Progressive Relaxation, with the main benefits of that practice being improved comfort and stress relief.  Another complementary exercise is Guided Imagery.  Guided Imagery offers similar benefits, but can be more widely used and requires less physical skill; it is one of the more attainable adjunct therapies. 

Guided Imagery is essentially an elaborate name for directed daydreaming, with the vast possibility for changing one’s mood and sense of wellness.  All types of people, from star athletes to patients with significant illness, have successfully used Guided Imagery to focus their thoughts in a positive, healthful direction.   

Guided Imagery in the healthcare setting can be used as a means of encouraging relaxation, reducing anxiety, and as a method of distraction from discomfort.  It is important to remember that the use of Guided Imagery, like other supplemental practices, cannot and should not replace the medical care provided by your physician. 

To practice Guided Imagery you simply need to put your imagination to work.  There are many resources available, including some that can be downloaded online, but you really only need a quiet place and your own thoughts.  If you would like to help ease your or your loved one’s mind during a time of sleeplessness, Guided Imagery can be a useful tool.  Assist your friend or family member to a comfortable seated or lying position.  Take a few deep breaths, and begin.  Envision a setting that you know to be comforting to this person and describe it in detail while he or she imagines the scene.  Favorite settings might include the beach, an open field, or a lake.  Help the person to notice the small details, like colors and fragrances.  Suggest how healthful and restored the person feels.  Alternatively, patients in the rehabilitation setting can benefit from Guided Imagery by visualizing the healing process.  

 

Dining at The Cedars Retirement Community

Posted by Katharine

How to Serve a Quarter-Million Meals a Year and Savor Every Moment

“A full plate tells me someone who needed nutrition didn’t get it and will have to make it up with supplements.  That’s unacceptable to me.  An empty plate tells me someone enjoyed a real meal, made from natural local ingredients with real care.” – David Kessler

When Wendy Bush was admitted to The Cedars senior living community, she worried about maintaining her weight while recovering from a broken leg.  “The food at The Cedars is wonderful!”  she declares.  “When I started looking forward to the next meal, I knew I might be in trouble.  Thank goodness for the portion control.”

She really means thank goodness for David Kessler, Director of Dining Services, and his team.  When David arrived at The Cedars in 1994, he served 102 residents with a staff of 18.  Today, David oversees the preparation, production and service of over 500 community meals and 100 guest meals per day with a staff of 75.

Most of the meals must meet a wide range of therapeutic needs, from renal to cardiac, and be served in as homelike a manner as possible.  The Cedars does not serve any meals on hospital-style trays.  Most of these meals are served in our beautiful, sun-drenched formal dining rooms by attentive waitstaff.  Elegant china and linens showcase each dish, and residents look forward to sharing lively conversations – and perhaps a glass of wine – with their friends and families.

WHAT IS THERAPEUTIC MEAL?

Many of the patients and residents of The Cedars have dietary restrictions or special dietary needs because of their age or medical condition.  David and his team must create tempting, nutritious meals that meet critical requirements every single day.

Meals may need to be  “mechanically altered,” or made easier to chew or swallow – meats cut up or pureed, liquids thickened.  “Two residents might be sitting side-by-side at lunchtime, but one of them has difficulty swallowing,” David explains.  “If you sit down with them, you’d see two tempting plates of chicken under cacciatore sauce – but chicken on one plate has been diced.”

Many patients can only have a specific amount of sodium in their diet, challenging the chefs to infuse dishes with flavor using other herbs and spices.  Another typical restriction is carbohydrates, for diabetic residents who must control their glucose levels.”

“Take those two diners again,” David continues.  “One has a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.  How does their companion, who has a carbohydrate-restricted diet, feel if we say, No, you can’t have that?  We provide a smaller piece of the same cake – and the same amount of happiness and enjoyment.”

The Cedars also honors it’s Jewish heritage by offering kosher meals.  Under the supervision of a rabbi, Dining Services prepares kosher meals in a kosher kitchen not just for interested residents, but for the Jewish Community Alliance’s Meals on Wheels program.

David never loses sight of the fact that we eat a meal not just because we need nourishment, but because we crave the tastes of our childhood, cultural traditions or the company of our friends. 

MENU PLANNING AND SERVICE

David plans his dining menus around seasonality and variety.  “Living in Maine gives us access to the best seafood, produce and meats,” he explains.  “And we don’t want even our most popular dishes to feel repetitive. In every way, we try to keep our menus fresh.”

Matt Caiazzo, Assistant Dining Director, also meets monthly with the resident dining committees.  He shares how dishes are prepared, listens to feedback on recent meals and takes special requests for particular dishes or ingredients.”

“Our menus reflect years and years of resident feedback,” David says.  “We’re always refining old favorites and introducing new ones.”

Seniors gather for meals in our main dining rooms for formal service or on the neighborhoods for family-style dining.  Offering these choices reflects the team’s committment to keeping meals as homelike as possible.

“We want seniors to be able to smell and taste and see their choices, just like home,” says David.

SPECIAL CELEBRATIONS

The Cedars hosts special events all year long, and Dining Services caters everyone.  From trays of healthy wraps for a meeting of six people to family dinners for 130 people, David’s team makes great food the centerpiece of every celebration.

“One of my favorites is the Anti-Cabin Fever Barbeque in February,” David says with a grin.  “My team outside on the patio, grilling in Hawaiian shirts and straw hats over their winter coats.  Residents and staff just love watching us cooking for them in the ice and snow.”

Planning these events can beging months in advance.  “We create menus and place food orders for summer barbeques at The Atrium and The Cedars Auxiliary Donors Dinner in early June,” David says.  “We’re always thinking ahead.”

“Nothing is more connected with the feeling of home than food,” David says. “And we want everyone at The Cedars to feel right at home.”

 

Inspiration in Group at The Cedars Retirement Community

Posted by Katharine

As we age, our focus so often involves the physical aspects of our lives: getting a good night’s sleep, eating well, and treating what ails us.   But our later years, like any other life-cycle, is a time to be celebrated and can be a time for deep fulfillment and inspiration.  Janine Fifield, Volunteer Coordinator at The Cedars, recognizes this and has begun offering a discussion group for our residents called Angels on Earth.

“We find a quiet area and have anywhere from six to 15 attendants.  One Saturday I had several family members join in,” Janine explains.  They begin the group by reading a real-life story where the author relates a challenging time or difficult situation in their lives that they were able to overcome, through the help of others or from an unexpected change in events.

From there, the conversations flow.  The residents offer their own stories about personal circumstances and losses, and how they’ve gotten through them with their own version of spirituality and strength. “The residents are fully engaged and seem to find inspiration from each other,” Janine explains, “the subject holds their attention so well.  And we all leave feeling a bit lighter and perhaps more honed into our own sense of purpose.”

For more information on wellness and inspiration as we age, contact Janine at jfifield@thecedarsportland.org

Rehabilitation at The Cedars Retirement Community in Portland, Maine

Posted by Katharine

“My therapists helped me create a plan and achieve my goals.  When I was discharged, I knew I was ready to go home. – Wendy Bush

LAST AUGUST, Wendy Bush stepped off the front porch of her son’s Long Island vacation home and missed the bottom step. Her leg was broken. Her son was able to drive her back to Maine for treatment, but the journey back to her own home would take much longer. 

  As the Vice President of Marketing at F.L. Putnam and a member of the Mercy Hospital board of directors, Wendy knows how to assess a difficult situation and make a sure decision. “I was in a cast and under doctor’s orders not to put any weight on my leg,” she recalls. “I knew I would recover much faster with round-the-clock help. My doctor and several friends recommended The Cedars Rehabilitation Center.”

   The Cedars reputation for state-of-the-art healing is growing every day, as is our therapy department. When Rehabilitation Manager Heidi Graff, OTR/L, arrived six years ago, she supervised a handful of therapists determined to set the standard for senior rehabilitation. Today, she helps 45 therapists provide physical, occupational and speech therapy to over 600 patients every year.

   “The Cedars led the way on evidence-based practice,” Heidi explains. “We have always provided one-on-one physical, occupational and speech therapy, seven days a week. We have always based treatment and discharge plans on what our patients need and want. The recent changes in Medicare to improve patient experience and outcomes have changed very little for us.  The Cedars has always put our patients first.”
 
Heidi also points to standardized tests as another example of our commitment to clinical excellence.  At The Cedars, patient progress is consistently measured to accurately gauge progress and help therapists assess which forms of therapy are working best.
 
The Cedars rehabilitation therapies are also provided in an airy, sun-drenched space filled with the very best equipment, from exercise machines to iPads.  But at the end of the day, it’s about people.
 
“To be a physical therapist today, you need a doctorate of physical therapy.  Occupational and speech therapists need a Masters’.  We require ongoing training, and we have teaching affiliations with several colleges and universities, such as the University of New England,” Heidi explains.  “Because we work together so closely, we also require commitment and compassion.”
 
Wendy can attest to this.  “It is so difficult to be so dependent on other people,” she explains.  “Little things made all the difference.  I continued to work during my treatment and needed to stay on top of the financial news.  The staff delivered my newspapers, all five of them, every single morning – with a glass of orange juice.”
 
And after Wendy’s cast was removed she was able to accelerate her therapy. “It hurt!” she remembers with a laugh.  “But Karen Rossignol, RPT and Shannon Mercier, OTR/L got me through it.  I had five more days to see what I could really do.  To have my discharge plan in place.  To get my confidence back.  When I went home, I knew I was ready.”
 
After one misstep, Wendy Bush has found her footing.  She found that the very best rehabilitative care is at The Cedars.
 
For more information about Rehabilitation at The Cedars, contact Heidi Graf at www.hgraf@thecedarsportland.org.
 

The Cedars Annual Meeting

Posted by Katharine

The Cedars is holding it’s Annual Meeting

with special guest, Steve Shields of Action Pact Development

Wednesday August 7, 2013 at 6PM

Please reply to 207-221-7000

Challenging Ourselves As We Age: Retirement Living

Posted by Katharine

 

If you’re fortunate enough to live into your 90’s – life is looking better and better.  Earlier today the Associated Press released a summary of findings from a Denmark study indicating that 95 year olds today are more mentally acute than those of ten years ago.  Although they are not sure why, scientists are chalking it up to better nutrition earlier on in life, as well as more intellectual stimulation. 

At The Cedars Retirement Community, we’re strong believers in offering multiple opportunities for mental challenge and stimulation – both for ourselves and our residents.  Members living in our independent living at The Atrium choose which types of programs they want to see.  What’s on our recent calendars?           

  • Historical lectures by members and guest speakers
  • Current Event Discussion Groups (this group often contacts local representatives)
  • Blackjack, Mahjong
  • Story writing and telling, “Legacy Letters”
  • Trips to OLLI and SAGE classes, PSO, Portland Stage

The mental invigoration doesn’t stop at The Atrium, however.  At the Osher Inn, assisted living at The Cedars, you’ll find

  • PC and ipad training
  • Book clubs
  • Brain fitness to include games and trivia
  • Excursions to museums and historical sights

Out Skilled Care Center offers more than ever, since so many of these residents receive the majority of their stimulation at The Cedars

  • Current Events
  • “Family Feud” among the neighborhoods
  • Community Bingo and Crosswords
  • Travelogues with residents and staff
  • Floral design and card making

For more information on our Life Enrichment at The Cedars and keeping mentally challenged as we age, contact Sharon Leddy-Smart, at sleddy-smart@thecedarsportland.org

Retirement Community Health and Wellness: Safe Sun Exposure

Posted by Katharine

With the beautiful summer weather upon us, many members at The Cedars Retirement Community are spending more time outside – taking walks, golfing, dining in our courtyard.  During these special months, seniors need to take extra care to avoid sunburn and dehydration.  The following are some tips from our Wellness Expert, Sharon Leddy-Smart to stay safe and healthy. 

  • Watch the Weather: when the temperatures soar, stay in the air conditioning and if you need to venture outdoors, do so in the early morning of late afternoon hours.
  • Drink Plenty of Water: adults should drink 8-10 glasses of water daily, and in the warmer weather, drink more.  Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to start sipping, and try to avoid alcohol, sugary drinks and caffeine when out in the sun.
  • Dress for the Heat: wear light-colored, loose-fitting clothes and be sure to don a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
  • Wear Sunscreen: be sure to apply sunscreen before you head out into the sun, and reapply every two hours.  Make sure the SPF is at least 30.
  • Check Your Medications:  some medications cause an increased sensitivity to sunlight, be sure to read the labels before going into the sun

For more information on wellness at The Cedars, contact Sharon at sleddy-smart@thecedarsportland.org

 

The Cedars Retirement Community: Volunteer of the Year

Posted by Katharine

Volunteer of the Year Mary Goff with staff Angie Hunt, Janine Fifield, and Sharon Leddy-Smart

Each year at The Cedars Retirement Community, we have the difficult task of choosing one person to represent The Cedars as the volunteer of the year. It presents a challenge, because everyone here has remarkable talents and gifts that they share with our residents.

This year we recognized Mary Goff a volunteer whom is originally from Green Bay Wisconsin and has followed us throughout history, volunteering for many years at the Jewish home and now present day here at The Cedars. Currently she visits daily with multiple residents, assists the Life Enrichment department with activities and transport, assists residents from the Osher Inn on Regional Transportation Program (RTP) trips and even accompanies residents to their medical appointments.

Her overall volunteer experience spans 30 years and includes, Big Brother Big Sister, Habitat for Humanity, Ingraham Volunteers and she has even helped to establish the Portland Chapter of Pine Tree Epilepsy.

She is compassionate, enthusiastic and caring upon whom ever she encounters. In her spare time Mary enjoys reading and crafting. She lives in Falmouth with her husband Ernie and her daughter Mandy. 

When asked “why does she volunteer?” She replied that “we all get more than we give in regards to those we help!”

Best Retirement Community: Member Poet Contemplates Spring in Maine

Posted by Katharine

“A Spring Poem” by Mary Lou Martindell, member of The Atrium at The Cedars

It’s the Creation story, the reincarnation of all of nature.

The snow has cleansed and purified the earth,

Trees shrug off their snowy limbs like heavy overcoats.

Spring blossoms, almost anemic in their hunger for the sunlight,

poke through the snow to the rhythm of their own internal clocks.

Velvety pussy willows put out their silvery light visible a long way down
the road.

Hard wood trees sprout new leaves. Blades of wilted grass turn green.

Small animals who’ve been hibernating all winter rise out of the ground
and search for a mate.

The Spring birds will soon be arriving to seek out their new homes.

The silence of nature thick with the aroma of bark and humus, rotting
pine needles and the perfume of fresh air.

It is a new beginning, a rebirth of Nature.