SEM Haven - Monthly Update

Monthly Update, June 2008

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENINGS - Kugler Woods - In May we went to the Mariemont Theatre to see "Young At Heart". We highly recommend this to everyone. We also enjoyed lunch at the Hofbrauhaus and National Pizza Day. We enjoyed the activities during National Nursing Home week and will reciprocate in September when we celebrate National Assisted Living Week.
Ripple Ridge said good bye and good luck to Janice Herriman from night shift. Her husband retired and took her with him to Missouri. She spoiled us all and will be a hard act to follow. We went to Village Kitchen for lunch in May. Several residents and staff enjoyed the flower show at Coney Island thanks to the generosity of the Community Press. Residents had fond memories of going there for picnics and dancing. On June 24^th we will be having our third annual picnic at Pattison Park for all residents, families, and staff. We will be fishing, playing cornhole, and have games for the little ones. Our garden is coming up! Thanks to Dale Booth (Kathy's husband) for tilling. We are looking forward to reaping our harvest.
McCormick Landing - We have planted flowers & tomatoes on our patio and garden and it looks very nice. Our rose bushes are absolutely beautiful! We have been taking some cuttings from them for centerpieces on our dining room tables. We are having a rummage & bake sale on June 20 to raise money for a fountain in our garden. Please see Melody or Cecilia if you have items or baked goods to donate. We went to Max & Erma’s for lunch in May and are planning lunch outings on the riverfront and a family picnic for the summer. We have been having wonderful celebrations of resident & staff birthdays with balloons, singing and their favorite dessert. Thanks to Judy (STNA) and Sheron (nurse) for all the wonderful baked goods they have been providing, it’s been enjoyed by everyone.
Shumard Rehab is moving right along with therapy. In May everyone enjoyed a cookout during National Nursing Home Week. We plan to have one cookout each month this summer. We are enjoying the beautiful flowers in the garden & the baskets outside each person’s window.
Milcroft Manor did some planting last week. Our Sunflowers are already growing like weeds. We will be going on our monthly lunch outing to the Village Kitchen. The residents are getting a kick out of the “CICADA’S invading Milford!
Gatch Grove has two fundraisers going. We are selling specialty candles and also have a raffle for tickets to the historic Reds vs. Boston game. Please see Denise, Joanna or Tim for more details. We went to Bob Evans for lunch in May and are planning an outing to DeMeo’s this month. In mid-July we will be having a family/resident/staff pot luck dinner with SEM providing the entrée. We also have planted flowers and vegetables in our garden.

GO CINCINNATI - On Saturday May 17^th, individuals from the Eastside Christian Church spent the morning doing the beautiful landscaping project for the areas between our reception corridor and Milcroft Manor and between the gathering room and Shumard Rehab. Please check it out - it is an amazing gift to our residents who also enjoyed watching the work in progress. Church members also washed all of our windows! We are truly appreciative.

FRONTIER DAYS PARADE - Once again SEM Haven resident’s, staff and volunteers participated in Milford’s annual parade. The theme this year was Building Bridges Together. Our float looked like a suspension bridge. It’s always interesting to note how many of the onlookers know our residents and staff!

MENUS - Our Spring/Summer menus have been well received so far with a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. We have incorporated many requests from our residents. Please continue to give us feedback as we try new recipes so we can make necessary changes. Our goal is to significantly improve resident/family satisfaction survey scores related to food and the dining experience.

FEATURED RESIDENT - This month Chaplain Bill writes about Betty Smith. Betty was born and raised in Cincinnati and Milford. We just lost her sister, Millie Cooper and another sister, Vi Jordan, is one of our most loyal SEM volunteers. Betty worked in her dad’s bakery in Milford. She also worked in the family delicatessen, the Franklin 10 Cent store on Main Street and an ice cream parlor called the Sweet Shop. She married Bob Smith in 1944. Bob was in the army during WWII and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He then worked until retirement for the city of Milford, in charge of maintenance and repair. Betty and Bob have 8 children; Barbara, Robb, Tommy, Jay, Virginia (Peachie), Pam, Larry and Eddie. Ed is a priest in charge of the seminary on Beechmont Avenue. Betty also has twelve grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Betty’s main hobby is helping people. She was active at St. Andrew’s parish and worked in the cafeteria while raising her kids. She has been SEM Haven’s main Catholic volunteer for years, helping with mass, rosary and communion services. She also helps with bingo and other activities. She lived at SEM Laurels for 8 years and helped with everything there. She was a great baker and had an impressive garden. She made rosaries to send to missions and embroidered baptism cloths for church. She and Millie went with the girls to the theater on Garfield after 9:00 pm, because they got in free. She loved movies and big band swing music.

We love having Betty with us. She has labored all her life and only asks to be able to do more. I can imagine how much God loves her. I know I certainly do. Chaplain Bill.

STAFF NEWS - We are very proud of Britny Ballein and Savanna Ficks who recently graduated from high school and college grads Lindsay Fetter, Michelle Johnson & Ashley Riedel. Congratulations to Holly Murphy on the birth of her 7lb 14oz son Issac on 5/19/08. Haydee Rivera has a new granddaughter, Hannah Maria, born 5/18/08 and weighing 8lb, 4oz.

SAFETY - SEM Haven has been awarded a Certificate for Outstanding Safety Performance from the Bureau of Worker’s Compensation Division of Safety and Hygiene. Congratulations to the Safety Committee for all of their hard work and commitment to furthering SEM Haven’s knowledge about safety issues.

NURSING ASSISTANT MONTH - June has been designated as the month to recognize our nursing assistants. At SEM we have 58 Nursing Assistants whom we will honor with a special catered luncheon and a gift on June 18. I’m sure they would appreciate any kind words or notes from others who see what a wonderful service they provide to our residents.

SOCIAL EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS - June 11^th - Laura Hazelbaker’s Western Swing Music; 12^th - Men’s Cook out; 15^th - Father’s Day Open House; 18^th - Banana Split Social; 25^th - The Harkster’s Singing group; 26^th - Sem Haven’s Annual Dog Show.
U: June 6^th - Yard Sale; 12^th - Country music with "Ranger Rick"; 19^th - Grill out for lunch; 26^th - Lunch Outing; and many other activities each day on our calendar.

We would like to sincerely thank the students from Anderson High School who joined us for our Senior/Senior Prom. It was very well attended and there was plenty of dancing. Congratulations to our queen, Millie Hutzell and our king, Walter Sarver. Student king and queen were Aaron Adams and Christen Sander.

Barb Wolf
Administrator