SEM Haven - Monthly Update

Monthly Update, July 2010

EDEN ALTERNATIVE - What is a learning circle? The group or team who is working on a problem or discussing an issue groups themselves into a circle in which everyone can see each other. The group leader states the question or issue and each person in the circle gets an opportunity to give his or her opinion with no cross-talking. This way everyone can hear what others are feeling and be comfortable speaking without fear of being interrupted. After everyone has had an opportunity to talk, there is open discussion and action plans are formulated for how to proceed. Learning circles have been a very effective communication tool at SEM Haven.

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENINGS:
Kugler Woods: We had fun with Karaoke in June and a trip to the Olive Garden. We also had a fun Flag Day with "Ray Heckman" on his saxophone and enjoyed Jim Hermann, The One Man Band. We have a picnic in our beautiful courtyard at least once a month in the summer. Thank you Dorothy Seip and Eleanor Ashe for all your work with the flowers.
Ripple Ridge: We had a very busy start to the summer. We planted our garden and hope to be enjoying fresh vegetables by the end of the month! A special thanks to Izzy Bernges and her daughter Becky for donating all the plants and seeds. Activities in June included a trip to the Reds game, Happy Hour, and lunch at Cracker Barrel. Our annual picnic was moved indoors due to the hot weather but we have rescheduled for September 16th at Patterson Park. For July we are planning a trip to the Clermont County Fair, a lunch outing, happy hour and lots of household activities. We are scheduling an evening trip to Moonlight Gardens in August and are in need of volunteers to go with us. The available dates are the 6^th or the 20^th, please let Kelli know if you can help. Congratulations to Ashley Andrews who will be getting married at SEM Haven's chapel this month.
Gatch Grove: Summer fun in June: grillin' with Denise, lunch at Cracker Barrel, and almost out to lunch Subway complimented by homemade soups, and several socials. In July more fun with socials, lunch at El Coyote and a baby shower for Stephanie Reynolds.
Milcroft Manor: We are excited about our garden this year. The green beans are doing so well we are thinking about canning! The sunflowers are getting tall and we have already picked tomatoes and cucumbers. We still are grilling out often and had almost out to lunch at Frisch's.
McCormick Landing: We had a fun but hot June. We went to Frisch's and, of course we enjoyed the best part of the meal - dessert! We love ice cream so we went for a ride to the Newtown dairy whip and also had a Banana Split social. This month we are going to make "homemade" ice cream. We spend a lot of time on our patio looking at the pretty flowers, rose bushes, water fountains, birds and our "pet" squirrels that we feed every day. We made our first pizza on the grill and learned ways to perfect it for the next time.
Shumard Rehab: Summer has gotten off to a great start. We enjoyed a cookout & the staff prepared a Skyline lunch for the patients & household staff. The patients also made fresh lemonade with Latoya & Holly one Saturday afternoon. We look forward to our Shumard Family cook out & will invite the patient's families for lunch on July 20^th.

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGING - SEM Haven is participating in the 2010 Family Satisfaction Survey. If you receive the survey in the mail please complete and return it promptly. It is confidential; our staff will never have access to your individual answers. The information is used to improve quality and see how we compare to other homes. Results will be posted on the Ohio Long Term Care Consumer Guide at www.ltcohio.org.

VOLUNTEER RUTH SCHAEFER - On July 20^th we will have a special day honoring Ruth, a long-time volunteer and friend. At 2:00 there will be a reception with Mike Pendell performing. Ruth is 98 years old. She and husband Fred had no children but, since her sister was ill, she raised her niece, Mary Alice Richardson, since she was 5 days old. She says about that, that "The Lord works in mysterious ways". During World War II she worked as a "Rosey Red Riveter", riveting airplane wings. At one time she worked at Mabley and Carew, cranking the elevators and taking people to the proper floors. She did not learn to drive until she was 48. Her husband was a driving instructor and said it did not look right for her not to drive. So he taught her and his ad in the paper said, "If my wife can learn, anyone can." She has volunteered for 40 years at school cafeterias, at nursing homes playing the piano and visiting, and at private homes making dinners and talking with the elderly. She has lived at SEM Laurels for 15 years and has volunteered at SEM Haven for 15 years playing the piano twice a month for Kugler Woods and once a month for nursing and whenever asked for special events. At the Laurels she enjoys Bingo, birthday parties (which she usually plays the piano for) and many outings. She is also a BIG fan of the Cincinnati Reds. Ruth says about The Laurels "It is just like living next to Heaven".

STAFF NEWS - Congratulations to Cassandra Hessel (Gatch), on the birth of her son Riot born June 15 and weighing 8lb, 5oz.

SEM HAVEN OLYMPICS - They will be held August 30 through Sept 3. Mark your calendars!

FRONTIER'S DAY PARADE: We received 3^rd place in the float competition! Many of our residents are well known in the neighborhood. One made the comment, "it was so good to see all my friends and family". That always makes our efforts worthwhile

RESIDENT OF THE MONTH - by Chaplain Bill

Meet Anna Campbell, born and raised on High Street here in Milford with two brothers and three sisters. She went to Milford High School and got married in her senior year to Jean Campbell. Jean was in the US Army during WWII and then went to work as an engineer for Cincinnati Milacron. They had two girls, Ava Rene who has passed away and Adrienne. Anna has four grandsons, a granddaughter and a great grandson. Anna loved to cook - it was her greatest hobby and her favorite job. She catered out of her house and worked at an elementary school in the kitchen. She also worked for Habitat for Humanity for twenty years.

Anna started driving as a teenager and drove her family to Cleveland to visit relatives. She drove until 2006. Anna volunteered for Clermont County, driving for Senior Services, driving for SEM Villa and SEM Terrace, little knowing that one day she would live there. Anna's main interest has always been people. She is one of the most loving and caring people you will ever meet. She started a tutoring job called "Who Said So?" This was done through the Miami Baptist Church in Milford and was instrumental in helping many school children. Anna was also a Girl Scout Leader, serving actively for about thirty years. She was a dynamo! She received the Orpha Gatch Award for being an active member of the League of Women Voters during the 1990's. In 1996, The Cincinnati Enquirer recognized her as one of the "Women of the Year", for all the volunteer work she did. One of Anna's greatest enjoyments in life was traveling to camp grounds. They traveled and camped out west, going to 30out of the 50 states. They went cross country, taking one route out and another route back.

Then, there was her church life (or perhaps we should say "churches"). She was brought up in the Miami Baptist Church (her brother is the pastor). When she married Jean she joined Calvary United Methodist Church where she was in charge of the Sunday school, was a communion steward and head of the worship committee. She loves all kinds of church music.

Anna is very inspiring, volunteering and helping people whenever she can. A passage I would pick for Anna because of her love for God and His creation is Ps.95:1-7. Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. 3. For the Lord is the great God the great King above all gods. 4. In His hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. 5. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. 6. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7. For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care (NIV). God is love. Anna is the extension of that love. I love having her here with us.

SOCIAL EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS - The winner's of June's STRAWBERRY SURPRISE contest are: 1^st place - Milcroft Manor with strawberry pudding; 2^nd place - Shumard Rehab with strawberry angel food cake and 3^rd place - Gatch Grove with strawberry/banana/chocolate parfait. All of the entries were delicious!
DISCUS THROW, The winners of the competition are: 1^st place - Dorothy Seip (Kugler Woods); 2^nd place - Mary Stith (McCormick Landing) and 3^rd place - Anna Campbell (Gatch Grove). July 7^th - we will send care packages to staff family who are in Afghanistan; 8^th - Garden Club-Flower Arranging; BATTLE OF THE BLUEBERRIES - On July 14 our six households are competing for the best blueberry dish; 15^th Roberta Schultz will sing & tell us the stories behind the songs; 22^nd - SEM Haven Carnival; 28^th - We will spend the day at the Clermont County fair. We are entering a quilt made by Mae Proffitt & flower arrangements by various residents.
Kugler Woods Assisted Living - July 2^nd, 6:30pm - Patriotic Party with "The Merry Moores"; 6^th 2:30 Resident Council meeting; 7^th & 21^st - Devotions with Chaplain Bill; 8^th, 2:00 Garden Club; 13^th & 27^th - Happy Hour and Manicures; 15^th - Lunch at Bob Evans.

Have a Great Month!
Barb Wolf, Administrator