SEM Haven - Monthly Update

Monthly Update, August 2011

EDEN ALTERNATIVE - Restoring "Rampant Normalcy": Ask what defines us as a person and we tend to think about our responsibilities and our hectic schedules, but it's the small moments between the big acts that make us who we are - what we wear, what and when we eat, what we do with leisure time, etc. Yet, in most long-term care facilities these moments are taken away and residents have no choice but to accept it. The household model of care restores normalcy to the lives of residents by creating homes with a living room, dining room and kitchen. Staff and residents work together as a family in making decisions about life in the household and everyone is more engaged. This is how life should be.

HOUSEHOLD HAPPENINGS - McCormick Landing - We are enjoying our summer with lots of ‘cool treats'. We brought in KFC for our almost out to lunch and then White Castle due to the bus being out of service. Due to the extreme temperatures we haven't been able to enjoy activities outdoors but we have had many inside. We sadly miss our friend Nellie Conover.
Gatch Grove - We had another busy month with a lunch outing to Bob Evans, group exercise, physical games and several nice socials. Tim and his helpers have been crafting summer ceramics to decorate our household. We baked and decorated cakes for Denise Apgar's Bridal shower and Willard and Thelma Volkmar's 67th wedding anniversary. August will be especially busy with socials, happy hour, baking, Carnival, Red Games and Olympic training. We also plan a scenic bus ride and lunch outings to Applebee's and Cracker Barrel. We would love some family participation; call Tim if you have time to help. The Grove would like to welcome Rachel Carter and Lynn Clark. Just a reminder our 3rd annual Family Reunion is in the planning stages; a notice will follow.
Milcroft Manor - In July we spent quite a bit of time on the patio in the morning. Some of the residents help to water & care for the garden. We also enjoyed our cook out & Ice Cream Floats. In August we plan to have another cookout on the 3rd, & Ice Cream Bars on the 5th. We will have our Yard Sale on August 17th & will be practicing for the Olympics.
Ripple Ridge - We will try to stay cool this month with an Ice Cream social, Watermelon Social and Root beer floats. We have enjoyed fresh cucumbers and fried green tomatoes from our garden. Our Hawaiian dinner was a big success; we will be hosting a German Dinner for August. If you have any favorite German meals, please share you recipes with Kelli. We will have almost out to lunch from Cracker Barrel on the 9th and a lunch outing to O'Charleys on the 26th. We will be practicing hard for the Olympics and hope to bring home lots of medals! Welcome to our new staff member Teea Cook, we are happy to have you on Ripple!
Kugler Woods/Hickory Cottage - July was a hot month so we had our "out to lunch"….In. We ordered Pizza from LaRosa's and had an Italian good time. We gave the other households a break this month with a BIG handicap (we made Larry Mecklenborg play left handed). We still took 3rd place in the Discus Throw competition. We are very excited to see Kugler Woods progress with the construction. Everything is looking really nice.
Shumard Rehab - We are excited to have such a great group of therapy patients. We have joined two of the tables in the dining room to enhance the socialization and it has been very well received by the rehab folks. Many of the patients have enjoyed getting a manicure on Friday afternoons. Pizza made on the grill was a big hit. Leigh, our speech therapist, cooked it out in the courtyard on one of the hottest days of the year! We also had a special fried chicken lunch. Shumard would like to thank Expressions by Elizabeth for providing the fresh cut flowers for our tables. They have been providing them for us for over 2 years now!

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE - We will be moving into our newly renovated Assisted Living space this month. All of the residents on Kugler Woods (upstairs) will be moving temporarily to another room while the final rooms are renovated. Everything should be finished by Fall!

STAFF NEWS - Congratulations to Tiffany Blankenship, LPN, on the birth of her daughter, Bailey Rae, on July 2nd. She weighed 9 lb, 2 oz. Several of our staff members are having or have had weddings this summer. Congratulations to Mary Ann Thomas (7/27), Denise Apgar (7/30) and Jessica Edwards (8/12).

100TH BIRTHDAY - July 30th was the special day for Rose Wilhelmy. The party included a wonderful cake made by Debra Forsythe (Evelyn Harshman's daughter). There also were flowers donated by Expressions by Elizabeth and over 100 cards from staff members and the community. Milford Mayor, Ralph Villardo Jr., proclaimed July 30, 2011 as Rose Wilhemy Day.

RESIDENT OF THE MONTH (by Chaplain Bill): I take pleasure in introducing you to Doris Kocher, a well-known resident of the SEM Campus for many years. Doris was born in 1920 in Cincinnati and was raised in Pleasant Ridge. Her father built a Sears Kit Home in Madisonville. He sold and serviced "Iron Fireman" furnaces and stokers. He was of German descent. Her mother was a homemaker and her descendants came from Denmark. Doris was an only child - she graduated from Pleasant Ridge grammar school and Walnut Hills High School. Then she went to UC and received a degree in Fashion Design. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. She worked at Procter and Gamble in Market Research after college and before marriage and children. In 1940, she married Robert William Kocher, her childhood sweetheart. Bob was quite a baseball player, and had an offer to try out for the Cincinnati Reds. He never became a pro ball player, but he did use his degree in Civil Engineering from UC and became Personnel Director for Cincinnati Milling Machine Company.

Doris and Bob had 3 three sons: Bob, Gary and Randy Kocher and 7 grandchildren. Doris was a very good German-style cook and was especially known for her pineapple-upside-down cake. They built a house on Hobby Horse Lane in 1949; a wonderful rural setting where son Bob still goes to meditate. Prior to Bob's death in 1981 they traveled to Europe and went to Japan to visit Gary while he was there. Unfortunately, they were not big on pictures, so there are precious few of them.

Doris loves classical & big band music; she also played the piano. Doris used her beautiful voice and sang in church choirs. They were members of the Pleasant Ridge Church, the Milford Methodist Church and then the Armstrong Chapel. Now, when Doris attends services in our chapel, we get to enjoy her wonderful voice. A passage I would use for Doris, because of her love for people and singing for the Lord, would be Psalm 98: 4-6 4. "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5. Make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6. "With trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn - shout for joy before the Lord, the King" (NIV).

SOCIAL EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS - The winners of the July Cheese Cake Competition are: Taste - 1st place Kugler & Hickory, 2nd McCormick, 3rd Gatch. Presentation - 1st place Milcroft, 2nd Ripple, 3rd Schumard. We had music from Mike Pendell to celebrate the 4th of July. Also in July we enjoyed the many talents of staff & residents. Shondia Schaefer's children demonstrated some of their Karate moves, Latoya Price sang, as did Marissa Whittle. The SEM Haven line dancers were Juanita Williams, Cecelia McGee, Barb Wolf & Nancy Maltry. 99 year old Ruth Schaefer's piano playing topped off the afternoon (this was her last performance of many years as an exceptional volunteer - Ruth died on July 28th).

In August we will have a carnival with games & prizes on the 10th; enjoy the music of Bob Pollack on the 17th; we'll celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the Wizard of Oz with the movie & popcorn on the 24th; and on the 25th we'll learn about The "Herb of the Year, Horshradish".
Kugler Woods/Hickory Cottage: CLR and Poker every Monday, exercise and/or walking every Friday and Saturday, courtyard work every Sunday and Thursday, Mood Music and Wine every Wednesday and Saturday, and a lot of Olympics practice spread out through the month are just some of the activities we offer in August. We have out to Lunch on the 18th and our courtyard picnic on the 25th. All family members are encouraged to give Vivian or Amy their e-mail address so you can receive an in depth calendar via the internet. You can also pick one up at the nurses' station in Kugler Woods or Hickory Cottage.

We would like to thank the Cincinnati Reds for donating 25 tickets to a game in August in a shaded wheelchair accessible area. This means a lot to our residents who are Reds fans.

SEM HAVEN OLYMPICS - The Olympics will be held August 29th through Sept. 1st, 2:00 pm Monday through Friday. The Milford Fire Department will be here to help. Each household is responsible for organizing the events for one day. The mornings will consist of practice on the household & pep rallies. The afternoons will be one group event & one individual event:
Monday: Opening ceremony, Discus Throw & Stack--Ripple & Gatch
Tuesday: Shoot the hoop & Cookie Decorating--Milcroft Manor
Wednesday: Corn Hole & Squeeze-- Kugler & Hickory
Thursday: Jig Saw Relay & How long is a minute, Closing Ceremony--McCormick

Have a Great Month!

Barb Wolf
Administrator