Senior Communities’ Wish Lists Available on Amazon.com
December 4, 2020
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Announces Holiday Gift-giving Opportunity
Pittsburgh, PA, December 4, 2020 – There’s no place like home for the holidays, and Presbyterian SeniorCare Network is appealing to the public to make this holiday even more special for hundreds of residents in their care.
The Lifestyle Engagement Teams from four Presbyterian SeniorCare Network campuses collaborated to create an Amazon Registry of personally selected gifts for each of the residents in their communities.
According to Brittney Sarnese, the Lifestyle Engagement champion for this new gift-giving campaign, the Presbyterian Senior Care Network teams are getting very creative about making the 2020 holiday safe and joyful despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.
“We’re excited about going beyond the traditional celebrations and gift exchanges that we normally would do, which we have already reimagined to meet social distancing and other COVID-19 precautionary measures this year. This Amazon gift registry idea is meant as an extra, added surprise for our residents, especially when they find out that their personally selected gift is from a thoughtful donor.”
The public is encouraged to participate by placing a registry order on Amazon.com prior to December 16th, which will allow for the campus “elves” to wrap and include a personalized note of cheer for delivery to each resident on Christmas Day. The links for the participating Presbyterian SeniorCare Network campuses are noted below:
- LONGWOOD AT OAKMONT WISH LIST: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3GQYH3YAJ5ONE?ref_=wl_share
(Benefits residents from Longwood Hanna HealthCare Center and Personal Care communities)
- MANCHESTER COMMONS WISH LIST: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/S8SYN6SE191X?ref_=wl_share
(Benefits residents from Skilled Nursing and Personal Care communities)
- OAKMONT CAMPUS WISH LIST: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/4GX477KAK2LW?ref_=wl_share
(Benefits residents of Westminster Place, the Willows, and Woodside Place of Oakmont)
- WASHINGTON CAMPUS WISH LIST: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2QJW0DX0LEMRS?ref_=wl_share
(Benefits residents of Southminster Place, Southmont, and Woodside Place of Washington)
Like many other non-profit organizations, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network relies on donations to help fund the innovative programs and services provided to the older adults in their care. For questions about placing an order on the Amazon Registry sites for each of the campuses’ holiday wish lists for residents, please contact Brittney Sarnese via email at bsarnese@srcare.org. For other donation opportunities, visit www.GivetoSrCare.org.
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Announces Development of Encore on the Lake
October 20, 2020
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Announces Development of Encore on the Lake
New Membership Community in North Strabane Township Now Accepting Reservations
Artist rendering of Encore on the Lake aerial view
WASHINGTON, PA, October 13, 2020 – Encore on the Lake, a new membership community under construction, is now accepting reservations for one- and two-bedroom senior independent apartments. Situated on a 6.7 acre site overlooking Canonsburg Lake on the easternmost edge of North Strabane Township in Washington County, Encore on the Lake is owned and operated by Encore Living Group, Inc., an affiliate of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network.
Construction, which began in May 2020, is progressing on schedule. The 80 new apartment complex with private balconies and indoor/outdoor parking are expected to be ready by fall of 2021 for move-in.
According to Bobbi Jo Haden, Vice President of Retirement Communities for Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, "This unique membership community is designed to promote wellness, vitality and a socially engaging, independent lifestyle. Adults 62+ who choose to live at Encore on the Lake will become members of a service-enriched community that includes future access to higher levels of care at a licensed Presbyterian SeniorCare Network assisted living, personal care or nursing community with daily rates covered for up to 60 days."
Among the first residents to move in and enjoy maintenance-free living will be Patricia Vernau, who already has reserved a one-bedroom apartment. Her open concept apartment will provide 865 square feet of living space with high-end finishes, smart technology, in-home laundry, a fully equipped kitchen with granite countertops and a private balcony. Floor plans for all new apartments range in size from 865 to 1,595 square feet in one- and two-bedroom options with many of the same features that Patricia will enjoy. Encore on the Lake offers a premier natural lakeside setting with wildlife, woods and outdoor terraces so residents can explore and enjoy outdoor activities in this growing community. Residents who reserve prior to the completion of construction, will have the opportunity to personalize their new apartment home with choices of cabinetry, flooring, wall color and more.
For the development and marketing of Encore on the Lake, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network has partnered with Senior Housing Partners, a subsidiary of Presbyterian Homes & Services based in St. Paul, MN to meet the changing service and living desires of the aging population in the region. Trends show that as North Strabane Township and Canonsburg areas continue to grow, 21% of the current population is over age 65 and is expected to increase by 17.1 % by 2023. This means that approximately 37,000 older adults in the area will benefit from service-enriched communities and additional wellness and care services.
Encore on the Lake is designed by Pope Architects of St. Paul, MN. The general contractor is Mistik Construction of Pittsburgh, PA. Financing was coordinated by HJ Simms based in Fairfield, CT, with primary financing through First National Bank of Pennsylvania and gap financing provided by Washington National Bank. For more information, visit www.EncoreOnTheLake.org.
About Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
For more than 90 years, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network has been focused on Making Aging Easer ® for older adults and their families. As the region’s largest aging services provider, we provide a wide range of service and living options that meet people’s needs where ever they are in their aging journey. Today we are privileged to serve more than 6,500 older adults through in-home and community based programs that provide wellness and care management services as well as 56 communities across 10 Western Pennsylvania counties, including LifePlan and independent living campuses, personal care and assisted living communities, skilled nursing centers offering short-stay rehabilitation, and more than 30 supportive housing communities for income-eligible adults and persons with disabilities
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network is a not-for-profit that has achieved accreditation through CARF as a Network and in five other categories including Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), Assisted Living, Person-Centered Long-Term Care Communities, Home and Community Services, and Dementia Care Specialty Program. CARF is an international, not-for-profit organization that promotes quality, value, and optimal outcomes by conducting voluntary surveys for aging services providers to assure that quality standards are being met. To learn more about the Network, please visit www.SrCare.org. To learn more about Encore on the Lake, please visit www.EncoreOnTheLake.org.
About Senior Housing Partners
Providing leadership in development and marketing for Encore, Senior Housing Partners (SHP) is the project development arm of Presbyterian Homes & Services. SHP serves as development consultant to other not-for-profit sponsors of senior housing, assisted living and nursing homes. Senior Housing Partners (SHP) provides turn-key project development services. From strategic planning and product positioning, to site selection, zoning and regulatory compliance, SHP works through all the details. In addition, SHP’s marketing team is available to complete pre-leasing and fill of the project units once construction is complete. Formed in 1995, SHP has developed or re-positioned over 100 senior living communities across the country and has been in the capital markets for more than $3.5 billion of development. For more information, visit www.seniorhousingpartners.com and seniorlifestyledesign.com.
Photo at Encore on the Lake Site:
Left to right:
• Paul Winkler, President & CEO Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• Bill Bates, Presbyterian SeniorCare Board Vice Chairman
• James Pieffer, Senior Vice President, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• Patricia Vernau, First Depositor for an Encore on the Lake apartment
Photo of Encore on the Lake Construction Progress:
Left to right:
• Bobbi Jo Haden, Vice President of Retirement Services, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• Paul Winkler, President & CEO Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• Stacie Bornemann, Senior Director of Marketing & Sales, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• James Pieffer, Senior Vice President, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
• Bill Bates, Presbyterian SeniorCare Board Vice Chairman
Dementia LIVE®: Caregivers Experience Dementia in Real Time
September 8, 2020
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
September 2020
Dementia LIVE®: Caregivers Experience, Dementia in Real Time
Imagine that you’ve been given seven
minutes to accomplish a verbal list of
five tasks. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? You
must find the white sneaker and tie the
shoelaces. Then you must find your change
purse and count out $.57. Now locate your
checkbook and sign your name on a check.
Now hang up the red blouse and move it to
the rod. No, that’s the pink blouse—where’s
the red one? Got it. Now… wait, what was
the fifth task? Oh, yes—water the small
plant. Oops—time’s up.
IS STAYING AT HOME A SAFE OPTION
FOR YOUR PARENTS?
If you’re wondering why those five easy tasks
could hardly be accomplished in seven minutes,
it’s because you were wearing headphones that
played a range of muffled sirens, train whistles and
crowd sounds that made it hard to concentrate. Add
to that a pair of blackout glasses that narrowed your
field of vision and thick cotton gloves that made it
hard to feel and manipulate items.
You’ve just gotten a glimpse into daily life for a
person living with moderate to late-stage dementia.
That’s the idea behind Dementia LIVE®, a
dementia simulation program that’s helping
caregivers get inside the minds of the people they’re
caring for, resulting in a deeper understanding of
what it’s like to live with moderate- to late-stage
cognitive impairment and sensory changes. The
headphones simulate the inability to process and
discern important sounds from background noise;
the glasses simulate vision impairment from agerelated
eye problems; and the gloves simulate the
loss of touch sensation and fine motor skills that are
common with aging.
Presbyterian SeniorCare Network uses Dementia
LIVE training for all direct caregivers throughout
the network so they can use their personal
experience and apply it to their relationships with
residents living with dementia.
Because dementia is so individualized, I
have to respond in the right way for the
person I’m interacting with—and the
key to doing that is getting to know that
resident personally.
-Bridgette Siciliano
For Kelly Frame, lifestyle engagement associate
at Woodside Place, and Bridgette Siciliano,
administrator of personal care at Woodside Place
and Adult Day Services, both at our Manchester
Commons community in Erie, the Dementia LIVE
experience was a real wake-up call. “I was surprised
that people would have to live like that all the time,”
Kelly says. “It makes you understand how having all
that stimuli could be overwhelming for someone.”
“I found the experience aggravating—it created so
much anxiety,” says Bridgette. “I didn’t expect so
much noise—it was hard to focus. The experience
has given me a better understanding of the residents
and what they’re going through.”
The goal of the Dementia LIVE experience is to
help each caregiver become the most compassionate
caregiver they can be through a deeper
understanding of dementia. “Dementia LIVE made
me realize that every person’s dementia is unique to
them and the right way to help one person might not
work for another person,” adds Bridgette.
Being person-centered is at the heart of everything
we do at Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, and
Dementia LIVE is just one more way we train
our caregivers to be their best. “I feel that we,
as caregivers, have to constantly evolve and be
flexible with our residents because their dementia is
changing them,” says Jill McMurdy, RN, Woodside
Place neighborhood manager at the Network’s
Oakwood Heights community in Oil City. “We have
to meet each resident where they are and live in the
moment with them. A resident might not remember
my name, but they know my face, my smile—they
can feel my compassion and know that I’m here
for them.”
DEMENTIA LIVE®: FROM A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE
In the year that Presbyterian SeniorCare Network
has been using Dementia LIVE® training, our
dementia care coordinators and certified dementia
practitioners (CDPs) have embraced this immersive
technology, successfully training 549 employees
across the organization. In 2020, all team members,
regardless of their role, will receive Dementia
LIVE training as part of their new-hire
orientation, exemplifying the value of the training
in our communities.
Beth O’Brien, social services director at our
Oakwood Heights community in Oil City, recently
was named a Dementia LIVE coach of the quarter
by AGEucate, the company that markets Dementia
LIVE. She is both a CDP and a Dementia LIVE
training coach. According to Carrie Chiusano,
executive director of the Presbyterian SeniorCare
Network Dementia Care Center of Excellence, Beth
was singled out for the award because of her excellent
communication skills.
“Beth takes the time to truly listen to others. She
hears their messages, observes nonverbal cues and
adapts the mood to make sure everyone is
at ease,” says Carrie. “Beth doesn’t just take the time
during Dementia LIVE trainings. She is present
in the neighborhood for real day-to-day teachings.
She’s there, right in the moment, sharing her
knowledge every chance she gets.”
The most powerful part of training for Beth is what
she calls the “aha moment”—the point of realization
that hits someone and reveals what it must be
like for a person living with dementia. “That aha
moment gives them firsthand experience and will
change the way they interact with our residents,”
says Beth, “The empowerment session at the end of
the experience also is very rewarding. It allows me
to debrief the group and use real-life experiences to
teach how we should be approaching and working
with people living with dementia.”