We've gotten a lot of media coverage about our recent visit to the Ronald McDonald House.  A team of residents and staff prepared, delivered and served lunch to the families, staff and volunteers at the McDonald House on the Cincinnati Children's Hospital campus.  But, did you know that our Chesed Corps does regular projects to help others?  This is just one example.  We bake challahs and fill Shabbat baskets for Jewish patients at Jewish Hospital. We've collected toys for children in need; toiletries and other items to be shipped to our troops overseas; food for the food pantries and more.  If you have ideas for our Chesed team, let us know.  We are always open to new projects and new ways in which we can give back to our community.

On Monday, we held a special program in memory of Debbie Friedman.  A singer and songwriter, Ms. Friedman's music is familiar to many through its widespread use in congregations around the country and around the world.  We had a full house in the Cohen Center as we talked about her life; shared some video of her own words and music and then had a sing-a-long led by members of our staff and our wonderful music therapist, Jude Jones.  While many of our residents were not familiar with her name, they did know her music and enjoyed making the connection between the melodies and their author.

We are very excited to be one of the first (if not the very first!) to have a new modality on board for both resident programming and therapy applications. It's called It's Never 2 Late and it is an interactive, computer based system, all touch screen and all designed and developed for use with seniors.  Funded by a generous gift from the Harkavy and Berg funds, IN2L is an incredible resource for us to use.  Residents will have personal pages, reflecting their preferences and even including messages from their families; there are games for stimulation and motor skills; entertainment of all sorts; touch screen puzzles; memory triggering videos and programs; a whole host of choices that staff will use with both individuals and groups.  We had IN2L training on Tuesday and Resident Life is already putting it to good use.  You can find out more about it at www.in2l.com.  I know you will be as excited as we are!

Resident of the Month for February is next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.  If you haven't been to one of these programs, you are missing something special.  We honor seven different residents and we hear their stories and their words of wisdom and, let me tell you, we learn something amazing every single month!  Join us if you can- 

All the best,