Greetings!
One of the most powerful experiences on a trip to Israel is a visit to the Kotel, the Western Wall which is a sacred site in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a place of pilgrimage for individuals of the Jewish faith but also is profoundly moving to those of other faiths. One tradition is to place notes or prayers in the Wall itself, a tradition that we've incorporated into both of our previous Missions to Israel. In 2007, we collected notes from residents, families and staff and took them with us, placing them carefully in the Wall. In 2009, we were able to borrow a replica of the Wall and we used it both here, and at community events, to also gather notes and prayers that we took with us and placed in the Wall following the B'nai Mitzvah ceremony. For this year's upcoming Interfaith Mission, Building Bridges at Any Age," we have taken it a step further! Residents, staff, community members of all ages have participated in the creation of our own Wall replica. It was installed this week and is located just outside the entrance of the Wilbur and Mary Jean Cohen Religious and Cultural Center. It will be there through the holidays and well into October so if you are visiting here, or just in the area, feel free to stop by, bring or create your own note or prayer and place it in the Wall replica. We will collect them all and take them on the Mission where they will be placed by our residents and staff in the Western Wall. The Wall project has been an interesting one. It was inspired by a project done in another Jewish facility, this one in Florida. As they did, we collected and use shoe boxes to create the wall. Over 150 boxes were painted in multiple layers, including sponge paints and some glitter to finish them and then erected in a frame and trimmed in Spanish moss. While it is not, of course, an "exact replica," it does give the same sort of look and feel. The fun of seeing it erected has been the reaction of the residents who worked on it. They have been amazed that "all those shoe boxes" they painted turned into something so special. If you have the opportunity, do come, see it and take part! As you may know, we have been working on training to improve all of our skills in dementia care. Our dementia care specialist program, with the assistance of nationally recognized expert Teepa Snow, is in full swing with all employees having completed Level I training and moving towards 100% completion of Level II. Levels III and IV are yet to come and will not be for everyone-they are a much more intense skills program. With our training, all staff are learning more about the levels of dementia and how to best work with and interact with folks at different levels. Every department is taking a slightly different approach to both learning and reinforcing these skills. For example, the Dining Services staff meet regularly to review and discuss their training and the residents they serve. At each session, staff members will "present" a resident with whom they work, discussing that individual, what level that person is at and how they are working with them. It is a real reinforcement of training and skills and a great example of the team incorporating this into their ongoing practice. Holidays are soon upon us and Cedar Village is a wonderful place for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services. We'd love to have you join us for any or all services. The schedule is included here so please feel free to stop by and take part. It's a very special time for our Cedar Village family and we are more than happy to share it! All the best, Carol Silver Elliott CEO/President
Cedar Village
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