We jumped the gun a bit on Purim this week and did our annual Purim spiel a little early!  We were working around various schedules so we had the first of our Purim events on Tuesday afternoon. This year's spiel had a Broadway theme and we were delighted to have great songs to use, written by our very own Sally Korkin and a wonderful script authored by our music therapist, Jude Jones.  We had a lot of fun and, more importantly, our residents had a lot of fun.  We laughed together, sang together and ate hamantaschen together.  What more could you ask for?  Purim continues with the traditional Megillah reading and Purim concert on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.  Please feel free to join us if you would like!

We not only ate hamantaschen this week (with more to come!), we baked it as well.  We had great fun, rolling dough, cutting it, filling and then pinching it into the traditional three-cornered shape.  We also have some lively conversation about favorite filling flavors.  There's a lot of support for apricot, and prune and poppy are pretty equally divided!  What's your preference?

Next week will include a very special program that we hope many family members, and community folks, will attend.  Teepa Snow, a nationally known educator and consultant on dementia care, will be with us. Teepa has been working with us for several years, helping us train our staff to become dementia care specialists.  It is an ongoing process and she visits with us quarterly to help us with this important effort.  As part of our work with Teepa, we have recently published the first book that covers Teepa's work on caring for those with dementia.  We have learned, and adopted, her system of "gems," which is a system she created that looks at individual's level of dementia by gem level.  As she says, we have to recognize that each person is a precious jewel and that in the right setting, they can shine.  The book is a practical handbook for families and provides very important and useful information on caring for those with dementia. 

On Tuesday evening, February 26, at 7 p.m. in the Wilbur and Mary Jean Cohen Religious and Cultural Center, Teepa will speak on "Understanding the Progression of Dementia: Seeing the Gems, Not Just the Loss."  Each family attending will receive a complimentary copy of her book and additional copies will be available for a modest donation.  The book's publication was made possible by The Schriber Family Foundation in memory of Louis and Isabel Schriber and we are very grateful for their support.  We hope that you can be with us for this special night-

All the best,  

carol@cedarvillage.org

www.cedarvillage.org

     

Cedar Village Boardroom 

There are several opportunities for you to be a part of our wonderful program. 

Jessica Carlson, Volunteer Coordinator at jcarlson@cedarvillage.org or 513.754.3100