Amberwood Court--FEBRUARY 2010

WELCOME THE CHINESE NEW YEAR--The Year of the Tiger

Sunday, February 14, 2010 welcomed in the Chinese New Year. Amberwood helped celebrate the Korean New Year. The events began on Saturday, February 13th at the Korean Community Center in Aurora. Amberwood's Administrator, Scott Bell and Admissions Director, Ericka Aden, attended the celebration, not only to feast on the delicious rice cakes, kimchee, barbeque beef and more, but also to donate $400 to the Korean Association.

On the actual day of the New Year, the 14th, Amberwood hosted a feast of its own with many of the families and residents of Amberwood in attendance.

Please visit Amberwood's Korean Neighborhood named Go Hyang Jip which means "My Korean Home".

AMBERWOOD COURT HOSTS BABY SHOWER FOR AMY THAMM

Residents and Staff gathered in the dining room at Amberwood on January 28th for a baby shower for Life Enrichment Specialist, Amy Thamm and her baby girl-to-be, Audrey Caitlin. Residents had researched popular baby shower games. Waltraude and LaVonda correctly guessed that thirteen square of toilet paper would fit around Amy's baby bump. Residents and Staff participated in a due date pool; the winner will receive a one-hour massage from massage therapist, Jennie Rutledge. Everyone in attendance enjoyed baby finger food, chips, guacamole, sherbet punch and of course a pink pacifier cake!

Amberwood Court and Sierra Healthcare were featured in the US NEWS & WORLD REPORT for America’s Best Nursing Homes. 34 out of 15,000 nursing homes these homes were ranked by US News as Merited Honor Roll Status. Both homes got a perfect five stars in the federal government’s three yardsticks: health inspections, nurse staffing, and quality measure of individual care.

Yummy in Your Tummy! Recently we celebrated National Nursing Home Week. The entire week was comprised of activities surrounding our theme, “Spirit of America.” This spirit-filled day was celebrated with barbeque and volleyball. We pitched canopies in our parking lot to shelter our residents and then fired up the grill. Residents and staff enjoyed hamburgers, brats and hot dogs with all of the trimmings. Afterwards, we were all happily lapping up ice cream and getting ready for the volleyball game. Now this is not just an ordinary game: this is a friendly rivalry between us and our sister home next door. No one likes to gloat, but we did win! With our residents enthusiastically cheering us on, how could we not? What a great day of fun and sun for all!

Dedication is Amberwood’s Middle Name. Upon embarking on our Eden journey, Amberwood staff dedicated ourselves to building the relationships between us and our elders. We committed to do whatever it takes to enhance the lives our residents and support the vision of the team. Staff members remembered that dedication last month and held a re-dedication ceremony. One by one, we came forward, read the pledge and signed our names to the master document, proclaiming once again, that our hearts and spirits are bound to the mission of Amberwood Court Care Center.