Vintage Senior Living Wins California Championship

Posted on April 30, 2012 by vintageuser

On Thursday, April 26, 2012 seniors from all over California gathered at Vintage Westwood Horizons in Los Angeles, CA to compete in the 2012 California Senior Championship of the NSL (National Senior League). This year, Vintage Senior Living had eleven teams participating in western regional tournaments in California and Washington including Vintage Cerritos, who captured the National Senior League’s 2012 Wii Bowling State Championship.

Vintage Cerritos, better known as the “Cerritos Falcons” were lead by 95-year-old Bill Burd who aided the team in successfully bringing home not only the California Championship title but a title of Western Regional Finalists.

“This significant win marks the end of a long journey that included an entire year of practice,” said Burd. “Bringing home the first place trophy was important for us old-timers who still believe one is never too old to compete and have fun.”

The Cerritos Falcons battled the South Bay Blasters from Front Porch Community in San Diego at Vintage Westwood Horizons in Los Angeles. Surrounded by cheering fans, the eight-member teams played two games resulting in the following scores: Game one: Falcons- 879, Blasters- 653 and game two: Falcons- 830, Blasters- 583.

“The team has mastered the electronic game to a degree that they see it as real bowling with all the rules and playing techniques,” said Tracy Cofield, Activities Director of Vintage Cerritos. “What they enjoy most from Wii Bowling is being together and experiencing camaraderie and competition regardless of their age.”

In today’s electronic gaming world, even seniors are having a blast in front of the big screen—reliving the glory days of the neighborhood bowling alley. Wii Bowling is giving Vintage Senior Living residents many thrills, especially after bowling a strike. From a health standpoint, Wii Bowling offers a new form of exercise, and more importantly, encourages seniors to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. The game has even inspired the forming of teams from retirement communities across the country.

The communities’ common areas have been transformed into an electronic-driven playground where players and spectators enthusiastically exchange tips and comments. The opportunity to be on a team and participate in a league creates camaraderie among residents who might otherwise have trouble socializing. Wii Bowling has even spanned across generations by encouraging young volunteers and grandchildren, who are no strangers to electronic games, to participate.

Featured Resident of the Week

Posted on April 16, 2012 by vintageuser

Our resident of the month is Gloria Klein. Gloria was born in sunny Los Angeles in 1925 as an only child to two loving parents. As a young adult, Gloria started working at MGM Studios as Head Secretary for the Music Department. She enjoyed being a young woman in Hollywood, going to all the glamorous parties and dancing the night away. But that soon changed after Gloria took a trip to New York to visit one of her girlfriends. She was set up on a blind date with a very handsome man by the name of Dick. At first glance Gloria and Dick fell in love, and ten days later the two were married. Gloria cherishes the fact that she lived a very good life. She has traveled all over the world with her husband and lived in many different places such as New York and Florida, before finally settling into the East Bay. Gloria has raised two children, many grandchildren, and just recently welcomed her very first great-grandchild.

Today Gloria lives a very active life. Her days consist of running to and from activities, going on trips and being an active member of the Berkshire’s Ambassador Club. You will always find her encouraging other residents to sign up for trips or activities. She is always willing to lend a helping hand when it comes to decorating for a special event, or even giving guidance to new residents of the Berkshire. Gloria is always smiling and has a very contagious laugh. She is what many like to call a social butterfly at its finest. We are very proud to call Gloria a resident of The Berkshire in Berkeley, CA.

Glossary of Helpful Senior Living Terms

Posted on April 2, 2012 by vintageuser

Searching for assisted living and a little lost on the lingo? Here’s a list published by the Assisted Living Federation of America detailing all those confusing acronyms and words:

http://www.alfa.org/alfa/Glossary_of_Terms.asp

Some of the most commonly used are:

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) – Bathing, dressing and grooming, walking and moving about, eating, toileting, and other personal care tasks.
Independent Living Units – Units that may include some basic services such as meals and housekeeping. Sometimes also referred to as “Instrumental Activities of Daily Living” or IADLs)
Caregiver or (CNA) – Refers to day-to-day caregivers in senior living settings who may aid with medications, dressing, dining, ambulating, etc. These are often certified professionals (Certified Nursing Aides)
Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) – A community that offers several levels of assistance, including independent living, assisted living and nursing home care. It is different from other housing and care options for seniors because it usually provides a written agreement or long-term contract between the resident and the community, which offers a continuum of housing, services and health care system, commonly all on one campus or site.

Visit vintagesenior.com to find a location for you with the best ADLs and CNAs!

Featured Resident of The Week

Posted on March 7, 2012 by vintageuser

Bill Wylie has found his second childhood since moving into Vintage Brush Creek in Santa Rosa, CA. When moving into the community Bill brought along with him Brush Creek’s first community Ping-Pong table and the inspiration to buy a small fleet of adult tricycle bikes that Bill rides during daily walks. Along with the bundle of toys, Bill also has started traditions such as Friday night Ping-Pong and pizza. He has even taught residents how to make paper airplanes and how to ride a tricycle. Outside of the community, Bill has shown residents hidden spots in Santa Rosa like Flat Rock and Brush Creek trail.

Bill believes he found Brush Creek for a reason. With this belief come daily actions of goodwill toward his fellow residents. He is known to loan a friend a coat when they are cold, offer a backrub when someone is looking sad, or walk a friend to an apartment if they get turned around. Bill has made a positive impact in the lives of other residents and in the lives of the staff. He takes the time to know people as individuals and genuinely wants to help us all lead happy lives. Lately, Bill has been sharing inspirational books and is always on the lookout for special events that he thinks residents should attend in their spare time. Bill is an inspiration and we thank him for all that he contributes to Vintage!

Featured Resident of The Week

Posted on February 20, 2012 by vintageuser

Dr. Alvin Miller was born on April 30^th, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, Dr. Miller worked in a grocery store owned by his family, played violin and took dancing lessons. At the age of 15 he won an award for his violin playing during amateur hour on a radio station.

In 1944 he joined the army and within the first week he ruptured his appendix and was unable to go overseas with his battalion. Instead, he ended up clerking for Eisenhower at the Pentagon. After being discharged in 1946, Dr. Miller attended medical school in Illinois and graduated in 1953.

He came to California to complete his residency at the L.A. County Hospital in Pediatrics. For the next 35 years Dr. Miller worked for Kaiser in the Neonatology unit, caring for premature babies.

In 1990 the government asked him to travel to Rumania to teach doctors how to care for newborn babies and he did that for 2 years with the help of a nurse. He believes it was the greatest thing he’s ever done.

Upon returning at the age of 66, he ran the L.A. Marathon with his son! Today, Dr. Miller continues to practice pediatrics 3 days a week and will only retire “when [he] is old!”

Dr. Miller loves the staff at Vintage Senior Living and he still enjoys playing piano, violin, harmonica and giving great ideas to the activity department. Vintage Simi Hills is proud to have Dr. Miller as a resident!

Preserving WW2 Memories of Love and Devotion

Posted on February 14, 2012 by vintageuser

Vintage Senior Living is partnering with the nationwide campaign of “Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive!” to preserve the legacy of the “Greatest Generation.” The aim is to recognize their selfless contributions and inspire a renewal of national unity by gathering thousands of shared stories and photos from couples in love during World War II.

Each of our Vintage communities are scanning photos of Couples in Love from WWII and love letters to send to Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive. Photos collected from residents and the community will contribute to capturing the essence of the generation’s devotion, courage and self-sacrifice. Photos of couples with one of both in uniform, wedding photos and love letters exchanged between home fronts and battle fronts will provide future generations a unique window into the hearts and souls of the era’s “ordinary heroes.” You are invited to submit photos and love letters at a Vintage location near you. To find a location nearest you please visit www.vintagesenior.com. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Featured Resident of the Week

Posted on February 3, 2012 by vintageuser

Esther Houston, a resident in Rosemead, CA was born in Shady Side, OH as the oldest of all her siblings. Being the daughter of a priest, she’s been surrounded by religion her whole life. Esther dedicated her schooling to the study of religion. She was extremely successful in school, so much so that she was elected to be a part of Mensa, which is a group of people in our society who have high IQ’s. She now competes in an Annual Spelling Bee for California Mission Inn. We are so glad Esther has chosen Vintage Senior Living to call home.

Visit Vintage Senior Living – California Mission Inn in Rosemead’s website.

Spirit of Giving

Posted on December 9, 2011 by vintageuser

The residents of Vintage Cerritos are always giving. Frances, a resident at Vintage Cerritos is consistently donating blankets to the Living Help Center that will go to women in need. Frances and fellow residents have donated over 200 items just this year. They crochet items such as patchwork quilts, baby blankets and afghans. Besides having a passion for giving, Frances also has a passion for Vintage Senior Living. She loves the community so much that she volunteered to be an Ambassador so that she may greet visitors and help new residents acclimate. Vintage Senior Living allows passions of all kinds to flourish. Pictured above are a few of our wonderful residents and the charity items that they have made this holiday season.

Angel or Caregiver? Both.

Posted on November 18, 2011 by vintageuser

Angel or Caregiver? Both.

A simple email thank you from our of our family members whose mother lives in one of our Memory Care / Dementia communities in San Francisco. We want to say ‘Thank you for taking time to write! Our associates put their hearts into caring service each day. Thank you for sharing yours.’

“Thank you so much for taking great care of my mother! You and the staff at Vintage Coventry are absolutely wonderful. It is because of you that my mother is having an excellent quality of life. She is happy in her daily life. And she appreciates everyone. I’m sure you know, but she calls the staff “angels.” When she called the front desk in the middle of the night, I heard her say, “Please ask one of my angels to come to me.” “

King For A Day

Posted on November 16, 2011 by vintageuser

Walter, a two-year resident of Vintage Cerritos just celebrated a birthday in royal style! When Walter was seen looking a little down the wait staff, dining supervisor and dietary staff made sure to add some extra birthday cheer and made Walter feel like a king for the day. They all got together and signed a special crown that they had made. For the rest of the day Walter was seen with a smile and he wore his crown all day! Look around at our communities; it doesn’t have to be your birthday to be a special day at Vintage. We look for any excuse to put a smile on someone’s face.