|
 |
|
|
BMA Blog |
|
|
Touching Lives · Providing Dignified Lifestyles
Posts Tagged ‘supportive living’
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
By Rick Banas of assisted living and senior living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
The nine teams of residents from affordable assisted living communities in northern Illinois were gathered together at the Manteno Golf Club in Manteno, Illinois.
They were joined by Arlene Allen and Ann Atkinson. Arlene grew up in Jo Davies County, Illinois, where she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse for seven years. She taught school in the Kankakee area for 38 years. Ann taught kindergarten in Quincy, Massachusetts and Bourbonnais, Illinois, and worked for 22 years in the Graduate School at Olivet Nazarene University.
Anne and Arlene were there to serve as judges for the Illinois Supportive Living Spelling Bee Regional Finals for the North Region. The competition is being sponsored by the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition (AALC), an organization that represents affordable assisted living communities that operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program.
The program enables older adults and adults with physical disabilities of all incomes, including those on Medicaid, to live in a residential-apartment home environment and receive personal assistance, help with medications, and services such as meals, housekeeping and laundry.
Also there to help as assistant judges were six students from Manteno Middle School. Nora Crockett, Taylor Gilliam, Caitlin Godsey, Colin Smith, Olzea Smolinski and Cassidy St. Peter are all members of the school’s Spelling Bee team. They were joined by the school’s Spelling Bee team’s sponsor Erica Lehrus.
More than 100 teams of residents from communities located throughout Illinois had entered the Spelling Bee, with nine teams qualifying for the regional finals in the North Region.
Standard spelling bee rules were followed, with judges giving the team a word to spell. The team had two minutes to work together to agree on a spelling. They could ask the judge to repeat the word, for the definition and for the word to be used in a sentence. One member of the team needed to correctly spell the word for the judges. One wrong letter and the team was out.
The Gold Medal winners was the team from Heritage Woods of Rockford, with Heritage Woods of Manteno coming in second, and Victory Center of Joliet finishing in third.
All three teams qualified for the Spelling Bee Finals, which will be held on May 14 and 15 at the Decatur Hotel and Conference Center in Decatur, Illinois. The most frequently used words in the Scripps national Spelling Bee will be used.
They will be competing against the teams that qualified in the Cook County, Central and Southern Divisions.
Cook County
Eden Supportive Living of Chicago
Victory Centre of Bartlett
Victory Centre of River Woods
Central Division
Springfield Supportive Living
Mary Bryant Home in Springfield
Heritage Woods of Charleston
South Division
Prairie Living at Chautauqua
Cambridge House of Maryville
Cambridge House of Swansea
Dorie Johnson, one of the members of the winning team from Heritage Woods of Rockford, mentioned that winning the regional title and qualifying for the state finals was an early birthday present. She is celebrating her 90th Birthday today. Like judge Arlene Allen, she grew up in Jo Davies County.
Dorie’s teammate, Nita Mahan, will be 85 on June 26. She started her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse and then taught second and third grades.
When Dorie and Nita returned home to Heritage Woods of Rockford from the competition in Manteno last Thursday, they were honored by residents and staff with a victory celebration and a banner congratulated them on victory.
Spectators are welcome to attend the Spelling Bee Finals next month in Decatur. We hope to see you there.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: aalc, affordable assisted living, Affordable Assisted Living Coalition, assisted living in Illinois, bma, Cambridge House of Maryville, Cambridge House of Swansea, Eden Supportive Living of Chicago, Heritage Woods of Charleston, Heritage Woods of Manteno, Heritage Woods of Rockford, Illinois Supportive Living Program, Illinois Supportive Living Spelling Bee Regional Finals, Manteno Golf Club, Mary Bryant Home in Springfield, Prairie Living at Chautauqua, Spelling Bee, Springfield Supportive Living, supportive living, Victory Center of Joliet, Victory Centre of Bartlett, Victory Centre of River Woods
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
Friday, March 8th, 2013
By Rick Banas of senior living and assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Everything was in the pink as assisted living resident Louise Donley celebrated her 100th Birthday earlier this week.
Louise, who was born in Danville, Illinois, has been a resident of our Bowman Estates of Danville affordable assisted living community for the past 3½ years.
She attributes her longevity to, “hard work and the Good Lord being on my side.”
She and her husband farmed and raised four children.
She now enjoys reading and walking and loves basketball, especially the University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
Living out on a farm, she says that the biggest change she has witnessed in her lifetime was the introduction of electricity. Lights made it so much easier for us to see, and appliances such as washing machines became available. Now, it is all of the computer technology.
The day before she turned 100, her family held an open house that was attended by 130 relatives and friends.
On her birthday, she went out to Red Lobster for a “whole plate full of shrimp” before attending the party held in her honor at Bowman Estates.
With pink being Louise’s favorite color, the serving table was decorated with a vase of pink roses, a bowl of pink punch, a sheet cake decorated with pink flowers and Birthday Wishes written in pink.
Of course, Louise wore a pink outfit.
Displayed outside on a table outside the Dining Room was a poster created by Louise’s daughter, Betty Plotner. Using a combination of candy and gum wrappers and words, Betty expressed Happy Birthday wishes to Louise – “Our Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother and Friend.” Of course, Betty used pink poster board.
Here is what Betty wrote (with the Candy & Gum Wrappers reflected in Bold)
Five Skor’s ago, today, March 4, 1913
Way beyond the Milky Way,
there was a little Sweet Tart born
and Baby Louise, not Baby Ruth, was to be your name.
In your parent’s eye, you were worth a 100 Grand,
& you will hear no Snickers from us,
for we all agree you are worth that much, plus Smores!
Yes, today is your Special day
& there is no one worth a Bit-O-Honey more than you,
Our Mother and our friend!
We wanted to take you to New York
Because you have never been,
But the Extra cash slipped through out Butterfingers
and our Pay Day is yet to come.
So on this, your 100th Birthday
Go ahead Take Five and rest,
For it’s been a Whopper of a day
But we hope it’s been your best!
And we wish you Mounds of Almond Joy
As you Zero in on this day, The BIG 100.
We pray your joints don’t Crunch Crisp and Krackle
And that you enjoy a NutRageous day and year
Filled with lots of Good & Plenty of love and joy.
Dots of Love, Hugs & Kisses
from all the M&Ms & Tootsie Rolls in Your Life.
‘Live your life as The Lord sends it.’ – Louise Donley
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: 100 Grand, 100 years old, 100th Birthday, Almond Joy, assisted living, Baby Ruth, Birthday, Bit-O-Honey, bma, Bowman Estates of Danville, Butterfingers, Candy, Cruch Crisp, Dots, Extra, Fighting Illini Red Lobster, Good & Plenty, Happy Birthday, Hugs, Kisses, Krackle, Louise Donley, M&M, Milky Way, Mounds, NutRageous, Pay Day, senior living, Skor, Smores, Snickers, Special, supportive living, Sweet Tart, Take Five, Tootsie Rolls, University of Illinois Fighting Illini, Whopper, York, Zero
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
Friday, February 15th, 2013
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
Here is some great advice for older adults from Ella York of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Ella serves as Community Outreach Liaison in the Attorney General’s Carbondale office. She spoke recently at the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Benton, Illinois, about what older adults can do to protect their hard earned dollars from fraud and scams.
Never Give Out Personal Information
to Someone Who Has Called You
Do not give out personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call and you know the person with whom you are speaking.
If someone calls you and starts asking you for personal information, the best thing you can do is hang up on them. This is true if you have caller ID because you cannot trust the number that shows up on caller ID. Scammers have learned how to fake the telephone number that will show up. This is true if the caller claims to be from your bank, saying that there is a problem with your account. This is true even if the caller claims to be from Medicare or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Nobody from Medicare should be calling you and either asking you for or looking to verify personal information. The FBI certainly does not need to call you to get personal information.
Be Very Protective of Your Social Security Number
Do not carry your Social Security Card or your Medicare Card with you. Your Medicare number is your Social Security Number. If you want something to carry with you to show health care providers, make a photo copy of your Medicare card and black out the last four digits of your Medicare number. Doctors should accept it. If you are visiting a doctor or other health care provider for the first time, you may want to take your Medicare card with you. After the visit, be sure to take it out of your purse, wallet or pocket and return it to a safe place.
Regularly Check Your Credit Card and
Medicare Statements and Your Credit Reports
Review your credit card statements, even if you have not used your credit card, to be certain that there are no unauthorized charges on your account. Likewise, be sure to check your Medicare statements to be certain there are no unauthorized charges, especially for medical procedures such as hip and knee replacements and for medical equipment such as wheelchair and scooters. If you see unauthorized charges, you need to immediately notify Medicare. Do not assume that because Medicare is paying that it is Medicare’s problem. If sometime down the road you need a wheelchair, scooter or a right hip replacement and your Medicare statements indicate that you recently received one, Medicare is not likely to easily authorize the request.
Obtaining and reviewing your Credit Report also helps verify if you have been a victim of Identity Theft.
You want to verify that the personal information in Section 1 of the Credit Report is accurate. You want to review Section 2, which lists every single line of credit under your name and whether each line of credit is in good standing. This is the only way to see if someone has opened a new Credit Card account in your name without your authorization. You also want to be sure to review Section 3, which lists any Public Records such as Court Judgments or Liens that have been placed against you. In the last section of your credit report, you’ll find a list of everyone who has asked to see your credit report.
If there is a mistake or something on your Credit Report that should not be there, call up the credit reporting agency and let them know. If you believe that you have been or might be a victim of Identity Theft, call the ID Theft Hotline in addition to the credit reporting agency. You can call 1-866-999-5630, TTY 1-877-844-5461, in Espanol 1-866-310-8398.
Free credit reports are available to you from the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA). You are entitled to one free report from each agency each year so you can stagger when you obtain the reports. For instance, you can obtain a report from a different CRA every four months.
To request your free credit report, Ella recommends going to www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 1-877-322-8228. Don’t confuse this website with the free credit report.com website, she said, because the www.freecreditreport.com website will charge you for the report.
For more information about services available to older adults, visit http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/seniors/index.html
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: affordable assisted living, assisted living, bma, Community Outreach Liaison, Consumer Reporting Agencies, Credit Card, Credit Report, Ella York, Equifax, Experian, FBI, Fraud, Heritage Woods of Benton, ID Theft Hotline, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Medicare, Medicare Statements, Personal Information, Scammers, senior living, Social Security, supportive living, TransUnion
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
 “We have gotten rid of the Food Pyramid,” said Sue Taylor, in the informational program she conducted last week about “Health Nutrition and You” at the Cambridge House affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in O’Fallon, Illinois.
Sue is a registered dietitian at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, Illinois.
For years, the Food Pyramid had been used to illustrate guidelines for healthy eating. The thinking was that you should eat small amounts of the foods at the top of the pyramid and much larger portions of the foods that were at the bottom of the pyramid. The foods at the bottom were fruits, vegetables and grains.
The pyramid has been replaced by MyPlate to illustrate the five groups that are building blocks for healthy eating. Before you eat, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages you to think about what will be going on to your plate.
The USDA recommends:
· ¼ of your plate consist of fruits
· ¼ of your plate be vegetables
· ¼ of your plate by proteins
· ¼ of your plat by grains
· with a side of dairy such as low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt.
You should be eating a variety of fruits and vegetables so your plate should be colorful, Sue said.
Portion sizes depend on your metabolism and how active you are.
Older adults don’t tend to move as much as they did when they were younger, but we need to exercise and to try to maintain muscle mass as we age. Ways to be physically active include walking, gardening and playing with your grandchildren.
Other key points mentioned by Sue include:
Medications can affect your appetite and the taste of food.
You energy needs can increase when you are sick or under stress.
Your protein needs are determined by your weight. On average, you should be getting about three ounces of protein at each meal. Typically, we do not get the protein we need at breakfast.
20% to 25% of your calories should come from fat.
Stay away from fried food and transfats.
Eat breads and cereals with whole grains.
Doctors are now measuring levels of Vitamin D as it is common deficiency. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids – six to eight glasses a day.
Zinc helps your immune system and with the healing of wounds.
The nutrition faculty at the Family, Youth and Community Sciences at the University of Florida IFAS Extension has developed a MyPlate for Older Adults. Information is available at http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu/…
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: affordable assisted living, assisted living in Illinois, bma, Cambridge House of O'Fallon, Dietary Guidelines, Family, Food Pyramid, Healthy Eating, Healthy Living, IFAS, Memorial Hospital in Belleville Illinois, MyPlate, Rick Banas, supportive living, the Plate Model, United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, Youth and Community Sciences at the University of Florida
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 15th, 2013
By Rick Banas of assisted living provider BMA Management, Ltd.
 Perhaps you or a loved one can benefit from the information that Loretta Broomfield shared last week with residents of the Heritage Woods affordable assisted living community that BMA manages in Benton, Illinois.
Loretta talked about a program that is available through the National Library Service that can help many seniors in Illinois and nationwide enjoy books and magazines.
One of the most important things I learned from Loretta is that the “Talking Books” program is not just for those who are blind or who have significant visual impairment.
If you are unable to read standard-size print or if you cannot comfortably hold a book or magazine, you most likely are eligible. The service also is available for those who may need it on a temporary basis for reasons such as cataract surgery or a broken hand, wrist or arm.
Residents of senior living and assisted living communities are eligible if they meet the criteria.
In addition, grandchildren and great grandchildren with conditions such as dyslexia can take advantage of the service.
The program is available at no cost to you so long as you use the mail-order service. The audio books and magazines are delivered to you through the mail at no-cost. The piece of equipment you need to listen to the audio materials is loaned to you at no cost. There is no charge for you to return the materials through the mail.
You can enjoy recorded versions of books found in most local libraries. You can choose from best sellers, fiction, non-fiction, classics, romance novels, poetry, biographies, mysteries and westerns.
The National Library Service produces about 50 new titles a week, Loretta said. Because of the amount of time needed to produce the talking books, you may find that the books on the best sellers lists may not be available to you as quickly through the Talking Books program as are the hard copies in your local library.
Also available through the Talking Books program are cook books; the Bible; a variety of magazines, including Newsweek, People, Consumer Reports and National Geographic; and hundreds of descriptive videos in which a narrator explains things such as facial expressions to someone who has difficulty seeing.
Materials obtained through the mail-order service are loaned to you for six weeks.
You can also select and download books on-line. The only cost is for the initial one-time purchase for the cable and blank cartridge that you will need to download the books. Loretta estimated that the cost for these items at about $15. There is no charge for downloading materials or for the piece of equipment needed to listen to the materials.
The equipment for playing talking materials is designed with large buttons to help make them easier to see and press. You can control the speed at which the materials are being read. A standard version is available for those who routinely read materials from beginning to end. An advanced version allows users to set bookmarks, which can be beneficial for those enjoying cook books or magazines.
The Talking Book program dates back to 1931.
Talking Book services are available through regional or sub-regional libraries.
For instance, the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center in East Peoria, Illinois, serves much of the state outside of the Chicago area. <link>
A Talking Book Center is available through the Chicago Public Library. <link>
The Voices of Vision Talking Book Center in Geneva, Illinois, serves Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will Counties and parts of Cook County, Illinois.<link>
For more information, visit any of the links above and the National Library Service website at www.loc.gov/nls or call 1-888-NLS-READ.
Heritage Woods of Benton is the only senior living community in Franklin County, Illinois certified to operate through the Illinois Supportive Living program. The affordable assisted living community serves older adults of all incomes, including those on Medicaid, who need some help to maintain their independence.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment and let us know.
“BMA Management is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”
Tags: Affordable Assisted Living Community, assisted living in Illinois, Audio Book, bma, Books, Chicago Public Library, Consumer Reports, Cook Book, Franklin County Illinois, Heritage Woods of Benton, Loretta Broomfield, Magazines, Medicaid, Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, National Geographic, National Library Program, National Library Service, National Library Service Talking Books, Newsweek, older adults, People, Residents, senior living, Seniors, supportive living, the Bible, The Voices of Vision Talking Book Center
Posted in BMA Management | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
