The holidays at Beatitudes Campus are a magical time of year, especially traditional holiday celebrations. Twinkling lights create spectacular displays. Resident musicians play festive music. Carolers sing. Secret Santas leave gifts. The faithful attend special services. Residents lead charitable events to help those in need. And prior to the pandemic, residents and their guests would mix and mingle, dine, and dance at holiday and New Year’s Eve parties.
From November through early January, it’s truly a wonderful time of year at Beatitudes Campus. It’s all made possible by the hard work and dedication of residents and staff. The maintenance teams spend days trimming trees and decorating buildings with holiday décor and thousands of lights.
Traditionally, throughout the community, you’ll see residents spearheading dozens of special events, programs, and activities that celebrate joy and friendship, faith and generosity. You can jump in and help or simply pick your favorites and enjoy.
If you love a slice of chocolatey bûche de noël, caramel apple pie, or red velvet cake, why spend all day in the kitchen? The Campus restaurant culinary staff and pastry chefs create delicious and decadent holiday treats all season long.
Different But Just As Joyful In A Pandemic
While this year’s holiday season is definitely different and some traditional activities aren’t possible, the staff and residents at Beatitudes Campus are finding happy and safe ways to enjoy the holiday spirit.
“Everyone is pulling together to make this the safest possible celebration even though we cannot get together with our families and friends like we usually do,” said Beatitudes Campus resident Cynthia Cielle.
Instead of a big Christmas dinner held on campus, residents enjoyed a holiday meal delivered to their door. Live choirs and concerts, strolling carolers and musicians gave way to broadcasted performances. Instead of holiday parties, small but special moments brought smiles.
“This year, we’re doing little pop-ups like handing out hot cocoa as residents walk by and giving gift bags to those who live in assisted living and the health center. The staff created a Christmas parade with floats. We took videos to broadcast on the in-house TV channel. To keep everyone’s spirits lifted, the Spiritual Life department created a variety of programs held mostly on the closed-circuit TV channel,” continued Cielle.
Hopefully, soon, we’ll be able to get back to big, boisterous celebrations, beautiful choirs, and bustling volunteer efforts. In the meantime, most residents feel grateful that Beatitudes Campus is ensuring life goes on even in a pandemic.
Follow us on Facebook to discover how Beatitudes Campus sets a safe and festive backdrop for your spring, summer, and winter holiday traditions and to see more stories from our campus.
Let’s Talk About It!
Want to experience Beatitudes Campus for yourself, call us today at (602) 883-1358 or submit a form online.
At Beatitudes Campus, we’re leading the way in memory care and support. But, it hasn’t always been that way. Like so many other places, we took a traditional medical approach focused on organizational goals rather than each individual’s routines and preferences.
That all changed in 1997 when a team of caregivers at Beatitudes Campus began a multi-year journey of researching and developing Comfort Matters®, an innovative, person-centered way of supporting those who have trouble thinking.
“Advocacy and social justice are fundamental principles of Beatitudes Campus because of our roots in the United Church of Christ. We started with those commitments and beliefs,” explained Tena Alonzo, Director of Education and Research and Director of Comfort Matters at Beatitudes during an interview with ACCESS Health International, a healthcare think tank and advisory group.
In working with health experts around the country, what they learned changed everything about how to support people with dementia.
“We discovered that we didn’t know much about taking care of people with dementia. It took time to develop the culture, policies, and procedures to become as radically person-centered as we are today. It was a labor of love for everyone.”
Taking A Holistic Approach That Respects Autonomy
Tena and her team, which included Karen Mitchell, Registered Nurse and Comfort Matters Educator, realized that engagement, autonomy, and choice bore huge benefits for individuals with dementia—as they do for all people.
“If we can help people sleep when they are tired, they can wake refreshed and more often be their best selves. If people can eat what they want when they want—day or night, they tend to be healthier, happier, and live longer. If they’re able to enjoy their favorite and familiar activities, they feel content and calm,” said Alonzo.
The team found that caregiving in such a holistic way dramatically reduces the number of medications, which in turn reduces side effects and helps people feel better overall. With Comfort Matters, individuals experience lower rates of incontinence, less sundowning, and decreased hospitalizations. The Beatitudes Campus staff is happier, too. Less employee turnover means more continuity of care and more familiar faces for residents—a win-win for everyone.
Truly Knowing Each Person
The concept of serving people in such a profound way that respects their personal attachments to routines and preferences and honors the individual and their life experience became the mission. To make it happen, the team upended and recreated the existing care model that had been ingrained in society for 100 years. They pressed forward, educating and collaborating with Beatitudes Campus management and staff, doctors, regulatory agencies, and families.
Today, the entire Beatitudes Campus staff is empowered to engage and provide comfort to residents. From housekeepers and maintenance crews to the nurses and everyday caregivers, every single person is encouraged to be innovators and share ideas so we can all meet residents where they are.
With families as our partners, we can be better caregivers and help guide and educate families through this time, according to Alonzo. Because we see dementia in a different way, everyone—families, staff, and other residents on campus—feel more empowered and less afraid.
Translating What We Learned Into A Dementia-Friendly Place To Live
Beatitudes Campus serves people with all levels of physical and cognitive ability. Some live in their own apartment or patio homes while others live in suites designed for skilled nursing care, memory support, or assisted living. Because we care and respect each other, you’ll find residents of all abilities laughing and enjoying time together—eating lunch, putting on the miniature green, tapping their toes to a musical performance, and more.
Hard work, unyielding devotion, and the willingness to innovate—that’s how Beatitudes Campus transformed into a dementia-friendly community, and why we’re different.
“Most residents have 65 or more years of life behind them. We honor that person because of their life experience,” said Alonzo. “We must have a culture that allows people to be themselves. That is the heart of person-directed living.”
Here, you can read more about Tena Alonzo and her team’s innovative approach to helping people live with dementia. To learn more about Beatitudes Campus’ extraordinary memory support options, call us today at (602) 833-1358 or submit a contact form on our website.
A Wonderful Time Of Year At Beatitudes Campus: Connecting, Learning, & Giving Back
More than any other time of the year, the holidays feel like they’re made for families, connecting with neighbors and friends, and bringing joy to children. At Beatitudes Campus, you’ll find a big, intergenerational family eager to share friendship and laughter.
Throughout the holidays, we host special activities and events that encourage the feeling of community and connection. You can join in holiday celebrations, attend worship services, and make holiday gifts in the art studio and woodworking shop.
I’m sure you know that connecting with today’s younger generations means having to be tech-savvy. Are you proficient at texting? Do you know how to use FaceTime and Skype? At Beatitudes Campus, our Lifelong Learners program features technology classes to help you build your skills with computers, tablets, smartphones, texting, email, video calls, and more. That way, even if you’re hundreds of miles away during the holidays, you can still feel like you’re next door to your loved ones.
Want to connect with the younger generation during the holidays and all year long? Here are some quick tips:
- Share time in the kitchen.
Pick a casual day with little expectations and a recipe that takes time. Few memories are more powerful than cooking and enjoying good food with a loving family. - Host a game night.
Game nights are generally popular among the younger set. Order pizza or their favorite takeout food. Let them help plan the evening of charades, cards, video games, and board games, including those that can be played with teams such as Pandemic and Codenames. If you’re up for it, ask teens and twenty-somethings to bring their games and be prepared for an evening of bawdy entertainment. - Attend their events.
Find out what’s happening in your young person’s life. Are they in a school musical, playing in a band or on a sports team, preparing for a science fair, or entering a spelling bee or debate contest? Show interest and pride in their activities and ask if you can attend their events. - Enlist their help on a project.
Play the grandparent card and ask for some assistance on a special project. Build a bookshelf, make holiday gifts or a family scrapbook, visit a Christmas tree farm, create a neighborhood Blessing Box, or shop for gifts for a charity that supports terminally ill kids or children in foster care or shelters. They’ll come away with warm memories of time well spent with you.
If you want to do some good during the season of giving or any time of the year, Beatitudes Campus makes it easy to get involved. Whatever your interest, you’ll likely find a program to match. You can volunteer your time and talents, and work side-by-side with people of all ages from Beatitudes Campus, as well as the local community.
Some residents read to children and tutor local students while others help families with English translation. You can help decorate the campus, organize a charity event or join the Buzy Bees in crafting, sewing, quilting, knitting, and crocheting winter essentials for kids and families. From visiting veterans and delivering holiday meals to homebound seniors, there are so many ways you can make a positive impact.
This holiday season, we invite you to learn more about how Beatitudes Campus helps connect people across the generations. Call us today at (602) 833-1358 or get in touch via contact form.
What, Exactly, Is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care is the common phrase used to describe on-going assistance with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, or walking. The need for long-term care can be indefinite, often lasting years.
Long-term care may include skilled nursing care, which is typically provided in a nursing facility and involves 24-hour healthcare provided, or supervised, by a registered nurse. Those requiring skilled nursing care almost always also require assistance with activities of daily living. However, skilled nursing care, by itself, is often short-term in nature, typically following a serious medical occurrence, such as a stroke, fall, or surgery. The goal of skilled nursing care is to help restore one’s health to the point where they are again able to live independently or with assisted living only.
The vast majority of long-term care is provided in one’s home by an unpaid family caregiver. Alternatively, some families choose to arrange for paid caregiver services. An assisted living facility is the typical alternative for those who require a higher level of assisted living than that which can adequately or safely be provided in a home setting.
Those who like to plan ahead and are not as comfortable with the uncertainties of managing in-home care may choose to move to a setting such as a life plan community. Life plan communities, such as Beatitudes Campus, cater to those who live independently today, but they are equipped to provide the appropriate levels of assisted living or skilled nursing care that may be needed in the future.
As a life plan community, Beatitudes Campus encompasses a wide range of health services. These include assisted living, in-home care services, memory support, rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and long-term care. It can be overwhelming to see all of these options at first glance, but our goal is to ultimately bring a sense of comfort knowing that if a health issue is to arise, no matter how big or small, there is care available on campus.
For more information about the options at Beatitudes, check out our health services page or give us a call at (602) 833-1358.
The above article was written by Brad Breeding of myLifeSite and is legally licensed for use.
Cultivating Community Through Diversity
At a time when diversity feels under attack, Beatitudes Campus is a heartwarming, welcoming place open to everyone. Since our founding in 1965, we’ve nurtured an inclusive community that welcomes all people. Our friends and neighbors hail from around the globe, representing all walks of life’s journey.
We value every person regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation. This philosophy is so important to us that we’ve put it into words. You’ll find it on our website, posted around campus, and printed in our brochures and other materials.
See why it matters
Embracing diversity and inclusion ensures each individual in our community feels valued. A strong sense of connection and belonging encourages people to help each other, learn more, stay active, and feel more secure–all of which leads to higher satisfaction with life, healthier minds, and bodies. The latter link includes a wonderful infographic on the benefits of feeling connected by Dr. Emma Seppala at Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education.
Follow your own path
Whether you look to the stars for heavenly inspiration or to marvel at the beauty of science, Beatitudes Campus offers a variety of programs that foster spiritual fellowship and lifelong learning.
You can choose from several types of worship services, religious classes, faith-based volunteer opportunities, pastoral care and counseling, and more. Broadly organized like a college curriculum, our Lifelong Learners program features nearly two-dozen non-credit courses each semester exploring art, history, science, foreign languages, and skill-building topics.
Express yourself
At Beatitudes Campus, we know that diversity isn’t limited to gender or race or sexual orientation. It’s about learning from each other’s perspective.
Here, you’ll find an array of ways to express yourself. Every week, we host what we call a Hootenanny. It’s an open mic night where everyone is welcome to come together to sing and play instruments in an all-out jam session. Residents also perform poetry, philosophize, and inspire the audience to think about the world around us.
If you like to advance new ideas, you’ll love the Design Studio Residents’ Think Tank. The Design Studio works with management and the Board of Directors to foster and create innovative resident-driven programs.
The management and staff at Beatitudes Campus firmly believe in ongoing communication, which is why you’ll find us in the community talking with residents virtually every day. From one-on-one conversations and resident council meetings to Newcomers Coffee events, we’re out and about more than we’re behind our desks. When you get a chance, tell us what you think. We want to hear it.
Share our vision
If you want to live in a community with heart, that’s open and welcoming, and that values you for who you are, we invite you to come for a visit. To schedule lunch and a personal tour, give us a call at (602) 833-1358.
What Is Skilled Nursing Care?
Designed for individuals with serious health challenges, skilled nursing care provides higher-level medical services and ongoing supervision by a registered nurse, LPN, and other health professionals. This can include monitoring vital signs, wound care, IV therapy, injections, and physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Nursing care also encompasses assistance with everyday activities, from medication management and meals to personal care and hygiene. Nurses, certified nursing assistants, and support staff are on call 24/7. There are two types of skilled nursing care–short-term and long-term. Below is a summary of each type:
Short-term skilled nursing care: Time to heal
Short-term care is provided to those who need time to recover from an illness, injury or surgery. This can range from a few days or weeks to a few months.
For example, a loved one who leaves the hospital after a stroke or joint replacement surgery may not be capable of returning home immediately. He or she may need additional time to heal or to go through a concentrated rehabilitative process with a mix of physical, occupational and speech therapies.
Nursing care helps bridge the gap. The goal is to regain capabilities, health, and strength in order to return home safely, or to another living situation such as with a family member or an assisted living apartment.
Long-term skilled nursing care: Ongoing care and support
Long-term care provides hands-on, around-the-clock support and monitoring for those who have a chronic condition or complex health issues. There is skilled care, which requires higher-level medical services, and custodial care, which includes occasional medical care but primarily focuses on help with everyday tasks. Most of the time, long-term nursing care involves the latter.
Long-term nursing care centers can be a residential option for those who cannot live on their own and require a high degree of continual assistance and monitoring. For example, someone in the late stage of a progressive condition such as congestive heart failure or Parkinson’s disease. If a loved one is very frail, has serious health issues, falls often, lives alone and is unable to care for their own well-being, they may benefit from the stability and supervision of nursing care.
Not all nursing care centers are alike. Many, such as Beatitudes Campus, offer a stimulating atmosphere with enjoyable programs and amenities as well as friendly volunteers who help keep residents as active and engaged as possible. If your loved one needs the support of nursing care, take some time to tour the various centers to find one that fits their needs and preferences best.
Nursing care at Beatitudes Campus
The Health Care Center at Beatitudes Campus offers both short-term skilled care and long-term nursing care. We offer shared suites along with delicious, restaurant-style dining and special activities and programs.
The Health Care Center at Beatitudes Campus is Medicare and ALTCS Medicaid-approved and fully licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. We are continually recognized in Arizona state inspections for outstanding care.
To learn more about nursing care at Beatitudes Campus and whether it’s right for you or a loved one, visit the Health Services page on our website or call us at (602) 833-1358.