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.

On October 10, World Mental Health Day reminded us all to take a deep breath and take stock in caring for our mental and emotional well-being. Beatitudes Campus joins the international community in promoting ways for you to live your best life—fulfilling, connected, and active—while encouraging you to reach out for help and support whenever you need it.

There are simple things you can do to keep your mental health on track, starting with these helpful suggestions from Mayo Clinic and the Mental Health Foundation in the United Kingdom.

Tips for caring for your mental health

Get plenty of sleep
Talk with others
Laugh more
Find a sense of purpose
Take up a hobby
Volunteer to help others
Get physically active
Manage your stress
Eat a healthy diet
Ask for professional help if you need it

Keep an open mind
Most people will experience a mental health challenge in their lifetime, according to Mayo Clinic. Not all symptoms, even the scary ones, are cause for alarm. Something as simple as a vitamin deficiency or urinary tract infection can cause mood swings and dementia-like symptoms. Talk to your doctor. Information and proper treatment can make a huge difference in your mental, emotional, and physical health.

Remember, as we get older, we experience life stressors common to all ages as well as additional stressors such as chronic pain, loneliness, and bereavement, according to the World Health Organization. So, as we age, it’s important to keep caring for ourselves holistically.

Where you live matters
Another smart suggestion is to look at where you live. How easy is it for you to get out and socialize, meet new people, volunteer, be active and eat healthy? Being able to easily do all of those things is perhaps one of the best aspects of living in a senior living community such as Beatitudes Campus.

Here, you can meet others who share your interests, take educational classes, play cards and games, volunteer your time and talents, tutor students, learn to paint and eat healthy in any of our restaurants. That’s just the beginning!

Knowing our staff takes care of everything, from housekeeping to maintenance to yard work, might relieve some of your stress and help you sleep better at night. Making friends and building real connections means you’ll enjoy a sense of belonging and always have a shoulder to lean on when you need it. Best of all, if you ever do need help with your mental health, Beatitudes Campus offers support groups, counseling, assisted living with memory support, and more.

To learn more about how Beatitudes Campus can enhance your mental, emotional, and physical well-being, call us at (602) 910-2795 or get in touch by submitting a contact form on our website.

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.

The life plan community concept began about a century ago when faith-based and other charitable organizations sought to provide lifetime shelter and care for the aging. In exchange for this promise, residents being cared for were usually required to assign most or all of their assets to the organization. Although well-intentioned, this model was less than scientific, and when residents lived longer than expected, there often wasn’t enough money on hand to fulfill the organization’s commitment.

In response to the short-coming of this model, the idea of entrance fees evolved. Rather than collecting the assets of a resident, organizations began establishing minimum entrance fees (combined with monthly fees) that were determined to be adequate to cover commitments.

After proving to be more effective, the entrance fee model eventually expanded to also offer refundable entrance fees. Many prospective residents responded more favorably to this approach because they knew that either they or their heirs would receive back some portion of the entrance fee if they ever left the community, or at death.

Today there are more than 2,000 life plan communities located throughout the United States offering non-refundable, partially refundable, and fully refundable entrance fees. Many providers offer multiple options from which to choose.

So, what is the purpose of an entrance fee? Primarily, the entrance fee helps secure a resident’s contractual access to a continuum of care. This is why life plan communities are the only type of retirement scenarios providing such a promise to its residents. In recent years, more rental-only life plan communities have evolved. However, under a rental contract, there is either no contractual promise to provide a continuum of care, or the monthly fee will be higher than a comparable entrance fee.

The money received from entrance fees is also used to help pay down, or limit, the amount of debt required for development, expansion, or occasional capital projects, which keep the community attractive and competitive in the marketplace.

Finally, many life plan communities- particularly non-profit providers- offer a financial assistance or endowment fund to help ensure that if a resident runs out of money due to a longer than average stay in the healthcare center, or some other unforeseen circumstance, they will not be forced to leave the community. Of course, this would not apply to any situation where a resident mismanaged or intentionally transferred personal assets in order to receive such support.

At Beatitudes Campus, the entrance fee for our Central Park Apartments and Patio Homes include 90 days of skilled nursing, memory care, or assisted living for each resident at no additional cost. The monthly service fee and the one-time entrance fee is up to 90% refundable, and you can enjoy the convenience of maintenance-free living with the security of a future healthcare benefit.

The above article was written by Brad Breeding of myLifeSite and is legally licensed for use.