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the
News of
Winner of the PRIDE Award: Bridget Lannan
This month, Bridget Lannan, Program Assistant and
Program Leader in our Club Program, received the
honor of being awarded the PRIDE award from the
Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
The award, which stands for Professional Recognition in
Dementia Excellence, acknowledges care workers who
provide outstanding direct care to individuals with
dementia, serve unselfishly on the job, go beyond what is
required, use resources creatively to serve those with
dementia, show dedication and compassion, and serve as
role models for their peers. Bridget accepted her award at
the Regional Conference on May 7th, 2012.
Pat Shull, CEO, chose to nominate Bridget for this
award because of the way she excels at serving individuals with dementia. She learns the
idiosyncrasies of her participants, and is attuned to their needs, interests, and
personalities. Attending to each participant as if he or she were her only priority for the
day, Bridget far surpasses the requirements of her position. She not only meets basic
needs, but anticipates requests and preferences of her participants and serves them in
individual ways. As the Leader in her program, Bridget has learned a routine that works
best for her participants and leads the other staff in a way that maintains consistency.
She mentors new staff members and seeks to help them feel confident in serving our
participants. Working with individuals with dementia requires a lot of multi-tasking,
and this is another aspect of the job where
Bridget shines. She juggles a lot of responsibilities each day but always takes time to make
each participant feel important. Communicating with family caregivers also takes a central
place in Bridget’s heart and she makes it a
point to express her emotional support and to
communicate with family members whenever
she has the opportunity.
In October of 2010, Bridget celebrated 10
years of work with Adult Care of Chester
County. We applaud Bridget for her years of
dedication and the compassionate care she has
devoted to our participants. She has certainly
earned this prestigious award!
June 2012
In This Issue…
Bridget Lannan Wins
Prestigious Award
Spotlight: Lorraine Weed
Prom Highlights
Farewell to Two Retirees
ACCC Renews Excellence
in Care Distinction
“Summit”
The mission of Adult Care of
Chester County is to support
and empower families in their
caregiving experience by
offering them a welcoming,
friendly day service that
provides state of the art care
from a highly trained,
relentlessly competent, and
compassionate staff dedicated
to enabling their loved ones to
physically and cognitively
thrive so they can remain at
home for as long as possible.
Exton Center at 201 Sharp Lane, Exton, PA 19341 | 610.363.8044
Southern Center at 747 W. Cypress Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348 | 610.444.4413
Visit us online at www.acofcc.org
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Events & Resources for Caregivers
Strength for Caring website
Strength for Caring is a comprehensive website designed to provide
family caregivers with a broad range of expert content and
information, an emerging on-line community, daily inspiration,
and much needed support.
Visit strengthforcaring.com.
Medicare 101 Update
Tuesday, June 12th, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway
CCDAS volunteer assistance program will review Medicare, its
benefits, insurance available in Chester County, & considerations
when selecting medical coverage.
Reserve your spot by calling 610-344-6035.
Free Seniors Legal Clinic
Second Wednesday of each month, 9:00 am - 12 noon
Room 130, Government Services Center
601 Westtown Road, West Chester, PA
Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP) provides assistance to
seniors for a variety of matters, including consumer public welfare, Social
Security Disability and Social Security Income, simple estate planning,
living wills, power of attorney, and other matters.
Caregiver Coffee Hour at
Adult Care of Chester County
Looking for a convenient way to get in touch
with other local caregivers? Don’t forget that
Adult Care of Chester County hosts a
Caregiver Coffee Hour once a
month during the summer
months. We begin at 10:30
and usually end around noon
on the first Monday of the
month. Come anytime; no
registration is required.
Coffee Hour Topic for June
June 25th: Practical Suggestions for
Understanding Challenging Behaviors
Call Kim at 610-363-8044 for more
information.
Walk to End Alzheimer’s Event
Philadelphia Walk: November 17, 2012
Contact Keely Gudonis ([email protected]) for more details
or to sign up
Happy Retirement to Judy Taylor!
Judy first joined our team as a volunteer in 1998 after moving to the area from Massachusetts.
As an LPN, she had a lot to offer and living just around the corner from Adult Care of
Chester County’s Exton Center made it easy for her to volunteer her time and skills. This
experience gave her an excellent understanding of the needs of our population and the work we
do here, and she eventually was hired as a program assistant. Since 2001, she’s been a special
member of our staff and her retirement this summer will leave a void in our team.
In her work at Adult Care of Chester County, Judy always aimed to connect with participants
on a personal level. “I want to make their day a happier day,” she says, adding that “this in
turn makes my day better!” Judy’s passion for arts and crafts led her to help our participants
pursue such activities as origami, soap-making, and beading.
Judy and her husband are moving to North Carolina where they own land and plan to build a home. Her two dogs, Lily
and Ellis, will make the trip with them. Judy loves to garden and looks forward to starting a garden at her new home. We
will miss Judy at our Exton Center and we wish her the best of luck in her move and at her new home.
Celebration Corner
Happy Birthday this Month
Welcoming New Participants
Furman A., Elizabeth A., Mary B., Holbrook B., Albert D., William A., Nancy B., Alberta B., Arthur I., Janet J.,
Elmer H., Janet J., Dot M., Antoinette P., Francis R.,
Pearl L., David R., and Herbert S.,
Betty R., Angelo V., Nick V., Wayne W., and Bob Y.
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Participant Spotlight: Lorraine Weed
Lorraine was born on August 7th, 1951 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Her parents, Jack and Dolores Shainline, lived for a time in
Daytona Beach, Florida. Her father was a builder and helped build “mansion” homes in that area. Eventually they left Florida
and moved to Chester, PA, and later to East Goshen Township where Lorraine’s father built the family home. “I don’t know
what ever took them to Chester,” Lorraine says, laughingly. Lorraine was the oldest of the Shainline children and had two
younger brothers, Jack and Jim. She loved being the only girl in the family, and also enjoyed her other distinction: being the
tallest at school. When she was in the sixth grade, Lorraine recalls, she was tallest not only among her classmates, but taller than
the teachers and the custodian too! With a big smile she says that she did not mind this at all. Lorraine and her family used to
vacation at Crystal Beach, MD and loved spending nights on the boardwalk with friends.
Lorraine attended East Goshen Elementary, North Junior High, and Henderson High School where she graduated in 1969.
After graduation, she went to work for an insurance agency. At around the age of 21, she moved to Florida and spent the next
35 years there. She eventually owned her own insurance agency and monogramming
company.
Lorraine has always loved cars and racing, and remembers her red Mustang convertible and
black BMW Z3 convertible with special fondness. She beams when telling of how she loved
street racing, not just watching, but being behind the wheel on Route 3 where she says she
never got a speeding ticket! “I loved that time of my life,” she says. Her brother, Jack, has a
race car and Lorraine loves going to the track and watching him.
Lorraine enjoyed many cruise vacations to the Bahamas. When she lived in Florida, she
visited the Seminole reservation to play cards and Bingo at least once a week.
Lorraine was married and has one daughter, Lori, who is 39. Lorraine’s granddaughter,
Shelby, is “the love of her life.” Today, Lorraine lives in the Shainline family home, which
is now owned by her brother, Jack and his wife, Phyllis. At Adult Care of Chester County,
Lorraine has found others eager to share one of her favorite hobbies: card playing. She can
often be found after lunch with a few friends and a pile of poker chips, deep into a card
game. Lorraine’s quick, bright smile has won her many friends and hers is a face we are
always happy to see around the Exton Center.
Happy Retirement to Millicent Hicks!
Millicent Hicks arrived at Adult Care of Chester County in January 1998 and has been making a positive impact on our participants ever since. Millicent has worked in different programs
over the year. When the Southern Chester County Center opened in 2004, Millicent offered
to transfer to that center, be the initial connection to the Exton Center, and carry the ACCC
philosophy to the new center. She quickly became the anchor in that program and in her role
as mentor to all new staff, taught them the important role that the programming and activities
play in helping participants thrive and enjoy their day at the center. Through her creativity and
commitment she has helped that Center grow to serve more people over the years. As Activity
Coordinator for SCCC, she demonstrated a strong commitment to providing high quality
therapeutic activities to the participants. She knows how to get each participant engaged and
involved at their level of ability. In addition, anyone who has visited that center knows the level of creativity she has and
the example she sets for other care team members in providing an atmosphere that helps participants celebrate life. She is a
leader who inspires her coworkers to serve participants creatively and enthusiastically.
One of Millicent’s most memorable projects with the participants at the Southern Chester County Center was her map
project. She contacted adult day centers all across the country and encouraged them to send postcards and news from their
town. These correspondences were displayed in the Southern Chester County Center with a map indicating the location of
each center that responded. It was projects like this one that Millicent loved most, and we will miss her ingenuity at the
SCC Center. Family is very important to Millicent and we know she will be glad to spend more time with her seven
grandsons! Best of luck to Millicent in her retirement!
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Exton Prom: All That Jazz
After a voting process in which all of our participants
contributed a vote, our prom theme for 2012 was decided
to be “All That Jazz.” Songs included Satin Doll, All That
Jazz, Mood Indigo, Moon Glow, Hello Dolly, Georgia on
My Mind, In the Mood, Summertime, Enjoy Yourself, Girl
from Impanema, and Jump, Jive, an’ Wail.
Staff, participants, and guests enjoyed an afternoon in the
1920’s. Our special snack that afternoon was provided by
Chestnut Knoll At Home Services.
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Southern Prom: A Rose Garden Affair
Participant votes determined the theme for this year’s Prom
at the Southern Center: A Rose Garden Affair. Songs
included Moonlight and Roses, Garden Party, Red Roses
for a Blue Lady, Paper Rose, The Yellow Rose of Texas,
Bouquet of Roses, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,
Primrose, and My Wild Irish Rose.
After Prom, Strawberry Shortcake was served to participants to complete the festive afternoon.
News from Southern Chester County Center
Our space has been transformed through the month of May. We have enjoyed creating a Springtime mural of colorful
flowers, trees, butterflies, and birds. We even created a pond complete with swimming ducks! Now it’s time to start creating our outside space. Last year’s garden was such a success that we’re planning on another one this summer. We’ve talked
about what we’ll grow and we had a trial planting run with marigolds and “grassy heads” (a fun craft involving knee-high
stockings and grass seed!). We’re looking forward to transplanting our garden to our new space when we move in July!
Of course, it wouldn’t be Spring without baseball! Our “Phillies Corner” contains a poster on which we faithfully record
every game score—even the ones we lose! Even though the season hasn’t been the best, participant Joe D. states, “We
won’t give up on the Phils!”
The highlight of the month was our Prom, with a rose garden theme. We transformed the Center with bowers of roses,
hearts, and tulle. Everyone looked wonderful in their prom garb and enjoyed dancing to 28 songs that had the word
“rose” in the title. We are all grateful to Penny for planning a fun afternoon!
Adult Care of Chester County Renews Distinction
In May of 2010, Adult Care of Chester County passed a rigorous evaluation including a
thorough inspection of our facilities, research into our staff education procedures and center
policies, and observation of our staff providing direct care and facilitating activities. This led
to Adult Care of Chester County earning the status of an Alzheimer’s Foundation of
America Excellence in Care Dementia Program of Distinction. We were the first adult day
center in Pennsylvania to earn this status and this award from an outside source affirmed to
our staff that the care they provide each day is of an award-worthy quality.
This two-year certification was due for renewal this May and our staff pulled together to prepare for a re-certification visit
from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. After a day of observations, interviews with staff, and inquiry into our staff
education and training over the past two years, we were again honored with the distinction of being named an Alzheimer’s
Foundation of America Excellence in Care Dementia Program of Distinction.
We thank Wendy Walsh, RN for her dedication in preparing for this recertification process and also extend special
thanks to the staff members who spent time with the evaluator during her visit. If you would like to learn more about this
distinction, please visit alzfdn.org or excellenceincare.org..
On the Calendar...
Exton Center Events for June 2012
Patriotic Sing-along: Thursday, June 14th
Father’s Day Pie: Monday, June 18th
Grateful Alive Band Visits: Thursday, June 21st
Beach Dance: Tuesday, June 26th
Southern Center Events for June 2012
Father’s Party: Thursday, June 14th
Western Party: Wednesday, June 20th
Summer Breakfast: Thursday, June 21st
Iced Tea Week: June 25-29
At the Summit
In November of 2011, we launched a new program to serve individuals in Chester County with
Young-Onset Dementia. This program, like our other programs, offers a setting where participants
engage in purposeful and enjoyable activities, socialize with peers, and receive personalized care.
We are happy to announce that our Young-Onset Program has just been named. It will be
called Summit. This signifies the positive and encouraging atmosphere we foster for these
individuals. Additionally, it honors University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt,
whose recent resignation from her post as Head Coach due to young-onset dementia
brought national attention to this disease.
Six months after the launch of this program, we are seeing positive responses from our
participants and their family caregivers. We look forward to seeing this program reach great
heights! Summit operates Tuesdays and Thursdays at our Exton Center, from 9:00 - 4:00.
Contributors
Board of Directors
Reflections from Southern Center submitted by
Ruth Ann Smith and Jennifer Wright.
Exton Spotlight articles submitted by Pat DeHart.
All articles edited and arranged by Brittany Mountz.
Chair, Linda M. Rhodes, Ed.D
Treasurer, Joseph Stratton, MBA
Chair-Elect, Amy Balian
Secretary, Judith Royal, MBA
Members:
Christine Cucinotta, Karen Kaminskas, Bernice Soffer, MSW,
Thomas Egan, Ed.D., and Alice Peters
www.acofcc.org