319.362.3630 www.garnettplace.net

Professionally Managed by Senior Housing Companies, Inc.

Volume 19, Issue 10

202 35th St. Dr. S.E. Cedar Rapids, IA

Garnett Gazette, October 2019

Directory of Information

Leadership Team

Manager: Chris Ruzicka 319.929.6894 manager@garnettplace.net Assistant Manager: Ambika Sharma 319.533.0397 assistantmanaer@garnettplace.net Health Care Coordinator: Lee Thoma, RN 319.929.6892 nurse@garnettplace.net Community Relations Coordinator: Meg Harper 319.533.5050 marketing@garnettplace.net Life Enrichment Coordinator: Kari Santos, MA, CTRS 319.533.0441 enrichlife@garnettplace.net Culinary Coordinator: Jeremy Curl 319.533.0409 kitchen@garnettplace.net Maintenance Coordinator: Chris Anderson 319.929.6890 maintenance@garnettplace.net Facebook.com/GarnettPlace

Welcome

Home

Donna J.

Transportation

Information:

319.540.3630

Please inform transportation at least

48 hours in advance of drive needs.

Appointment hours:

8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Monday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday.

No transportation

on Tuesdays Tuesdays are reserved for trips.

Dining Room Hours

of Operation:

Breakfast:

7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Dinner (Lunch):

11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Supper:

4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Times will vary per dining room. Please check with your server.

Guest meals are $5 per person, per meal.

We ask that you notify us

if a guest is eating with you 24 hours in advance.

Additional snacks and beverages available 24/7.

Happy

Birthday!

October 1

Robert B.

October 5

Bill K.

October 9

Garry M.

October 14

Elizabeth K.

October 16

Dorothy H

Save the Date!

Garnett Place’s Annual Flu Shot Clinic

October 8th

Grandparents Day Tailgating

T hank you to everyone who came out

to celebrate the Iowa vs Iowa State

game! We had a fantastic time

sharing our team spirit over a

delicious meal. Check out more photos in

this issue and on our Facebook page:

Facebook.com/GarnettPlace

October

Highlights

October 1

Wilson’s Apple

Orchard Field Trip

October 7

Absentee Ballot Request

Help Clinic

October 8

Oktoberfest

Dancing demonstration

with costumes by

Tim & Kathy Hulse

Oktoberfest treats and

beverages served

October 15

Colony Pumpkin Patch

October 16

Armchair Traveler: Hiking

Superior Trail

October 25

Trick or Treating

October 31

Monsters & Margaritas

Activities Continuing Education Series

Community Reminders

Flu Shot Clinic

Tuesday, October 8th

9:30 a.m.

Activity Rooms

Flu shots will be administered right away in the morning. Report to the

activity room closets to your apartment.

Please let Lee (Nurse, Health Care Coordinator) know if you have

received OR plan to receive your flu shot elsewhere before this date.

Newspapers

Each activity room has it’s own newspaper

for your reading pleasure.

Please leave the newspaper in the activity

room. This is a public paper meant to be

shared with everyone.

Thank you—Garnett Team

Community News

O ctober is here and it feels like we are go-ing to continue to be able to get out and enjoy walking. I advise you to take advantage of the recent weather

because we all know what’s coming sooner than some of us may want. This month I will conclude my series on the 10 health benefits of walking. The information was written by Tim Brewer for the website Uplifting Mobility: identifying 10 Health Benefits of Walking for Seniors – Staying Strong and Fit. Mr. Brewer writes, “Walking may not seem as beneficial as other cardiovascular exercises like, running, biking or swimming, but there are a lot of health benefits to walking regularly. Especially for seniors.” The final two very important benefits:

9. INCREASED BALANCE AND STABILITY: Slips and falls are common among the elderly. This is often caused from a lack of hip strength and a loss in overall balance. Walking engages the hips, abdominals and numerous other muscles that work together to ensure that a person is able to stay balanced. Walking alleviates slips and falls and helps boost stability and balance.

10. WALKING INCREASES LIFESPAN: Seniors who want to live a happy, long, and healthy life will find that walking has been shown to reduce the risk of death.

Remember to hydrate, wear hats, and long sleeves and Happy Walking!

Chris Ruzicka, Manager

A warm welcome to our new Community Relations Coordinator, Meg, from Garnett Place. I know that most of you have already met her. If you haven’t, please stop by the

front office any time to say hi to Meg. I can’t believe that it’s October already. The official first day of fall for this year was the 23rd of September. During this month, the leaves of trees often begin to change their colors. This month is special to me because two of our major and longest Hindu festivals Dashain and Tihar, fall in October. Dashain is traditionally celebrated for two weeks, which honors a great conquest of the gods over the evil demons. We pray and worship the symbol of power, Goddess Durga, during this festival.

Talking about Tihar, it is celebrated for five days, which is also called the festival of lights. We usually put lights all over the inside and the outside of the house — just like Christmas. This festival brings the worship of Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth, along with the worship of dogs, crows, and cows respectively.

October also brings Halloween on the 31st. I love to dress up for Halloween with my friends and family. This year, we are planning to go to different haunted houses around in Cedar Rapids. We also organize the party and celebrate all night long. Last year, I was dressed up as zombie prom queen and my husband, Binod as a zombie. We usually go with a couple’s costume every year. As you can see, I will be celebrating throughout this month and very much looking forward to it.

If you need anything, you know where to find me. Have a wonderful month!

Ambika Sharma, Assistant Manager

Coordinator Greetings

Your Resident Council Representatives

We’re here to represent you.

Shirley J. Carol S. Robert T.

Festivals Happy Walking

Team

Member

Recognition

Happy

Birthday

Joanne, Kari, Steve

Happy Work

Anniversary Teepu, Sue,

Bonnie, Lee,

Kari, Chris

Welcome to

the team Holly, Meg,

Vivian, Delilah, Michael

Absentee Ballot Requests

Election Date: November 5

Combined City and School Election

Absentee Ballot Requests must

be received by Linn County

election services no later than

October 25th

If you would like help requesting an

absentee ballot, or changing your voter

registration to your new

Garnett Address, we are hosting a

Voting Help Clinic on

Monday, October 7th.

This is only to fill out request

paperwork. We cannot help you vote. A

bus service will run to our local polling

location on Election Day.

Welcome Aboard

H ello! My name is Meg Harper, the new Community Relations Coordinator at Garnett

Place Retirement Community. Before accepting this new position, I was living in Sioux City, IA working in the Communications Department for their school district. I recently moved back to eastern Iowa and am now living in Center Point with my boyfriend, Cody, and our dogs. My favorite hobbies include reading, baking, walking my dogs, and remodeling our house. I am excited to join the Garnett Place community and look forward to getting to know each of you. I hope you will stop by my office and introduce yourself!

Meg Harper, Community Relations Coordinator

Coordinator Greetings

It’s That Time of Year

A s always it is hard to believe how fast this year is going, and that is al-most fall. Most of us look

forward to football games, the smell of burning leaves, the World Series, and flu shots. Yes, I am saying its flu shot time again. Reutzel Pharmacy will be coming to Garnett Place on Tuesday October 8th from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to give residents and staff flu shots. It is very important that everyone con-siders getting the flu shot. Influenza is a highly contagious virus which is spread by coughing, sneezing, and nasal secretions. Signs and symptoms of influenza are fever, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, headache, and muscle aches. Influenza can easily lead to pneumonia. 226,000 people are hospitalized yearly and 36,000 peo-ple die, mostly elderly individuals. If you have any questions or want more information on influenza and the vaccine, please ask. I want every-one to stay as healthy as they can this winter.

Lee Thoma,

RN,

A Look Back

Grandparents Day Tailgating Party

October is my Month

I love October for so many different reasons. The colorful leaves, both on the trees and crunching under my feet. Chilly weather, wearing sweaters, sit-

ting around bonfires, and drinking a hot cup of cocoa is a perfect morning to me. I take great delight in Halloween, and can’t wait to celebrate it. October is also my birth month and anniversary month. It’s going to be a busy month for me.

It’s going to be a busy month for you too as we have a lot happening this month. We’re taking a trip both to the apple orchard (10/1) and to the pumpkin patch (10/15). We’re celebrating Oktoberfest in style, complete with costumed dancers, Oktoberfest beer, and delicious, warm soft pretzels with cheese (all on 10/8).

Our big Trick-or-Treating event is happening on October 25th from 4:00—6:00 p.m. so encourage the grandkids (or great-grandkids) to break out their best costumes. Don’t forget your costume as well! The Halloween fun doesn’t end there, as on Halloween we’ll be having a Monsters and Margaritas bash! I’m especially looking forward to that party, because it’s going to be Holly’s special project for her internship. I can’t wait to see what fun things she plans to keep you entertained and in the “spirit” of Halloween.

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving and Christmas are already on my mind as well. The end of the year is going to fly by. Let the parties begin!

Kari Santos, MA, CTRS Life Enrichment Coordinator

Coordinator Greetings

91 Days Until the Year End

A s we enter October, a few things come to mind. Milder weather, cooler temperatures and impending holidays. This is also

a great time to get outside and enjoy the warm sun. Hopefully winter holds off for a couple more months and doesn’t bring us an early snow. I hope everyone has a good month and let me know if you need help with anything

Chris Anderson, Maintenance Coordinator

Fall Menus are Here

S eptember was pretty good. Weather wise, we have been up and down tem-perature wise, we have had a lot of rain recently. Hopefully the humidity

goes down so you all can enjoy the outdoors before it gets too cold. I have received the newest menu for fall/winter, so if there is an-ything you would like to see on it please let me know. I’m going to try and get more soups made to have available during the week. On the family side, the two oldest are back in school and loving it. My son started preschool and is doing an amazing job. He loves to go play with all the different toys. It is football season, so make sure you are cheering your team on and have fun.

Jeremy Curl, Culinary Coordinator

Congratulations

Lee wins Nurse of the Year from the Iowa Assisted Living Association

The Iowa Assisted Living Association (IALA) Nurse of the Year award was presented to Garnett Place's Health Care

Coordinator, Lee Thoma, RN. Lee has been with the community for over a decade and has made a major positive

impact on not only his team and residents, but also the industry itself.

Congratulations Lee, we’re so proud of you.

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Thank you to Riverside Casino for partnering

with us in the Walk to end Alzheimer’s. Your

partnership and dedication to our community has

been fantastic. Thank you for bringing us closer

to our Walk goals.