Seniors are learning the benefits of modern technology with the use of iPads and comparable devices such as the Tablet. It’s easy to fall in love with the iPad being that it is extremely portable making it easy to carry from room to room, bring on trips, and even take with you while shopping. Having a display screen 9.5 inches with large identifiable icons makes it easy for seniors to navigate thus making the iPad a sought after device. Many seniors struggle with finger dexterity or stiff fingers, using a touch screen that allows you to interact, makes it much easier for those with these ailments.

The virtual keyboard is really a plus in the senior community. The keyboard is large and easy to read and touch, especially when using it in the landscape mode. For those with low-vision, you are able to enlarge the text for easy reading of your favorite newspaper or magazine, books and web articles. Games are available to download for free from the Android Market (if you use a Tablet) and large variety of apps for your iPad are also available for free download.  Apps are really where it’s at. Apps allow baby boomers and seniors to really customize their device to meet their own personal needs.  Click here for 10 “starter” apps that come recommended by online reviews and experts who focus on how older people use technology.

Communication with family and friends is important.  More and more grandparents are using social media and technology to stay in contact with their children and grandchildren. An iPad or Tablet lets you “surf” the web and some even enable video chats.   These devices make it easy for you to write, send, and receive emails, take notes, keep appointments (on their user-friendly calendar), and so much more.

Seniors today are technologically savvy and want to stay in touch with the world! In fact our nation’s fastest-growing demographic group—people over 65 and over 85— are now being refereed to as our “Silver Surfers.”  They are joining classes and groups eager to learn how to take advantage of the technology available to us.  They may struggle at first with terms such as “streaming” or “social media” and how to decipher what LOL or OMG means, but they aren’t giving up.  They are adamant about learning and they are!

National Nursing Home Week begins on Mother’s Day, May 13 and continues until May 19, 2012.  Here at Village on the Isle we know that nursing home residents are the people who nurtured our community and helped it flourish and grow.  They are the teachers, shop keepers, business people, civil servants, parents and others who have contributed so much to the city of Venice.  This week gives us a chance to recognize their sacrifices and contributions.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating the Journey.”  Village On The Isle will be holding many events to showcase this week and give residents and staff a chance to be the center of attention.  On Monday, May 14 at 10:15 AM we will have our Opening Ceremony with Mayor John Holic, VFW, Venice High Color Guard, to name a few.  Tuesday May 15^th in the afternoon from 1pm-3pm we will have an Antique Car Show along with local radio personality. Wednesday, May 16^th the residents will enjoy a Sock Hop with entertainment by Ray.  On Thursday, May 17^th we will conclude our “Baby Photo Contest” and enjoy ice cream floats and finally we will close the week on Friday, May 18^th  with a balloon and butterfly release & BBQ.

We invite you to be a part of our National Nursing Home Week celebration.  Come and meet some of the wonderful residents at Village On The Isle.

Mr. Webster tells us that recreation is “A refreshing of spirits as a change from work or study.”  To be sure, there’s a whole lot of refreshing going on at Village On The Isle!

Residents need only to peruse their monthly calendar to find an exciting event, varied stimulating activities, live and lively entertainment, a potpourri of shopping excursions and road trips to nearby and/or far away venues. All are offered for the recreation of the body, spirit and mind.

The fun and excitement of doing things with friends and neighbors can be seen in the residents’ happy faces – can be heard in the joyful noise of their laughter – can be felt as it is shared.

If one would like to join in a wicked game of Bridge or take in some leisurely laps in our sparkling pool, Village On The Isle can and does accommodate these and countless other activities.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities should be filled with happiness and a rich activity schedule.  When you choose to spend your golden years in our community we take on the responsibility of ensuring you enjoy all of your time with us. Independent Living, Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing all enjoy the benefits of our wonderful recreation calendar.

Village On The Isle’s Recreation Department’s simple philosophy is “My Time is Now!”

Type the word “retirement” into Google and see 250,000,000 results…that’s 250 million articles, websites and blogs advising you on “Where to retire,” “How much to save for retirement,” “Retirement planning,” “What to do when you retire,” the list goes on and on and on.  All this information at our fingertips yet some of you reading this blog right now may not have adequate retirement funds saved or long-term retirement plans.  Do you know where you’ll live when you retire and what will happen when you start to need assisted care?  If you have a plan, does it include living to be 100 years old?  If you do not plan accordingly for retirement you may be leaving that decision to your children (if you even have children) and may ultimately end up somewhere you would not have chosen for yourself.

Savvy planners educate themselves early on retirement options so that they make an informed decision when the time is right rather than a “crisis driven” decision.  Continuing Care Retirement Communities offer the most security both financially and medically as well as peace of mind for those planning long-term.  You can read more about the benefits of a CCRC in an earlier blog post.

Village On The Isle offers a Future Residency Program designed for those who are future planning or those retirees who are waiting for a specific type of Independent Living apartment to become available.  Many future residents join this program several years prior to reaching their planned retirement age. Some may be waiting for their current house to sell, whatever the reason these retirees have done their homework and are making an educated decision for their retirement.   All members of the Future Residency Program have full access to Village On The Isle amenities, this gives them a chance to see the lifestyle at Village and socialize with others in their same peer group.  As part of the Future Residency Program, members may request they be notified when a certain type of apartment becomes available during a certain time frame.  Village On The Isle staff constantly monitors the FRP and notifies members accordingly.

Long-term planning for retirement is key.  Many of us buy our burial plot years in advance or set up our will years in advance, well what about the in between?  Why are we not as proactive about where the best place to spend our retirement years are? What will happen the years where we may need extra care and/or assisted living or even skilled nursing care?  Serious planners educated themselves and make sound decisions on how their life will be spent in the “golden years.”  It is ultimately your choice, your plan and how you choose to live.  Take charge of your life, start planning and educating yourself now.  Do NOT be crisis driven. After all in retirement, “Your Time is Now!”

*** For more information on our Future Residency Program at Village On The Isle please contact Carol in our marketing department at (941) 486-5484.

It’s important that our residents in Independent Living, Assisted Living and in our Skilled Nursing Facility be connected with our community in Venice, FL. We maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.  Residents are taken out on picnics, attend special performances, enjoy shopping and going to different local area restaurants. We even go to the beach to see the sunset; after all we are living in Paradise!

Our hard working transportation department drove a total of 17,865 miles (just in activities) in 2011, transporting all of our wonderfully active residents to their various activities.  Listed below is a detailed log of transportation department showing activity miles as well as miles for doctor appointments and fuel consumption.

2011:

Luke Haven: Activity miles 1,154

Doctor’s miles:     5,215

Fuel used:            1,002.8 Gallons

Mark Manor & Independent: Activity miles 16,711

Doctor miles:        38,142

Fuel used:            8,266.2 Gallons

Total Activities:   17,865 miles

Total Doctors:     43,357 miles

Total Combined: 61,222 miles

Total fuel used:   9,269.0 gallons

This quote speaks to many of us.  As we mature we begin to realize that the moments we create and the memories we share with those around us are really the most important piece to happiness in our lives.  Think about the times you sat and laughed to yourself about “the time when…” What about the last time you sat around the coffee table laughing or even crying with loved ones “remembering the times when…” We all have moments we reminisce on.

At Village On The Isle we want these moments to continue.  We pride ourselves in keeping our Independent, Assisted Living and Skilled nursing residents busy with a full recreation calendar.  Shopping trips, creative classes and groups, or morning coffee where stories and moments as described are shared with close friends.  We work our whole lives to reach retirement and these are moments that should be lived to the fullest.  As we like to say at Village On The Isle, “My Time is NOW!”

Easter is a time of celebration for Christians throughout the world, as we reflect on the birth, death and resurrection of Christ. As a faith-based Continuing Care Retirement Community, Village On The Isle reflects this same sense of celebration, with Good Friday services on campus led by local clergy, transportation to local Venice, FL churches and even a Monday Easter Service on campus for those who chose not to attend local churches, but still want to attend a service.

As you may already know, we like to have fun and celebrate in every way we can. Residents can almost always expect visits from the Easter bunny, Easter egg hunts for neighboring children, wonderful meals, fashion shows and even hat parades!
Life is always fun with a party, so wherever you are, whatever you are doing, make things better with a celebration!

From our family to yours, We Wish You A Happy Easter 2012!

The residents also enjoy Wii trivia time and Jeopardy. When not playing video games, Mark Manor assisted living residents have crossword every morning and they really love joining together to put their minds to work. It’s a timed crossword and they do finish on time.

Spring is beautiful here in Venice, FL so we try and schedule as many outdoor activities as we can. The residents go on outings to different restaurants every month. Recently we visited the Big Cat Habitat where they were able to hold and pet the animals. They also have a drama club and periodically they will put on plays for the residents.

The residents at Mark Manor are always on the go go go….. They keep their mind and body active all the time….

The cost of energy has more than tripled since then. To help offset the cost, our management team has made a commitment to our Continuing Care Retirement Community residents to control our costs. To do this we have invested in newer technology and better, higher efficiency equipment.

We started at the top down. We installed a white reflective TPO roof save us 10 -15% on energy costs. Not only was the roofing an economical savings to us, it helped with the protection of our residents as it was designed to the newest hurricane construction standards.

We are systematically replacing our older windows and doors with energy efficient, impact resistant window systems. Windows are also treated with window film that reflects out the sun and reduces solar heat gain by 85%.

To reduce cost from our air-conditioning system (which counts for 65% of our energy consumption) we take a multi layer approach. First we are replacing out older air-conditioning units with higher SEER rated units. This saves us additional costs on our utilities. At the same time we install UV lights in the air-handling units. This keeps their coils cleaner which in turn keeps the efficiency high. Programmable thermostats have also been installed. The most significant benefit of using a programmable thermostat is the ability to preset the temperature during the day or night. By using the heat or air conditioning less when away from area, less energy is used and this turns into savings on the energy bill.

Minnie split air-condition units are used where they are applicable; these units are some of the most efficient systems (up to 26 SEER).  We also have variable frequency motors on our pumps that throttle when they are not in high demand; this produces a 30% savings in energy.  All of our new appliances are Energy Star appliances are that generally use 20%–30% less energy than required by federal standards.  High efficiency boilers and water heaters are used which are 94.6% efficient in heat transfer range compared to our older boilers that were 50 % efficiency.  As you can see we are making every effort in all areas of this retirement community to be “green.”

Lighting is another area that we are making strides in. We started by replacing the 4,000 incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs: this saved us 75% in energy savings. They also produce 75% less heat, so it’s safer to operate and can cut associated cost with cooling.  Our older T-8 fluorescent bulbs are being replaced with T-12 bulbs that save 20% energy. LED fixtures are starting to be installed in our outdoor areas. LED fixtures use 1/3 to 1/30^th of a standard fixture and last 10 to 15 times longer.

We are also taking advantage of the sun, we use solar heat to help heat our swimming pool. We are also using initiative technology using a solar system to help heat our domestic water. We are preheating our water before it goes to our water heating boilers. By preheating the water before it goes into the boilers we have decreased our energy consumption by 30%. We believe that we are the first in the state if not the county to use this technology in that manner.

These are just a few of the ways we reduce our energy needs and carbon footprint. By doing so we are preserving our environment and directing cost savings to enhancing resident care and our community!