February News and Events

New Staff

Alyssa Sackett - Assisted Living R.N.

We are pleased to welcome Alyssa Sacket as our new Assisted Living R.N.! Alyssa will be working closely with our Assisted Living D.O.N. Dallas, assisting with any nurse related duties. She worked at Cottage Grove for 22 years before coming to The Gardens of Cedar Rapids. Alyssa is excited to be here! She has always loved working in geriatrics and said her favorite part about it is getting to know the residents.

"I love getting to know the residents and hearing about their life stories. It brings a smile to my face and a smile to their face!"

Alyssa is originally from a suburb near Boston, MA but has resided in the Cedar Rapids area since she graduated from high school. She currently lives in town with her husband and four boys. Her daughter is married and has two boys. They also live here in town.

Welcome to The Gardens Alyssa!

Desiree Howard- Long-Term Care Director of Nursing

We are pleased to announce our new long-term care Director of Nursing, Desiree Howard! Desiree worked for the Anamosa Care Center for 14 years, working most positions and ending as their D.O.N. She then tried something new and worked for St. Luke's Hospital for 4 years in their I.C.U. She is very excited to be back as a D.O.N.!

Desiree is from Emporia, KS. She currently lives in Anamosa, IA with her 15 year old daughter who is a freshman in high school. In her free time Desiree enjoys being outside and gardening or playing with flowers.

Welcome to The Gardens Desiree!

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Happening This Month

Coffee Club

Join us every Monday morning at 9 am in The Garden's Piano Lounge! Enjoy a cup of hot coffee, meet new friends, and see our gorgeous facility! No R.S.V.P. necessary! A free mug is provided on your first visit! We'd love to have you!

Assisted Living Brunch Dates

Our brunch dates for Assisted Living tenants are scheduled as follows:

Tenant Brunch (for just tenants) - Wednesday, Feb. 6th at 10am

Family Brunch (for tenants and their invited guests) - Friday, Feb. 15th at 10am

Family and friends who wish to attend the Family Brunch please R.S.V.P. to Eva by Feb. 13th! See Eva for more information or for questions. We look forward to having you!

Assisted Living Welcome Home Party

Reside in our Assisted Living facility? Join us on Thursday, February 6th from 2-3 pm in the Assisted Living Dining Room for a "Welcome Home" party! Introduce yourself, see old friends, meet your new neighbors, and enjoy good food and drinks! No R.S.V.P. necessary.

Valentine's Day Party

Love is in the air! Celebrate Valentine's Day with us on Thursday, February 14th at 2pm in our Piano Lounge! We will be serving sweet treats, playing games, and the staff has prepared a special surprise for the residents! Hope to see you there!

Happy Hour Dates

Join us every Friday afternoon at 3pm in the Piano Lounge for live music and happy hour! Performers are listed below!

Friday, February 1st - Keyboard with Harry Ebbeson

Friday, February 8th - Guitar with Jason Guerrero

Friday, February 15th - Broadway Style Piano with Betty Debban

Friday, February 22nd - The Accordion Club

Weekend Events

Saturday, February 9th

Join Prairie High School at 10am in our Skilled Dining Room for a game of BINGO! All ages welcome!

Sunday, February 10th

Stonebridge Church will be joining us at 1:30 in the afternoon for "Musical Fellowship!" Located in the Piano Lounge. You won't want to miss these wonderful friends and wonderful tunes!

Sunday, February 24th

Loco Lee will be back with his blues tunes at 1:30 in our Skilled Dining Room. Words are provided so you can sing along, you may even give karaoke a try if you're feeling brave! All are welcome!

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Resident Spotlight

Leverne Rogan

Leverne was born near Decorah, Iowa. She was raised on a farm, living with her parents and siblings. She went to school through 8th grade, then stopped because there were no busses in her area to take her into town to go to school. After 8th grade she worked as a baby sitter for three different families.

She met her husband Jasper in 1943 at Matters Ballroom. She was going with another guy at the time who wished to marry her, but she liked Jasper better and they wed in 1945 when she was 18 years old. They recently celebrated 74 years of marriage.

They started out living with her husband's parents in Glenwood Township, helping them farm their land. Then they moved to another farm nearby to start a farm of their own. Through their younger years the couple farmed and raised five kids, three boys and two girls. One of their daughters recently passed.

Later on Leverne and her husband retired from farming and moved to the Cedar Rapids area. Leverne then worked for Prairie Elementary School as a helper in the kitchen and her husband worked for Link Belt Speeder's on Bowling St.

Leverne officially retired when she was 65 years old. During her retirement Leverne enjoyed working as she wanted and relaxing. Join us Thursday, February 21st at 2:00pm in our Piano Lounge for angel food cake! It's Leverne's recipe!

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Valentine's Day Flowers For Sale!

Have a loved one, friend, or staff member you want to wish a Happy Valentine's Day to? Buy them a rose! We will be selling red and pink roses for $2 a piece at our front desk. They will arrive on Valentine's Day. Pick them up from the front desk on Feb. 14th and deliver them yourself or choose to have them delivered by Eva. Orders due by Feb. 10th!

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Regular Reminders

Meal Punch Cards

We love to have guests at our table! Just a reminder for regular guests that our facility uses a meal punch card system. Purchase yours at the front desk. Meals are $5 a piece and cards can be purchased in 5 or 10 meal increments. Your server will ask to see your card at the time of your meal. See Tina at the front desk for questions!

Labeling Laundry

If you reside in our Long-Term Care facility, please remember to clearly mark your or your loved one's clothing with the owner's name. This is vital to ensuring all laundered items are returned to the proper owner! See Brenda our Housekeeping Manager for any questions.

Transportation

Transportation to/from appointments for Assisted Living tenants is available on Thursdays during business hours. Please speak with Tina at the front desk for scheduling.

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